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 1987 PG / Superhero Action Directed by: Starring: |
- Nuclear Power. In the best hands, it is dangerous. In the hands of Lex Luther, it is pure evil. This is Superman's greatest battle. And it is for all of us.
Summary Capsule
- Superman gets preachy. VERY preachy.
Mutant Meter
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Justin's Rating: You WILL believe a man can FLOP!
Justin's Review: Considering that this is the first of the Christopher Reeve Superman titles I’ve reviewed, and most likely the last, I’m going to unload all of my feelings for this series on this one beleaguered and maligned movie. Yes, it’s a rotten thing to do, but so is forcing us to watch a "duuuuuude"-spouting Jon Cryer. The wheels just keep on spinning, folks.
Superman I-IV might’ve been the premiere superhero movie series of the 80’s (Batman wasn’t released until 1989), but they failed to capture my imagination as a kid, and are fully laughable now that I’m an adult and blatantly notice the wires holding Christopher Reeves in the air. With the exception of Superman II’s trio of wacky super-villains, the whole franchise marinated in mediocrity, with a dull Clark Kent, a smarmy Superman, a shrill Lois Lane, and a disposable stockpile of special effects.
Superman IV: The Quest For Peace is easily the worst of the bunch, considering that it tanked the franchise for about 20 years. Reportedly, the movie had a severe cutback of funding, forcing the filmmakers to take special effects shortcuts, but that’s no excuse for the thorough dullness that prevails. It’s a movie that seems written by kids, but doesn’t stand a chance in entertaining any.
This is the best they could come up with: after battling Lex Luthor, Krypton Kriminals, and Richard Pryor (does anyone else think that the poster for Superman III seems like Superman is the groom who’s sweeping his Pryor bride across the wedding threshold?), Superman’s greatest threat is nuclear Armageddon. Well, he’s not really that concerned with earth’s ability to blow itself up many times over until — seriously — a grade-school student writes him a guilt trip of a letter asking Superman to dismantle all of the nukes in the world. Easily swayed by any and all tykes who come to him with simplistic requests for complicated problems, Superman charges into the U.N., tells the world that he’s pretty much their judge and jury now, and throws all nuclear warheads into the sun. He’s preachy.
Yes, it’s head-slappingly stupid, but that’s just the beginning. Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) escapes yet again from prison with the help of his annoying nephew Lenny (Cryer), and uses all of the power of his brain to make "genetic material" for Superman to throw into the sun with the nukes and create — wait for it — NUCLEAR MAN. With such a fiercesome name, one would expect this ultimate arch-villain to atomize city blocks with mushroom-cloud farts, but nothing doing. Our villain actually just has really long fingernails. You heard me right. Superman’s greatest foe: radioactive cuticles.
From then on, it’s just a countdown to see whether the film or us will survive all of the stupidity present. Sure, there’s subplots about a hostile takeover of the Daily Planet and Superman/Clark Kent going on a sitcom-style double date with two ladies at the same time, but that’s just fatty padding the movie added to distract you from Nuclear Man’s antics. I will say that the double date is just about one of the more stupid scenes in movie history, taking the old "Clark Kent and Superman are never in the same place at the same time yet no one notices" cliché and mocking the heck out of it. Both Kent and Superman have to keep coming up with increasingly wacky excuses to abruptly leave the apartment where both girls are, changing clothes over and over to the point where I wonder if Superman’s just wearing Kent’s outfit like those easy-to-pull-off stripper uniforms. Velcro! It’s super-tastic!
At the very least, my non-interest in Superman shields me against feeling hurt by the betrayal of such a lame enterprise here. Up, up and thud!
 "Excuse me, where's the audition for Pretty In Pink?"
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- Jon Cryer alert!
- Opening credits of FOREVER
- Supes’ cape flaps in space and responds to gravity
- Superman can talk in the total vacuum of space
- Magic energy modules ROCK!
- Superman’s subway PSA commercial
- I miss girls in the 80’s who wore those dresses with the really puffy shoulders
- Everyone would want a flying toupee!
- Superman gets peer pressure from a kid!?
- Superman Flight Tours -- book yours today!
- Amnesia kisses and telekinetic wall-building eye vision
- The whole world is Superman’s fan club, apparently
- Where does one get a space net that big?
- John Cryer can duplicate creation?
- Long fingernails on a villain, about time!
- If he’s made of radiation, shouldn’t the cancer rate in this movie be ridiculous?
- Superman uses his powers to SPOIL DINNER
- "Common knowledge that Luther hates children AND animals"? Huh?
- Supes has a mighty package going on there
Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?
Good golly, no.
Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]
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The movie was originally budgeted at $36 million dollars. Just before filming was to begin, Cannon Pictures, which was starting to suffer financial problems, slashed the budget to $17 million. As a result, the filmmakers had to cut corners by doing things like reusing special effects.
When the film was trimmed down from 134 minutes to 90 minutes, the producers considered using the deleted footage as the groundwork for a Superman V.
Mark Pillow, who played the main baddie Nuclear Man, never appeared in any movie before or after Superman IV.
Christopher Reeve agreed to play Superman for the fourth time on the condition that the studio finance another project he was working on.
Groovy Quotes
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Lex Luthor: Lenny, I've always considered you the Dutch Elm disease in my family tree.
Lex Luthor: I don't really want nuclear war. I just want to keep the threat alive.
Lex Luthor: You know what I can do with a single strand of Superman's hair?
Lenny: You can make a toupee that flies!
Lenny: The Dude of Steel! You are so gonna get it!
Lex Luthor: Is the world gonna be incinerated?
Superman: No. It's the same as it's always been: on the brink. With good fighting evil. See you in twenty.
Soundtrack Review
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Some hack artist tries to cover John Williams... ick.
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This review page was last updated on 11.28.05
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