Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

_**The least of the tetralogy due to a slashed budget and the corresponding cheesy F/X**_ Superman (Christopher Reeve) destroys all nuclear warheads on Earth for the sake of world peace, but Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) has discovered a way to make a nuclear-powered thrall from Supes’ DNA and the energy of the Sun. Meanwhile a tycoon & his daughter take over The Daily Planet (Sam Wanamaker & and Mariel Hemingway). “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” (1987) is the weakest of the quadrilogy because the Salkind family sold the franchise to a Grade B production company, Cannon, and so instead of the healthy $39 million budget of “Superman III” (1983) it was slashed to $17 million (although it was originally supposed to be $36 million), which is apparent in the low-rent opening credits and the non-special effects throughout. Other than that glaring flaw, the main cast returns and the story is decent, augmented by the kick-axx Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow) and the continuation of Clark’s relationship with Lois (Margot Kidder). The first two movies are standout sci-fi motion pictures, despite hailing from the late ’70s, and the third one has worthy themes if you can adjust to the parody tone and cartoonish presence of Richard Pryor (at least his character has a worthy story arc). This one, by contrast, is disappointing due to the second rate vibe. While there are some entertaining elements, the drop in quality is just too noticeable. The film runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot entirely in England with establishing shots of New York City, The Golden Gate Bridge, The Great Wall of China, etc. GRADE: C

<em>'Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'</em> isn't one I'll be filing anywhere near 'good', though it is at least a minimal improvement on III and <em>'Supergirl'</em>. It has a pleasantly short run time of just under 90 minutes and features a plot that I didn't find totally terrible. Christopher Reeve stars as Superman for the final time, to as decent effect as you'd expect. Gene Hackman makes a return as Lex Luthor, to my support - I think he's the one I'll remember most from these films, aside from the main guy obviously. It's not Hackman on top form, but still solid enough. Overall though, I didn't get the required entertainment. I do think it starts better than it finishes, the end noticeably drags. One big reason for that is the Nuclear Man character. Any time he appears, I was uninterested. The 'switching' in front of Lois Lane is also extremely repetitive by this point. A blessing for all involved that this era of Superman concluded here. Now to see what they did for 2006's <em>'Superman Returns'</em>, a movie I'm a little surprised didn't cross my path as a kid to be honest; as the Spiderman flicks from those years did. Maybe I'll find out why!