Film review - Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987)

"The less said about Superman IV, the better" is what actor Christopher Reeve was once quoted as saying when discussing his famous film franchise - and its not hard to see why, as you'll be forgiven for watching this picture, not least in comparison with what came before it in the series - and this "What on earth is this?"

The plot, as the sub-title alludes to, tries to take an honourable approach where the Man of Steel goes on an anti-nuclear crusade by eliminating warhead weapons that threaten the Earth's existence.  Meanwhile, arch-rival Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) manages to escape from prison with an interest in making profits for arms merchants.  He succeeds in creating Nuclear Man, a blonde bodybuilder-type to face our hero in physical combat, by simply using a strand of his hair.

Elsewhere a semi-comical love triangle develops where Clark Kent and his caped alter ego attempts to please both colleague Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), who's in to Superman, and the daughter (Mariel Hemingway) of the media tycoon that employs both Clark and Lois, who tries to humouously seduce the straight-laced Kent on work premises.  In one busy scene, a supposed double-date occurs where both Clark Kent and Superman flip back and forth attending to the respective female, leaving the other by herself - and knackering the audience keeping up after five minutes.

Arguably the real story here is the woeful use of special effects throughout, thanks to the original budget of $36 million being slashed in half, owing to corners being cut behind the scenes by the Cannon production company responsible for the film.  If you see Reeve flying towards the screen in the exact same way on more than one occasion don't worry - you're not hallucinating or experiencing deja vu; it's the same clip looped in what feels like every three minutes.  And the use of blue screen completely destroys any visual believability this film set out to capture.

Believe it or not, there are positives.  Hackman as Luthor steal the show everytime he's on screen, even if he appears to be entertaining himself with the drivel he's reciting.  The story of course gives awareness to nuclear disarmament and allegedly goes on to influence real-life United Nations policy on the matter.  Despite the execution of Nuclear Man being abysmal, the concept of the clash between the two did have legs and would've likely made a better box office draw as the story's central focus.

Mercifully the film concludes after less than an hour and a half, apparently trimmed to such length not so much as as cost measure but to allow multiple cinema screenings throughout the day upon release (yay!).  Amazingly the end feels abrupt when it comes but, after various noble Superman speeches and confusing underground subway goings on, you'll be glad to get your life back.  If anything, Superman IV reinforces that the saga should really have halted at least after Part III.

Reeve was and always be the best Superman; hands down.  His appearance however, along with Hackman, Kidder and John Williams' music are the only things that make his a genuine edition to the series, making the rest hard to watch.  Do not use this movie as a way to make a pospective fan.  Always stick to the 1978 original!