Supe said 'Drop Dead'

SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

The summer of 1987 was littered with dozens of sequels and remakes yet the one sequel that did not satisfy expectations and basically destroyed its original predecessors was "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace," a campy, bizarre movie that gave Superman a bad name. No longer were truth, justice and the American way terms with which the public were interested in seeing anymore (Two years later came the dark Batman movie, a huge hit). I'll admit this fourth entry in the series is tired and unimaginative yet it is never boring, just plain stupid. It is so stupid and unintentionally funny that it rates as a guilty pleasure.

This time, the Daily Planet is in the middle of a takeover by a corporate giant run by a tycoon (Sam Wanamaker) and his sexy daughter, Lacy (Mariel Hemingway). It is up to Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve), Lois Lane (the witty Margot Kidder) and Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure) to stop this tycoon from turning the Daily Planet into a sensational tabloid with headlines that read "Is the World at Brink?" Problem is Lacy has the hots for poor old Clark and wants him to explore the night life of Metropolis and other social events. Then there's the fantastic double date between Lacy, Clark, Lois and Superman (!) that has got to be seen to be believed, and is an absolute classic.

Superman has problems of his own, though. His archenemy, Lex Luthor (the reliable Gene Hackman), is up to his old tricks again with the help of the "Dutch Elm disease of the family," his dim-witted nephew (Jon Cryer). Since Superman is ridding the world of nuclear weapons, Lex gets the brilliant idea of becoming a black-market arms profiteer, and creates a Nuclear Man. This new villain is so strong that he can even tear Superman's skin and make him sick.

The plot is dense and exciting enough to create a dazzling new Superman adventure. Alas, it was not to be. "Superman IV" was directed by Sidney J. Furie, a director below-par when compared to the formidable talents of Richard Donner and Richard Lester. The special-effects are amazingly atrocious and third-rate after witnessing the spectacular effects of the first three films. For example, there are exploding volcanos spewing what looks like tomato juice; a Statue of Liberty carried by Nuclear Man where the statue seems to be of greater width than the city of Metropolis; the astonishingly bad model of the Great Wall of China; and Superman's outfit during the flying sequences that seems to turn from turquoise to a muddy green color, probably due to bad color processing and poor blue screen projection. Wait, there's more! The obligatory Superman/Lois flight above the clouds is as hokey as you can imagine - one minute they are flying by the Brooklyn Bridge and the next second, they are in Upstate, New York (!) - a result of bad editing. Or they took a cue from the rear-screen projection of the Bogie classic Casablanca, which has one scene where Bogie and Ingrid Bergman are driving and the background changes from one location to the other. If any film needs a Special Edition renovation, it would be "Superman IV." The effects here are a mix of the George Reeves style with a dose of Ed Wood thrown in.

Despite those gaping flaws, "Superman IV" occasionally works. The cast makes the characters as sincere and believable as ever before. Christopher Reeve continues to make the dual personality of Superman vivid and credible. Margot Kidder is alluring as always, and adds subtle hints of humor to Lois's character, especially when she is trying to learn French fluently. Her scenes with Reeve sparkle with a deep humanity and sense of love. Gene Hackman's return as the hefty Luthor is this movie's biggest surprise and he enlivens the proceedings with his trademark repartee - his first confrontation with Superman atop the Empire State Building is sheer magic and funny as hell ("Why don't you stop and smell the roses, huh? Get yourself a pet. A kitten, A puppy.")

"Superman IV" was severely truncated before being released by Warner Brothers, and it definitely shows (its $40 million budget was trimmed to $17 million). There are too many loose ends and inexplicable moments where the laws of gravity are defied. Can the mortal Lacy really survive in space without the aid of a helmet or a ship? Come on. And since when is it windy in space? And how exactly does Superman survive imminent death when he's severely struck and beaten by Nuclear Man who tears his skin? And why is Nuclear Man so interested in Lacy? Business or pleasure?

Several advance screenings for critics were not held, especially in Chicago where Siskel and Ebert did not view it prior to its release. Gene Siskel had mentioned on "The Tonight Show" (with Johnny Carson) that he had not seen it, and that was not a good sign.

Despite these and many other flaws, "Superman IV" is still decent enough (though many comic-book fans will cry foul, if they haven't already), and it does offer a chance to see Reeve in his final incarnation as Supe baby before he became paralyzed. It is a vast improvement over the dreadful "Superman III", and it brings back the characters with some measure of respect and poignance.