Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Starring: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper, Jon Cryer, Mariel Hemingway, Jim Broadbent, Mark Pillow
Directed by: Sidney J. Furie
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
1987

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Superman (Christopher Reeve) decides to round up all the world's nuclear weapons, however, he soon finds himself pitted against Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), who created Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow) to destroy the Man of Steel.

Review:

Tim: This is the film that killed the Superman franchise for nearly two decades. It is such a huge decrease in quality that it is still shocking to me how bad this movie was. Yes, the first three films started this trend of diminishing returns, but this movie drops like a heavy rock in a pond. This movie is very, very bad. The sad thing is that this really was a pet project for Christopher Reeve. He decided to do this movie, but he wanted much more control- he cowrote the script, which turned out to be a very bad idea. I can only shake my head at this dud.

The story is just pitiful. Superman decides to destroy all the world's nuclear weapons. This idea is not particularly exciting to see, and I never bought the explanation for why Superman would suddenly get over-involved in Planet Earth. Plus, it seemed a bit odd that one man would decide to destroy the property of many nations throughout the world. I understand it is for the greater good, but it still seemed odd. Plus, as if the whole nuclear disarmament plot wasn't cramming this topic down our throats, we get a villain called Nuclear Man. The subtlety here is astounding. It doesn't help that Nuclear Man has the most ridiculous and implausible origin I have ever seen in a comic book movie. It was truly as if no one was really even trying. He looks stupid, and worst of all, Gene Hackman does his voice. This is explained in the film of course, but it was more distracting than anything else. Add another awful point to this movie.

The entire film feels shoddily made, and it made me long for the much better first three films. The entire film was just unbelievably lazy. Superman saves the Statue of Liberty, stops a volcano from erupting, and fixes the Great Wall of China. These scenes are awful, as Superman's fixes are shockingly easy and hard-to-believe. The movie also has perhaps the worst scene of all the Superman movies- the scene with Lois Lane and her "solo" flight. I can't even begin to put into words what a terrible idea this was. I'm also not a fan of Supes constantly using his ability to erase memories. It just seems creepy.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is just a terrible movie. I love Christopher Reeve as Superman, but after this bomb, I am glad he hung up the cape.





Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 4



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Superman, Superman II, Superman III