Superman IV - Die Welt am Abgrund

This is a truly frustrating film. Somewhere in this mess is a good film that isn't allowed to break free, haphazard and lazy direction from a mediocre director and two very lame scriptwriters make sure of that.

The idea in itself isn't bad. Superman becomes active in disarming the world of nuclear weapons but his arch nemesis Lex Luthor still holds a grudge against the Man of Steel and devices a plan to get rid of him; by creating a super villain of his own.

Reeve shares co-credit story this time around but he's not responsible for the terrible script. There are good things floating around but executed in the poorest manner. And what's more the special effects are terrible, I can't believe they saved money on that front. The film moves along too fast, clocking in at under 90 minutes and some interesting angles are not explored nearly well enough.

So what's good here? Well, Reeve of course. He IS Superman and once again delivers a fantastic performance and shows all too well that he's way too good for this film. Margot Kidder is good as well but her role is minimal and Jackie Cooper appears all too briefly. So that leaves Hackman. Of course it's good to see him, he's a very good actor, but one can't help but think he got a big paycheck and simply did what he had to and nothing more. He doesn't look too excited.

A wasted opportunity this film. Could have been very good but looks incredibly rushed and made without passion. But it's always good to see Reeve in flying action.

SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE pits the Man of Steel against Nuclear Man, Lex Luther's newest creation while ridding the world of nuclear weapons. This is easily the worst of the SUPERMAN movies, and it was doomed to fail right from the start. Cut from its original 134-minute version, it is full of plot holes resulting in a movie with some scenes that just don't make any sense, but even with the extra 45 minutes intact, the movie still wouldn't work because the special effects are cheap and ridiculous, and it shows. Unless you are a diehard fan of the Superman genre, this movie should be avoided.

1 out of 5

SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE

OK... so everyone knows that this is the worst Superman movie ever made... but if you have not seen it in a while, you should watch it.

It is still pretty rubbish, but it is not as bad as I remember.

The story is not that bad... Superman rids planet Earth of all the nuclear weapons, and in doing so unknowingly creates a super villain named Nuclear Man thanks to arch rival Lex Luthor.

The movie does star all the original cast, which surprised me. I knew Christopher Reeve was in it... and after reading his autobiography now know why. He said in the book that he only made it because the film studio wanted to make it and they said to him that they would only finance another movie he wanted to make if he made Superman IV. I will quote what he said in his book... "The less said about Superman IV the better."

Gene Hackman returns as Lex Luthor & Margot Kidder is back as Lois Lane. They all did good jobs as always, although Margot was a bit unsure in places. The other supporting cast were not great. Mariel Hemingway played the new boss of the Daily Planet. She was awful... not a great actress in this I'm afraid. But she was not the worst. Mark Pillow played Nuclear Man. Absolutely terrible. His acting was definitely the worst of the whole quadrilogy.

The effects in this film were so bad. You could see that the budget of this film was so much less than the other 3 movies made. Superman flying was so bad that Flash Gordon was more convincing... and speaking of Flash Gordon... Nuclear Man looked like him... but more camp! Nuclear Mans outfit was embarrassing... it was not much of a super villains outfit. It honestly was just a bad character through and through.

There are also some really bad scenes... there was a scene where a large chuck of the Great Wall of China gets destroyed and Superman fixes it just by looking at it and using some dodgy blue eye lasers. What the hell? Terrible. Also, there is a scene where Nuclear Man kidnaps a Lacy and takes her into space... WHAT? He drags her to space and not only does she not scream or even say anything, but she can breathe fine in space... erm... really? I know Superman was never meant to be realistic, but that is too much!

When I was a kid I was a big fan of the Superman movies... but I think my parents protected me from this disappointment, because I don't remember this film at all... I didn't see this film until I was an adult. Haha. Thanks Mum.

I will give this film 5 out of 10.

It's a shame about this film... it was a very disappointing ending to Christopher Reeves Superman career. But no matter what he will always be a legend.

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Its Supes versus Nukes for the fourth, much-derided Superman adventure often slated for its repressing low-budget, inferior special effects and a whole wad of plot holes and incoherence – thanks no doubt to the extraction of a whole fifty minutes, much of the film's middle portion. Yet, among the wreckage are signs that there was a good film in here somewhere, as our hero struggles to decide whether or not to intervene in human history and the character's rather touching realisation that he is not just a visitor to Earth. A nicely-toned return to the Lois-Clark-Superman relationship also could have rooted the film back to its glorious predecessors - bar number three - but once Nuclear Man shows up and the film's story is cut in half, all promise and potential disappears from the project and the audience is left with a strictly mediocre re-tread of Superman II.

* (1 out of 5)

Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

Directed by: Sidney J. Furie, 1987

Perversely bad. With major budget cuts (from $28 to $16m) and story problems, the moviemakers suddenly found themselves cutting corners in all areas. And it shows. Completely lacking in awe, fun and excitement, Superman IV most of all feels like a bad joke.

The fact that it comes across more cartoonish than the previous three is hardly intentional, as everything - from effects to dialogue - just seems oddly rushed and second-rate.

The only highlight is Gene Hackman - who returns in high spirits as Lex Luthor. Christopher Reeve co-scripted this time and he again personifies the Man of Steel. But most of his co-stars are either wasted (Mariel Hemingway) or hysterical (John Cryer).

The new villian, Nuclear Man (as played by Mark Pillow), looks like a Swedish showwrestler in a home-made Halloween suit, complete with mullet hair and horrendous over-acting mannerisms.

Director Sidney J. Furie (the man behind the otherwise taut thriller The Entity) seems unable to create any sparks and Superman IV falls completely flat, head first. Game over.

Note: Certain scenes had to be borrowed from the previous movies, most notably Superman and Lois on their romantic evening flight above the Manhattan skyline. How they even managed to make this scene look worse than in the original is really mind-boggling.