Customer Reviews

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (Widescreen)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

While this film is considered a low-point in the Superman series, it still packs enough action and familiar faces to keep Superman fans entertained. Christopher Reeve once again delivers a knock-out performance as the Man of Steel in this final installment. He even helped write the provocative theme of nuclear disarmament that could have made this the best of the series, had it not been for the drastic budget cuts made by Canon films midway through filming. Despite this, it is still an intriguing premise that is further enhanced by the return of Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder and the rest of the classic cast from the original Superman movie. They have such wonderful chemistry together that it makes it easier to look past any holes in the plot. The movie has been re-mastered for this DVD release and it features a fair amount of supplemental material. Not only is there a commentary by screenwriter Mark Rosenthal but also over 30 minutes of never-before-shown deleted scenes! While it has not been re-integrated back into the film (a grave oversight that I hope WB will one day remedy), it can be accessed from the deleted scenes section of the menu. Fans will finally get to see Superman's confrontation with Luthor's first Bizarro-like creation, more fight sequences with Nuclear Man, Clark's farewell to Lacy Warfield, and so much more! As someone that grew up with the Superman movies, it's always great to see more footage of Christopher Reeve's iconic interpretation of the Man of Steel. He made the character so likable that it's a shame that circumstances beyond his control made his final outing so disjointed. Regardless, the chance to see more of his performance as Superman makes this DVD worth adding to any fan's collection.

After running the series into the ground, with the almost cartoonish Superman III, it looked as if Superman were finally defeated by his greatest enemy...poor box office reciepts. But then, a few years later, star Christopher Reeve came up with an idea for one last adventure. Just like the last two sequels though, Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, didn't turn out as good as it could have.

After a poor test screening, it was decided that more than 35 minutes of footage would be edited out, leaving us with a very poorly edited film---filled with obvious plot holes that left some viewers scratching their heads. Another problem was the fact that the effects budget was slashed and boy does it show. The Salkinds refused to sell the equipment that made Reeve "fly" so well in the past, to the new producers, which also hurt the look of the film...At least original cast members Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman were both recruited to return to active duty.

Made at a time when President Reagan challenged Gorbachev to tear down that wall, the film takes a look at how our hero might deal with a still raging cold war. Superman (Reeve) is asked by a young boy to, "rid the world of all nuclear weapons" Troubled that Earth may suffer the same fate as Krypton's, he agrees, and for a time our world is safe. Lex Luthor (Hackman) has other plans. He decides to create a Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow) to defeat Superman once and for all, while rearming the world for his own financial gain.

It's a shame that the film has so many problems. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing the uncut version of the film anyway, and then let the chips fall where they may. Directed by Sidney J. Furie, Superman IV gets higher marks than third movie, because of Reeve and the return of Hackman. Both actors elevate the film in ways that Richard Pryor could not in Superman III.

The theatrical trailer is the DVD's only extra. With the relaunch of the franchise taking forever, let's see both Richard Donner's version of Superman II, and Superman IV uncut.

this movie had a better storyline than number three.(actually there's
two story lines).it isn't as silly either.the problem though,lies how
cheaply made it is.the special effects,if you can call them that,are
laughable.the acting also seems to suffer here.it seems the actors knew
they were in a a poorly done movie,so they may as well put as little
effort as possible into their performances.frankly,to me,most of the
actors look embarrassed to be there.i will say that choice of villain
was good,but the character himself is too over the top for me.plus,the
fight scenes are way too protracted.the movie does also get a bit sappy
at times,which i guess you can expect given its subject matter.still,it
was a bit too much for me.however,despite its problems,i like this
movie more than number three.for me,Superman IV is a 2.5/5

By far out of story, Superman 4 The Quest for Peace was the weakest of the four films. The main problem with Superman 4 was the dramatic cutting made on the movie. The original running time was 134 mins, but it was knocked down to a disappointing 90 mins cause the 134 min version didn't do to well in a screening. It possible that a screening never took place and the story was never actually finished so they made did with what they had.

Cause of its terrible cuts, the story appears to jump and some voice overs can be seen in the film. I beleive that if Superman 4 remained at its 134 min version, Superman 4 would have been a far greater success. According to film resources the extra footage no longer exists. But there was budget restrictions on Superman 4 which is why it was totally filmed at Pinewood Studios.

Superman 4 The Quest for Peace actually feels more like a TV movie than an epic blockbuster.

A poor end to what started out as a great series of films.

This movie was terrible. They should have stopped making Superman movies after the second one. Gene Hackman what were you thinking doing this movie? You almost destroyed your acting career with this garbage. Not to mention a zillion plot holes. Like the girl breathing in space and it being daylight in both America and China at the same time. Absolutely atrocious.

Superman IV has done the impossible and created a super film on a modest $15 million budget. The most sincere performance from Christopher Reeve is in this movie. The music in this film is in my opinion the BEST in the series...yes even better than the first. Alexander Courage (with help from John Williams) did an amazing job. There are as many GOOD f/x too... I hate it when people critisize the F/X ...when one uses a cost factor for the F/X then one could argue that this film has the BEST F/X of the series. Thank you Mr Reeve for making Superman IV. This will always be my favourite Superman movie and I'll always defend it. I'd love to see the missing 45 minutes someday. Warner are u listening ?

Here are my favorite quotes from the movie:

Miss Thomas:Now I know you're all upset by the crisis. The best thing we can do is to try to think positively. Now, is there anything we CAN do? Does anyone have a suggestion? All right. I'LL make a suggestion. Why don't we write to our congressman?
Fellow Student #1:THAT won't do a lot of good.
Miss Thomas:Somebody has to be an optimist. Jeremy, what do YOU think we can do about the crisis?
Fellow Student #2:He doesn't even know what's going on.
Jeremy:I'd tell you who I'D write a letter that would do some good.
Fellow Student #3:WHO? Santa Claus?
Jeremy:No! SUPERMAN!
Museum Guide:Superman,the subject of our latest exibit, has greatfully donated a strand of his hair to the museum, so we can see how strong he really is. As you can see,a 1,000-pound load easily suspended by hs single hair! The museum will be closing soon, so we should hurry a little.
Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman):You know what I can do with a strand of Superman's hair?

Lenny Luthor:You can make a toupee that flies.
Lex:That hair is a sample of Superman's genetic material. The building blocks of his body. With my genius and enough nuclear power to mutate the genes I can create a being who's more powerful than him. With total allegiance to me. You better stand back. Keep your eye out.

Mr. Warfield: Welcome to Metropolis, Jeremy. I'm Mr. Warfield and this is my daughter, Lacy Warfield.
Lacy Warfield:Hi, Jeremy
Mr. Warfield:Now come along and meet the press. Don't you trip.
Lacy:The car had a flat.
Mr. Warfield:Sorry to hear that. Turn around. Let everybody get a picture of you. That's it, everyone. What a boy! Now come along and tell the American public what YOU told ME.
Jeremy:I just said I wish Superman would've said yes.
Mr. Warfield:Did you get that?
Reporters:No,we didn't.
Mr Warfield:Well, say it again. Loudly.
Jeremy:I just said I wish Superman would've said yes!

Superman must defeat Atomicman. Not much else. A valiant attempt to revive the sagging Superman series.

Christopher Reeve returns as "Superman" one last time. The story for this film was in part written by Christopher Reeve. Clark returns to his farm in Smallville where he grew up. The land is for sale. He goes back to the barn where he finds the glowing emerald spike. It is the last gift from his real mother on Planet Krypton (that was put in the module with him as a baby). Once he uses it, then he will be truly alone, without the guidence of his real dad or mother in image. His second parents that found him and raised him are now gone too. Clark has second thoughts about selling the farm. Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) is out of prison again. With a strand of Superman's hair, Lex is able to collect enough DNA to create "Nuclear Man" (Mark Pillow) who gets his energy from the sun. The special effects in this last one are really shoddy. The "blue screen" effect and how it pales Reeve and changes the color of his costume is yucky. Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) are still the best. Sadly, this forth film really was to be the last Superman film for Christopher Reeve. On May 27, 1995, Reeve had a horse-riding accident and it left him parlyzed and had to continue breathing by a generated machine. His ability to talk and breathe has much improved. He still acts on television occasionally which one project included a guest spot on the WB tv series "Smallville" on February 23, 2003 in the episode "Rosetta". Reeeve will also return in a new episode of "Smallville" in 2004. Reeve also did a special commercial some years back where he was computer-imaged standing up again.

Well trying one last time to do a Superman sequal, Chris Reeve did get most of the cast back, and fought hard to get a good screenplay for the movie. What really shot the movie in the dirt was the effects. The film company who did the effects ended up using a lower budget which made the movie look terrible. When Superman flew, the image looked grainy and unfocused. Like the effects team were really the pits at doing the effects needed to make Superman look good when he flew.
Chris did ask Richard Donner to helm this movie, but he had to decline due to other movie projects, so the director who was hired to do it, was not that great. He might have tried his best to make it look good, but couldn't. The movie's only redeaming quality was that they finally had a composer who could score music that was much more fitting to the themes John Williams did for the first movie, and this was Star Trek composer Alexander Courage. At least he made the music sound good. After this movie, there were no more Superman movies, and it was sad to end it on a low note.