Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Last night was the very first time i have ever seen this film. How can it be so different to the excellent first two Superman films starring Christopher Reeve.
Whereas Superman (1978) isn't merely a comic book film it's a cinematic landmark this third sequel feels like it's based on the dumbest comic book imaginable.
It had several financial issues and you can tell. The script feels like a collection of scenes with barely any connecting narrative - Lex Luthor escapes, Superman decides to rid the world of nuclear weapons, Lex then decides to create his own Superman fueled by the energy of the sun who obviously has to fight Superman (Best not to go there as there are plot holes so big they even hit me round the head).
The special effects range from decent to awful, often during the same sequence in what is a Poundland superhero film with Milton Keynes doubling for Metropolis (I kid you not). I was gutted for Reeve and especially Gene Hackman trying and failing to make something out of this rubbish. This is the great actor who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of cop Popeye Doyle in The French Connection (1971) and would go on to win another for Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992) and he's reduced to voicing a super villain straight out of a cereal packet.
As far as fourth films go this makes Jaws: The Revenge seem like a masterpiece.
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