I am just going to apologize in advance if you have watched this we can suffer together because this week, we’ve got “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.”
The most upsetting thing to me is that the true Superman had to go out this way as this ended up being Christopher Reeve’s final appearance as the iconic character watching this it becomes very clear why. Now, I remember when Superman was a hero, not some… well, you’ll see. They’re still peddling this do-gooder in tights, trying to tell us he can solve all the world’s problems. As if!
This time around, the big blue boy scout decides he’s going to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Oh, isn’t that just precious? Like it’s that simple. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor, that bald-headed menace, is back to his old tricks, this time with his goofy nephew in tow. They cook up some harebrained scheme involving Superman’s hair and a nuclear missile, resulting in some… thing called Nuclear Man. Honestly, the whole thing sounds like it was written on the back of a cereal box. But hey, maybe there’s a chuckle or two in this mess. Let’s find out, shall we?
Review by Ben Dover
Well, I’ve seen things in my sixty years, let me tell you, but this… this was something else. “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” feels less like a blockbuster movie and more like something your nephew cobbled together for a school project, albeit one with a slightly bigger budget – though you wouldn’t know it from the looks of things. The premise itself is almost insulting in its naivete. Superman, bless his cotton socks, decides that the best way to achieve world peace is to just scoop up all the nukes and toss them into the sun. As if the world’s leaders would just stand by and say, “Oh shucks, Superman took our bombs. Guess we’ll hold hands and sing Kumbaya now.”
And then there’s Lex Luthor. Gene Hackman was a fine actor, usually, but here he seems to be phoning it in, playing the same old villainous schtick but with a sidekick who’s about as threatening as a wet kitten. Their master plan involves stealing a strand of Superman’s hair from a museum – a museum! Who leaves Superman’s hair in a museum? – and attaching it to a nuclear missile. This, naturally, creates Nuclear Man, a villain powered by the sun who looks like he wandered off the set of a low-budget sci-fi flick from the 50s. The dialogue these characters spout is so wooden it could double as firewood.
The attempts at modernizing the Daily Planet with a ruthless new owner and his ambitious daughter felt like they were ripped from a bad sitcom. This whole subplot about corporate greed and a romantic interest for Clark Kent felt utterly out of place and just padded the already thin story. Honestly, I found myself more interested in whether Perry White would ever get his newspaper back than in Superman’s grand quest for peace. And the daughter, Lacy Warfield, chasing after Clark? Please. These young people today, with their… affections. It’s beyond me.
The climax of this… film involves a battle on the moon, which looks about as convincing as those old space movies where everything wobbles. Superman moves the moon! The moon! To create an eclipse and weaken Nuclear Man. I nearly choked on my popcorn. And don’t even get me started on the special effects. They were so cheap and unconvincing it looked like they filmed most of it in someone’s backyard with a green screen they bought at a discount store. The flying scenes? Worse than ever. It’s like they forgot how to make him look like he was actually soaring. Weirdly the only good flying sequence in this entire movie is the final shot at the end of the film as Superman flies over earth. The rest beg the question how did they for FOUR movies get progressively worse at green-screen? I have now watched these movies back to back and its like they filmed them in reverse.
Rating: One out of five stars. And half of that one star is solely for Christopher Reeve’s continued earnestness in the role, even though he clearly deserved better material, and the other half point because watching this mess makes you appreciate literally every other movie ever made more. At least in 3 we had the comedic efforts to fall back on. This has nothing. It is literally a cinematic kryptonite suppository that nearly killed the franchise for good.
Ben Dover still occasionally wakes up in a cold sweat after dreaming about the press screening of Superman IV, which he attended in 1987 only because the theater had good air conditioning during a July heatwave. He claims to have lost “three hours of my life, though the movie was only 90 minutes” watching it, and describes the experience as “slightly worse than my gall bladder surgery, but more painful than my divorce.” Dover famously keeps a VHS copy of the film in his bathroom “in case of emergency toilet paper shortages” and once used his Superman IV ticket stub as evidence when arguing for stricter quality control in Hollywood. His cardiologist has specifically forbidden him from watching the film again, citing “dangerous blood pressure spikes” whenever Nuclear Man appears on screen. Dover considers his scathing review of Superman IV to be “my greatest public service – I saved countless families 90 minutes of misery.”
Starring: Christopher Reeve returns as Clark Kent/Superman, bless his heart for trying. Gene Hackman is back as Lex Luthor, with Jon Cryer (that kid from “Pretty in Pink,” imagine that) as his nephew Lenny. Mariel Hemingway plays Lacy Warfield, the new owner’s daughter with eyes for Clark. Margot Kidder is also back as Lois Lane, though she doesn’t have much to do but look concerned.
Special Effects: As mentioned, the special effects are atrocious. Flying looks fake, explosions look like firecrackers, and Nuclear Man looks like he’s wearing a shiny Halloween costume. The moon moving? Don’t even get me started. The budget was clearly spent on hairspray for Nuclear Man’s mullet rather than anything resembling competent filmmaking.
Music: The iconic John Williams Superman theme is present, but it can’t save this sinking ship. It just reminds you of better Superman movies. It didn’t help that they let some hack rework it.
Synopsis and Plot Breakdown
The world is in a panic due to the escalating nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Moved by a letter from a young boy, Superman decides that the only way to ensure peace is to rid the world of all nuclear weapons. He gathers all the nuclear missiles he can find and hurls them into the sun.
Meanwhile, Lex Luthor escapes from prison with the help of his bumbling nephew, Lenny. Determined to get revenge on Superman and profit from the continued arms race, Luthor steals a strand of Superman’s hair from a museum exhibit. He attaches this genetic material to a nuclear missile, which Superman throws into the sun. The resulting explosion creates Nuclear Man, a being with powers similar to Superman but fueled by solar energy. Nuclear Man is initially controlled by Luthor.
Back in Metropolis, the Daily Planet is bought by a ruthless media tycoon, David Warfield, who aims to turn it into a tabloid. He appoints his ambitious daughter, Lacy, as the new editor, much to the dismay of Perry White and the staff. Lacy takes a liking to the mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent and begins to pursue him romantically.
Nuclear Man wreaks havoc, and Superman struggles to defeat him as Nuclear Man draws power from the sun and can also inflict radiation sickness. Luthor reveals Nuclear Man’s weakness: he becomes powerless in darkness. In a climactic battle, Nuclear Man kidnaps Lacy and takes her to space. Superman rescues her and then, realizing Nuclear Man’s dependence on sunlight, moves the moon to create a solar eclipse, weakening his foe. Finally, Superman tricks Nuclear Man into a nuclear power plant, overloading him and converting him into energy for the city. Luthor and Lenny are apprehended, and Perry White manages to regain control of the Daily Planet. Superman addresses the world, acknowledging that true peace must come from humanity itself.
Famous Quotes
- Superman: “Once more, we have survived the threat of war and found a fragile peace. I thought I could give all the gift of the freedom from war, but I was wrong. It’s not mine to give.”
- Lex Luthor: “Nuclear Man, you are magnificent! My ultimate weapon!” (Yeah, magnificent in a dollar-store kind of way.)
- Lacy Warfield: “Clark, you’re so… different.” (Yeah, he’s got a secret identity. Groundbreaking observation.)
- Perry White: “Great Caesar’s ghost!” (The most exciting line in the whole darn movie.)
- Nuclear Man: (Mostly grunts and growls, but he does manage a weak) “Superman…” (Thrilling dialogue, folks.)
Notes from the Movie
- Christopher Reeve had some creative input in the story, hoping to address the issue of nuclear disarmament. He is credited.
- Due to budget cuts, several planned scenes were never filmed, including a more elaborate origin for Nuclear Man and more action sequences. It shows.
- Mark Pillow, who played Nuclear Man, had his voice dubbed by Gene Hackman in post-production. Probably for the best, based on his acting.
- This was the last time Christopher Reeve played Superman. A sad end to his run as the Man of Steel.
- The movie was a critical and commercial flop, often considered one of the worst superhero movies ever made. No surprises there.
Trailer
Reviewer Notes:
These opening credits are scaring me, how can they be worse the more movies there are?
Lex’s car trick to escape prison might be the single dumbest thing I have ever seen put on screen.
OK I was wrong, Lois forgetting again and again is dumber than that.
OK even dumber is the double date BS
OK I was wrong again, the gym scene is worse.
OK this thing is a joke right, the WWE fight on the moon with its weird gravity is even worse.
Oh never mind, moving the moon… really this movie is going there? Is there like a lifetime Razzie award or something they are actually going for?
Weirdly the only shot flying in this entire movie is the final shot at the end of the film as Superman flies over earth. The rest beg the question how did they for FOUR movies get progressively worse at green-screen? I have now watched these movies back to back and its like they filmed them in reverse.
Stupid new powers: He can fly around the Earth to turn back time – oh wait, that was the first movie. In this one, he manages to breathe in space, do pirouettes while throwing things in space (who needs gravity), carry a woman through the vacuum of space (who somehow doesn’t explode or freeze to death), and most improbably of all, make me long for the comparative masterpiece that was Superman III.
This film’s failure led to a hiatus in the Superman film series until Superman Returns in 2006.
This film is actually Superman 3, not 5 it slots between 2 and 3 story wise if you want to call it that.