Rating:  -
Once in a while, a movie comes along that isn't what it was expected to be, and is unfairly criticized for it. "Superman III" is just such a movie. It's not a great film. In fact, it's far from it. But it's not the terrible film it's supposed to be either (that would be "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" - a complete misfire and total waste of time.) In "Superman III" a computer programmer (Richard Pryor) is hired by a generic villain(Robert Vaughn) to use his vast computer knowledge (the movie is a bit dated - everyone is in awe of these newfangled computers) to make him rich (crashing the stock market, etc.) The only problem: Superman keeps saving the day. So, the villains do what any good villain has to do: try to kill Superman. They do this by generating their own kryptonite, but they get the recipe wrong: their kryptonite makes Superman a mean-spirited, apathetic slob. He straightens the Leaning Tower of Pisa, he makes passes at women, etc. This leads to a truly great scene in which Clark Kent separates himself from the bad Superman and they fight it out at a junkyard. I won't spoil who wins the battle, but keep in mind that they did make a sequel. The movie also has a nice subplot in which Clark Kent goes back to his hometown of Smallville for a high school reunion, where a romance with Lana Lang(Annette O'Toole) ensues. By the way, Margot Kidder does nothing but a cameo in this one as Lois Lane. I'm just guessing, but could this be because she was embarrased about the steamy scenes she did with Pryor in "Some Kind of Hero"? Maybe, maybe not, but it sure makes for interesting speculation. The DVD transfer is decent, and you do get it in widescreen, which is always better than those ...pan-and-scan VHS copies. However, there are no special features save for a trailer. This is troubling because according to Leonard Maltin, several minutes of footage were added when this movie premiered on network television. So where are these extra minutes on the DVD? I would have liked to at least seen them included in a deleted scenes section. But, alas, we are left with nothing but the unspectacular, though far from terrible, third movie in the Superman series.
Rating:  -
Conceived as a vehicle for comedian Richard Pryor, Superman III is the least successful of the series. Despite a somewhat prescient storyline dealing with the use of computers to manipulate the economy, the script has no depth and very little entertainment value. Margot Kidder's Lois Lane has been reduced to a brief walk-on part, and the rest of the cast appears to be merely going through the motions. Even Christopher Reeve, who was reportedly very angry about the producers treatment of Kidder, is lacking his usual charm.
The visual effects are not on the same level as in the previous two movies: models blatantly look miniature, most of the flying sequences look two-dimensional, and there are numerous instances of visible wires... In short, there is none of the epic-scope that marked the first film and most of the second. ...the final confrontation between Superman and the supercomputer is flat out boring--looking as if it has been lifted from a cheap 1950s science-fiction movie. Lester's Metropolis scenes lack the razzmatazz of Richard Donner's scenes in Superman I.
The picture quality on the DVD is good but not outstanding. The sound is flat and lacks dynamic range.
Rating: -
When you watch any one of the four Superman movies, you have to put yourself in the kind of mood you were in when you were 10 or 11 years old and still reading Comic books, - otherwise, you won't be able to stand it at all. By definition, the Superman character has a lot of muscle and a lot of heart but very little brain: that gives you the measure of the kind of expectations you want to allow yourself to have when watching any of the four movies. As long as you can «psych» yourself down to that sort of mindset, it is still possible to enjoy all of them. - Actually, it's Superman III that I found the most stimulating. There's a lot of meandering around (not very interesting) in Smallville, - echoes of Peyton Place. And then, the Richard Pryor character is quite incredible and seems light years away from the computer genius he's made out to be here. However, the episode where Superman's personality gets split up in two and then when he returns to his original character more than makes up for all that. Even though it would obviously be too much to ask, given the kind of stuff we're dealing with here, I would have liked to see Superman acquire a little more sophistication as a result of his unfortunate experience. But no, even after all the uncharacteristic drinking and carousing, - although that's when he looks the most like a real man and not just like a cardboard figure, - good old Superman still comes out like the nice big «sap» he was before. But when I say that, I know I'm not being fair: you always have to keep yourself «in the spirit» of this kind of thing, otherwise you're missing it completely and you're depriving yourself of a lot of good clean fun.
Rating:  -
This is a great sequel simply because of the triple role that Christopher Reeve tackles in this film. Not only does he play Clark Kent and Superman, but he also shows us what Superman would be like if he went bad! Plus, we get to see Clark Kent take on his evil counterpart in a fight scene right out a Superman comic book! Richard Pryor is also on hand to supply a bit more comedy than needed from a Superman movie, but he is likable as the bumbling computer genius. Margot Kidder is not given much screen time but Annette O' Toole's Lana Lang fills the role of the token love interest nicely. The flying scenes are probably the best out of the entire series and Reeve is definitely the most buff he's ever been as Superman. A terrific performance by Christopher Reeve and great special effects make this great fun but not quite as magical as the first two Superman movies.
Rating: -
The worst of the Supermans. I remember when it was released, the choice of the masses was either Return of the Jedi or Superman III. At first, it came as a tough decision, because both Superman II and Empire surpassed their predecessors. Anyway, I saw both, and when I watched Superaman III, I thought the comedy was tailored for numbskulls. I didn't laugh once. Best scene: the fight between the evil Superman and Clark Kent in the scrapyard. That's it. Improved special effects - notable longer "Reeve on a wire" sequences when "Supe" takes off and lands. THAT'S IT... I TOLD ALL MY FRIENDS TO SEE JEDI. No competition. Bon Voyage, Superman.
|
