Customer Reviews

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace [VHS]

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(34)
2 star:		(30)
1 star:		(51)

 

 

It's been many years since I saw the incredibly bad "Superman IV: The Quest For Peace." Years since I was tormented by the vision of Nuclear Man, by the lousy dialouge, amazed by the idea that anyone could find Mariel Hemmingway attractive enough to destroy a city over. Still, since I got the DVD boxed set, I wanted to get my money's worth, and that meant watching S:IV. And was it as bad as I remember?

Oh god, it was worse.

From the bad science (Superman pushes the moon from its orbit to create an eclipse, yet tides are unnaffected? And there's no sunrise on the moon, either! The dark side is always dark and the light side is always light!) to the extra powers (rebuilding the great wall vision, anyone?) to the bad plotting (Superman finds a power plant with an OPEN REACTOR to chuck Nuclear Man into?) to the inconsistent characterization (Superman brings back Lois' memories from Superman II long enough to unburden his soul, then wipes `em out again -- hardly behavior benefiting Earth's Greatest Hero), it was just a bad movie. Why Gene Hackman agreed to come back for this is beyond me.

This is not to say that everything about the movie was bad. There were, in fact, two scenes that I really liked, which save it from a failing grade. The very first scene is Clark back at the old Kent farm, refusing to sell it to some developer, holding out for a "real farmer," very in character, very sweet. And the final scene, where it is not Superman that saves the day but Perry White, was also good -- a great moment of heroism for a character really underused in the Superman movies.

Sadly, neither of these scenes are good enough to counteract the mountains of badness inbetween, which is why the film doesn't fail, but is still way the hell below average.

The movie originally ran for 134 min. to a test audience in Southern California.Due to a lack of improvement,it was butchered down to a mere 89 min.Scenes were cut like Superman destroying a Nuclearman prototype and Superman responding to Jeremy s letter. This rare 134 min. version was once on the now defunct TV channel SFM Holiday Network in 1989.This version will tie up some loose ends and fill the plot holes.Hopefully,it will be re-release on VHS and DVD.

Superman has stopped robbers, robots, and terrorists, done battle with a trio of his own kind, defeated Lex Luthor twice, and even taken on himself in adventures past, but none of those heroic deeds has prepared him for his most intimidating foe, the Nuclear Arms Race! The year is 1987, and a failed world summit has the entire planet in a grip of fear, when a concerned teacher encourages her students to offer solutions to the terrifying predicament. Write your congressman? That'll never work. Write Superman? Now there's an idea! When a young boy's tear-jerking letter to Superman arrives at the Daily Planet in care of Lois Lane, new publisher (and daughter of the Planet's new owner) Lacy Warfield immediately sees it as a chance to increase the paper's waning sales! Soon, the whole world knows of the boy's request that Superman disarm the planet and make it safe from annihilation once again, and the whole world waits in eager anticipation for Superman's reply. The poor man of steel has enough trouble though, just balancing Lacy's advances on his alter-ego, Clark Kent, against his unclear relationship with co-worker Lois Lane. Superman contemplates the problem intensely, nonetheless, and eventually comes to that unavoidable decision: Superman will rid the world of nuclear arms! With the U.N. behind him all the way, Superman rounds up all the nuclear weapons on the planet, swings them around and around in a giant net, and hurls them into our life-giving sun! The world can breathe easy once again. Little does Superman know that his arch enemy, Lex Luthor, has escaped from prison with the help of his dimwitted nephew Lenny. With the cooperation of nuclear weapons dealers from around the world, Lex has planted a special little surprise for Superman amidst the weapons he has hurled into the son: a special recipe for creating an anti-Superman! A Nuclear Man!

Christopher Reeve's heart may have been fully into the idea of "Superman IV: The Quest For Peace," unfortunately, the movie itself comes off as an incredibly half-hearted attempt at a real Superman film. I won't go into the effects issues. Apparently, the budget wasn't quite as high for film number four. Also, I tend to be very forgiving of Superman films for having "fantastic science." Clearly, spinning the Earth in reverse would do more harm than good, and certainly would not turn back time, yet we all love the original Superman movie! I just look at events like these in Superman films as an homage to the early days of Superman, when people actually might have believed something like that would have worked. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see such crazy feats performed in Superman cartoons and comics when I was a kid, so it doesn't bother me so much to see them done in Superman films. Additional, god-like Superman powers in Superman movies I am less comfortable with, however, I seem to recall these turning up throughout the previous films as well. No, these are only small aspects of what makes "Superman IV" a failed, though still watchable, attempt at giving the franchise one more go. This film is just poor quality; simple as that. The story is rushed, flat, and uninteresting. The film takes for granted the fact that we know most of the characters, the new ones are exceedingly two-dimensional, and the story (what little there is of one) just doesn't go anywhere. Superman does battle with this dangerous but dense Frankenstein and the audience learns you can't hug your children with nuclear arms. Nothing special, and nothing much to rave about once the movie is over, unlike the other Superman films (yes, I like Superman 3!). Sure, the lesson is important, but did anyone go into this film thinking nuclear weapons were a great thing? And, after all, the ending doesn't really resolve anything in that direction. All you really get with "Superman IV" is another Superman battles super-villain story, this time badly executed (yes, possibly due in part to the excessive editing I have heard so much about). There are some good moments here and there, such as the Smallville scene, Clark pulling a Jack Tripper as he tries to have a date with Lois and Lacy at the same time, and other fun bits. We do get Gene Hackman back as Lex, though he's sadly wasted in this Superman film that doesn't even have the cinematic "look" of the previous three. I'm sure he still helps the film considerably. I also didn't mind the addition of Jon Cryer as his idiot nephew. I found the Lenny character to be quite funny against the elder Luthor, even if there were moments when his Valley dialect did cause eyes to roll. Still, over all, "Superman IV: The Quest For Peace" is watchable at best, and only for the Superman fan that doesn't require every Superman film to be...well...super. Once again, as with the other Superman sequels, the DVD is practically bare bones. We are given little more than a theatrical trailer and some cast filmographies. Cross your fingers, all you folks who are crying out for an uncut version. If Warner's Batman releases can be used as any sort of guideline, perhaps next year's "Superman Returns" will be heralded by Special Edition releases of all the Christopher Reeve Superman films!

I tried to like this movie, I really did. I loved all the Superman movies, even the third with Richard Pryor and all that campy, silly, humor they added into it. But this was just so bad.

It's so hard to like this movie, they were playing on cliches and tired themes from the last three movies. Margo Kidder got older - and looked it! - and was obviously self medicating to compensate for the bad time they were having. Mariel Hemingway costars as the sexy manager who is actually the boss's daughter, who, for reasons we are never quite privy too, prefers Clark Kent over Superman despite his bumbling antics. And not like it wasn't obvious throughout the other movies, but ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME THAT THEY REALLY DIDN'T KNOW THAT CLARK KENT WAS SUPERMAN!?!?!?!? The man had an absolutely positively perfect body this side of Morten Harket and they DIDN'T KNOW?!?! Those thick glasses and dorky suits only hid so much!!!

Lex comes back with Nuclear Man, who looks like a rip off of that guy from Greatest American Hero with a relaxing job on his curls. Superman almost dies but is saved, miracle of miracles, by the last remaining crystal from the asteroid pod he came to earth on. Lois Lane has a rememberance of her love for Superman but conveniently forgets again with the magic kiss. And worst of them all, Superman didn't really save the day! He wanted to rid the earth of all nuclear weapons, and didn't! "Make Love Not War" didn't work in the hippie era, it didn't work in the Regan era, and it ain't happening today either! This laid a big fat goose egg and ended the series on a bad note. What a shame it was all down hill for Christopher Reeve after that, otherwise I think he would've had a much more rewarding career in films.

In fact, it deserves to be ridiculed on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". Of course, Superman and anyone who possesses his powers could go into outer space and do other extraordinary things, but 13 years after having first seen it, I still can't believe that Nuclear man was able to take the (human)Mariel Hemingway character into outer space with him. Not only did she not incinerate while escaping Earth's atmosphere, but she was able to breathe in outer space as well.

Guys, this movie was horrid. In fact, it makes the previous effort with Richard Pryor seem like great entertainment, and that's a shame as the first 2 films, particularly the second, were excellent. Many scenes (such as the ones involving the subway and Russian cosmonauts) have nothing to do with the film's plot, while others just don't make any sense. The film is full of movie flubs (just one example:when Superman is chasing Nuclear Man across the planet, it is daytime in America and China at the same time).This cartoonish movie can only appeal to the 7 and younger crowd. A disgraceful finale to what was once a great movie series. In fact, I seriously question the writing ability and education of the men who wrote it.

Where's General Zod when you need him?

Amazon should really seriously consider the ability to give half stars because this one needs it.

Nuclear man - created from Superman's DNA yet he has Lex Luthor's voice and all the intelligence of a crab? What was John Cryer doing in this film? Chris Reeve has writing credit here and considering he didn't want to be labeled the S-guy forever I think he tried to kill the franchise. Golan-Globus should be ashamed. Do what I do buy the first two films and pretend III and IV don't exist. That's what they're doing for Superman Returns!

After more than two decades, yes, it is still all too easy to pick apart this dreadful movie featuring Christopher Reeve's final appearance as the legendary Man of Steel.

However, I recently thought the special edition version was at least worthy of a cheap DVD rental, so my two-year old son could witness the real "Superman," Christopher Reeve, in action regardless of the film's shoddy editing and dismal special effects. While my little boy was fascinated at seeing a living, breathing Superman before him, I, too, became fascinated (albeit, for a different reason).

While watching the film, I developed a more insightful appreciation for what the late Christopher Reeve truly intended this movie to be, and he certainly deserves credit for some noble aspirations. Here's the premise once more: an initially reluctant Superman (Reeve) is inspired by a young boy to end the nuclear arms race once and for all; meanwhile, old nemesis Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) conjures up his own nuclear-powered super-villain (Mark Pillow). The end result is, of course, predictable, as Superman discovers why no single person (not even Superman) is ultimately up to the task, when only the human race can bring itself lasting peace.

Although this movie originated as Christopher Reeve's bargaining chip for a more substantive, gritty drama he starred in entitled "Street Smart," it appears, from viewing his earnest performance here, that he clearly gave "Superman IV" his best effort, even though he no doubt suspected it would be the franchise's last gasp. Still, when compared to the FX-driven mega-movies of today's generation, can any of them legitimately claim they have something positive to say about making a difference in the world? Since we know what the answer unfortunately is, Reeve's truly admirable legacy as Superman will indeed stand up for generations to come. "Superman IV," despite its laundry list of flaws, is proof positive of why his interpretation of the Man of Steel still matters.

If it had been gifted with a hefty budget equal to either of the first two "Superman" films, this fourth installment could have been a worthy addition to the franchise. However, the deficient budget isn't the only reason why this movie failed. Director Sidney J. Furie, despite some solid credentials at the time, had been reduced to making schlock movies by the mid-1980's (i.e. 1986's "Iron Eagle") and it clearly shows here. Since Richard Donner wasn't available, I can only imagine what other capable directors like Irvin ("The Empire Strikes Back") Kershner, Nicholas ("Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan") Meyer, or Lawrence ("Wyatt Earp") Kasdan could have done in reshaping the script and enhancing the actors' performances to a comparable level of the first two films.

Speaking of the actors, the original film's supporting ensemble of Gene Hackman (as Lex Luthor), Margot Kidder (as Lois Lane), Marc McClure (as Jimmy Olsen), and Jackie Cooper (as Perry White) all return with decent efforts, though Kidder and McClure clearly appeared too old by this point to effectively portray their characters. Newcomers Jon Cryer (as Lenny), Mariel Hemingway (as Lacy), Sam Wanamaker (as Mr. Warfield), and Mark Pillow (as Nuclear Man) are hardly noteworthy, but again, a more inspired director could have made a difference with them. Also, reliable Ned Beatty (as bumbling Otis) is sorely missed from this installment.

As for the DVD's special features, there are the following: a series of mostly unfinished deleted scenes, screenwriter Mark Rosenthal's insightful commentary, cast filmographies, and the obligatory trailer. Of the deleted scenes, the extended, unfinished sequence of Superman taking Lois on a flight across the country, which includes Lois "flying" on her own, is a nostalgic wink back at the original film's exuberant romanticism.

In today's world, "Superman IV" wouldn't have qualified as a theatrical release, but rather as a forgettable Sci-Fi Channel original movie. Still, at least this movie aspired to be far more than its end result. Fans of Christopher Reeve's timeless portrayal of the Man of Steel should fondly remember "The Quest for Peace," more for what it could have been and for what Mr. Reeve deserved it to be.

My Grade: a strong 2/5. All factors considered, including Christopher Reeve's heartfelt sincerity, I am being realistic here. However, let me put this way: try sitting through 2006's "Highlander: The Source," and you will see why "Superman IV" is an Oscar contender by comparison.

I know most of you do not like this movie ,I can not change that,I just turned 10 I have watched this movie at least 4 times all my friends Zev, Andrew ,Vik , and Billy love this movie and is it not us the children, who this movie was made for ?Sure discount it for your so called "cheesy" special effects but the kids really do not care .This movie has a comic book storyline a good one to be exact,and Christopher Reeve , Margot Kidder, Mark Pillow, Jon Cryer and Gene Hackman are a great cast , although you may not think my opinion counts I hope it does to some of you...

The actions seen are the best out of all of them and the music is very good. It has had a lot of problems getting fans because of a lot of scenes were cut out. I have it in my collection and i reccomend it in yours.

"Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" is a laughably bad entry in the otherwise ok Superman series. The premise is well-meaning: Superman (Christopher Reeve) makes an attempt to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) decides to take advantage of this by becoming a black market nuclear weapons dealer. He also creates Nuclear Man, a supervillain who gets his power from the sun, to kill Superman. Chaos and unbelievably bad special effects ensue. The DVD transfer is crisp, but perhaps too crisp: during one segment, which takes place on the moon, you can see the cables attached to Superman's belt, as well as the black curtains in the background which are supposed to be deep space. The original "Superman" from ten years earlier had far superior special effects. In fact, the old black and white TV series did better. At least they knew their limitations. A complete misfire from beginning to end. The disc has almost no special features, but then, why would it?