Superman Revisited

The 1st 2 Christopher Reeve Superman films were on the other day so I thought it'd make for a fun movie night for the kids. As it turns out, Solstice seemed to enjoy them more than Aiden who had a hard time following the stories. They both raised some important questions though & my view of the 2 films seems to have changed a bit since I last saw them.
Solstice's Questions:
- When he flies backwards around the Earth to save Lois, why doesn't he just go all the way back & stop the missiles?
- Why doesn't he use that technique more often? It seems pretty easy & effective.
Aiden's Questions:
- Why do Zod & his lady friend gain the power of telekinesis (Solstice's word, not Aiden's)? Superman can't do that.
- When he "reverses the polarity" in his "desuperpowering chamber," he doesn't look all weird & x-ray like he did the 1st time so why didn't Lois know what was going on since she had already witnessed it once?
Stephanie's Question:
- Why does a piece of rock from his home planet have the power to not only strip him of his powers but to completely incapacitate him?
- Why didn't Christopher Reeve play Clark as a teen-ager? He could definitely have done it w/ the right make up.
These are all good questions, & besides the 1 about Kryptonite, I'd never really thought about them. I am particularly proud of Solstice's 1st & Aiden's 2nd questions. They are pretty complex & in Aiden's case, it shows that perhaps he was following along better than he let on.

Andre's Questions:
- What are the chances that the Phantom Zone thing will be flying by the Earth @ the exact moment that the bomb explodes? It's come from another galaxy & it just happens to be there right then? I don't buy it.
- What the fuck is the Phantom Zone anyway? For a culture that is supposed to be so advanced, they sure seem willing to impose cruel & unusual punishments.
- When holding really heavy things like helicopters or elevators, why doesn't he grab them from a more central position? I understand that he is strong enough to lift them, but unless he also has some as yet unexplained super-balancing ability, holding the helicopter by 1 of the landing bars (I doubt that's the right term) won't stop the other side from tilting downwards.

My overall take on the films is that the 1st 1 is better than I remembered. Specifically, Gene Hackman is fantastic as Lex Luthor. On the other hand, the 2nd film isn't as good as I remembered. I like the Niagara stuff & the love story, but Zod & company destroying some small town never looks right. It's so obviously a set. I know this complaint is coming from a guy who defends the Star Wars prequals despite their obvious fakeness, but come on.