Product Details

• Actors: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Jon Cryer
• Directors: Sidney J. Furie
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English, Italian, Russian
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: April 1, 1992
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (159 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300271420
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,434 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #1 in	Video > Action & Adventure > Superheroes > Superman
  #4 in	Video > Action & Adventure > Superheroes > Animated

• This is item 4 in The Superman Feature Films Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The law of diminishing returns: It's the law--obey it! Someone should have posted that sign on the set of this, the third sequel to the film based on the DC Comics superhero. The "IV" in the title refers to medical supplies needed to resuscitate this anemic retread. This one reportedly was a pet project of actor Christopher Reeve, whose career seemed to flounder whenever he tried a role minus the blue underwear and red cape. Before agreeing to don the suit one more time, he insisted on a script that preached nuclear disarmament. So, in this film, Superman rounds up all the missiles and warheads and flings them into outer space. Which still leaves him to contend with Lex Luthor, who has a secret weapon: Nuclear Man. Yawn. Having pushed the envelope of special effects in the first film, it seemed as if the filmmakers simply stopped trying with this one. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A great character... a terrible movie..., December 10, 2001

By	Blake Petit "Novelist, Comixtreme.com columni... (Ama, Louisiana United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Superman IV - The Quest for Peace (DVD)

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars SuperBomb - The Quest for More Money - Half Star, May 5, 2006

By	Chad Taylor (El Cajon, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Superman IV - The Quest for Peace (DVD)

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!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A weak ending to a great series, August 24, 2005

By	MortensOrchid (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Superman IV - The Quest for Peace (DVD)

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.