Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Plot
After a young schoolboy writes to Superman asking him to do something about the nuclear arms race, the Man of Steel decides to intervene and help his adopted planet. He gathers all of the nuclear weapons in the world and hurtles them into the sun, hoping that an era of world peace will follow. However what he doesn't know was that Lex Luthor had acquired some of Superman's hair from a raid on a museum and attaches it to one of the missiles. The resulting explosion creates Nuclear Man, a solar-powered android that is programmed to destroy the Earth and Superman.

Review
Every big hitting film series has a franchise killer of some kind which usually kills dead any hope of further sequels. Superman met his franchise killer in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, a film which is rightfully dubbed as one of the worst superhero films ever made but one which also gets unfair treatment. Beneath the silly, the sublime and the ridiculous that is Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, there were a lot of studio problems which inevitably have had a major impact on the final product we see. After the studio got into financial trouble, the budget was slashed in half and it shows. The film also ended up 90 minutes long yet it was cut down drastically from it's original running time of 135 minutes! That's a heck of a lot of film to cut out and you just wonder whether any of it would have been beneficial to the final release. Unfortunately I can only review what is in front of me and deleted footage and director's cuts don't mean anything if I'm not watching it. So is the reputation for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace justified?

Forgetting the financial problems, the series was on it's last legs at this point from a creative point of view and you can tell by just how much is recycled from the previous films. It's the same familiar set-up: Lex Luther is once again the villain after escaping from prison yet Superman has many other villains to choose from. Lois Lane and Superman go for a romantic fly and she discovers his identity, only for him to use his memory-erasing kiss on her again (isn't that technically "date rape"). Superman has to fight another enemy with the same abilities (he's already fought three Kryptonians in Superman II and took on his evil self in Superman III). I guess making a superhero who only has one real weakness and almost limitless powers does have it's creative drawbacks! Thankfully the comedy aspects which dogged the last film and Richard Lester's contributions to Superman II have been replaced with a more mature side in which Superman makes some poignant speeches to the UN. It sounds more like a anti-nuclear propaganda reel at times with Reeves' (who co-wrote the film) passion about disarmament clear for all to see. The introduction of a rival being who could take on Superman should have led to a lot more than we get here. Nuclear Man is horrendous. Sporting a ridiculous outfit which makes Superman's blue-and-red ensemble look like the highlight of fashion, Nuclear Man looks like an 80s hair metal guitarist. He doesn't lay waste to cities or use his "nuclear" aspect for any nefarious purpose. Nuclear Man is devoid of any personality or defining feature, he's merely a henchman for Luthor and is there solely to provide Superman with a super-opponent to battle against. For all of Luther's intelligence and cunning, he is after all a man and therefore no physical match for Superman. The budget was slashed for this third sequel and you can tell with the special effects. Never the most convincing of flyers anyway, Superman now looks like he's being held up by wires and super-imposed on a rear-projected background. The final fight between Superman and Nuclear Man takes place across a variety of poorly made sets including the worst moon set you're going to see any time soon and contains the destruction of the Great Wall of China. It's a daft cross between cartoon mayhem and WWE wrestling and it doesn't work.