Plagued with a
horrible storyline and graphics that practically ruin the legacy of the last
three Superman films, this is a movie where, 20 minutes in, you’re sure you’ve
wasted your time. You might even start to feel sorry for Christopher Reeve for
being part of this film and for how it tarnished the wonderful franchise he
built as Superman.
Superman IV: The
Quest for Peace is a movie where the story revolves around Lex Luthor
deciding to take on Superman on his own turf. While that might sound fun, the
writers and producers found a way to wreck it. Despite numerous ways they could
have spun this—like introducing Bizarro—they decided to go with Nuclear Man.
Before you rack your brain trying to figure out who Nuclear Man is in the comic
world, don’t bother—he’s not there. He’s just a character the writers made up
to fill the void.
Beyond the
ridiculous premise, the movie is full of plot holes. For example, how did
Nuclear Man know where Lex was? How come when Lex called Superman, he said,
“Only you can hear me,” yet his picture appeared on a large display screen?
Then there’s the whole Clark and Superman double-dating scam, which made the
women look foolish for not figuring out that Clark didn’t come back up when he
missed his elevator. I could go on picking apart this movie’s plot, but there’s
no point.
The movie was
both a critical and commercial failure, largely because the producers of the
first three films (Alexander and Ilya Salkind) had already damaged the series
with Superman III (1983), which leaned into comedy instead of staying
serious. They tried to revive the franchise with Supergirl (1984),
which also flopped critically and commercially. After these consecutive
failures, they sold the franchise.
The new owners
made this film with a minimal budget and what feels like the crappiest script
they could find. Jon Cryer, who played Lex’s nephew Lenny Luthor, even noted
that the movie felt like an unfinished project due to the studio running out of
money.
As mentioned
earlier, the movie’s plot revolves around Lex getting revenge on Superman. His
plan kicks off when his nephew Lenny breaks him out of prison. Lex steals a
strand of Superman’s hair from a museum and uses it to create a clone—not just
any clone, but one powered by solar energy. This new villain is named Nuclear
Man. Now, Superman has to face off against a clone who’s just as powerful as he
is.
I really wish this film had never been made.
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