[EveningStar]

You liked that ‘turn back time to fix things’ bit eh?

Was that in the original Puzo screenplay or did Donner add that? That was one of the major weak points of the first movie for me.

[Borges]

It was meant to be at the end of the 2nd film to finish off the story told across both films. When they ran out of time and money they decided to stick it in the first film.

[tanknetter]

Was that in the original Puzo screenplay or did Donner add that? That was one of the major weak points of the first movie for me.

As a plot device to allow the stereotypical Superman superhero conflict (two major situations to resolve, one involving Lois Lane's saftey, but only enough time to resolve one) to be resolved, I'd agree that the time-travel device was weak.

However, as a way of showing the resolution of the inner conflict between Clark Kent and Kal El (which was foreshadowed early in the movie by the scene where teenage Clark Kent, the football team's towelboy, punts the football into the stratosphere) - with the Clark side winning by setting aside Jor El's philosophy of limited interference in human affairs - it worked out very, very well.