Rating:  -
In my opinion I think Superman IV is my favorite of the series. Nuclear Man as a villian can be corny but the movie is still fun to watch. I liked Superman's speech at the end. I wish they would release a 134 minute version of this on DVD pretty soon. I went to the store the other day and bought this on DVD. I almost didn't want to buy it because a lot of people hate it and don't care for it anymore but I just bought it anyways and ignored them. This movie sure does bring back a lot of memories by watching it. I enjoy all Superman films but my favorite is four. Christopher Reeve will always be Superman!
Rating: -
In this cinematic masterpiece, Christopher Reeve returns as Superman, putting all prior Superman movies to shame.
The special effects are some of the most spectacular ever seen on the silver screen, and the sparks fly as the chemistry between Reeve and newcomer Mariel Hemingway sizzles with the intensity of an atomic bomb.
And speaking of atomic bombs, the villian is best of all. Nuclear Man is at once godlike and terrifying, and the fate of all humanity lies in the balance as he and Superman battle. Easily one of Hollywood's top five action scenes ever is when Superman and Nuclear Man duke it out on the moon, in a tour-de-force of high tech wizardry, drama, and action.
I mean come ON!!! Superman repairing the Great Wall of China with just a glance is an instant crowd-pleaser, sure to excite the geek in all of us, and is one of the most inspired tinsel-town moments of all time.
Best of all, Gene Hackman returns with his finest performance ever, a career-topper that is surpassed only by the equally unforgettable and hilarious antics of co-star Jon Cryor. Their onscreen repoire at once recalls--and outshines--that of Hackman and Beatty in the first film.
And whoever composed the score for Superman IV is MUCH better than John Williams.
Rating:  -
...i gave 2 stars only because of Mr. Reeves great stance on peace and lives of everyone...but S 4 was just awfull.
...part of the movie when nuclear man flies off with Mz.Hemmingway , he takes her beyond Earth's atmosphere and she is still kicking and screaming(even an idiot would know that a person would die so far up into the atmosphere let alone in space w/ out a space suit)...
that sums up this movie(if i get the set of 4 i'll sell or trade in S 4...
Rating:  -
Superman has stopped robbers, robots, and terrorists, done battle with a trio of his own kind, defeated Lex Luthor twice, and even taken on himself in adventures past, but none of those heroic deeds has prepared him for his most intimidating foe, the Nuclear Arms Race! The year is 1987, and a failed world summit has the entire planet in a grip of fear, when a concerned teacher encourages her students to offer solutions to the terrifying predicament. Write your congressman? That'll never work. Write Superman? Now there's an idea! When a young boy's tear-jerking letter to Superman arrives at the Daily Planet in care of Lois Lane, new publisher (and daughter of the Planet's new owner) Lacy Warfield immediately sees it as a chance to increase the paper's waning sales! Soon, the whole world knows of the boy's request that Superman disarm the planet and make it safe from annihilation once again, and the whole world waits in eager anticipation for Superman's reply. The poor man of steel has enough trouble though, just balancing Lacy's advances on his alter-ego, Clark Kent, against his unclear relationship with co-worker Lois Lane. Superman contemplates the problem intensely, nonetheless, and eventually comes to that unavoidable decision: Superman will rid the world of nuclear arms! With the U.N. behind him all the way, Superman rounds up all the nuclear weapons on the planet, swings them around and around in a giant net, and hurls them into our life-giving sun! The world can breathe easy once again. Little does Superman know that his arch enemy, Lex Luthor, has escaped from prison with the help of his dimwitted nephew Lenny. With the cooperation of nuclear weapons dealers from around the world, Lex has planted a special little surprise for Superman amidst the weapons he has hurled into the son: a special recipe for creating an anti-Superman! A Nuclear Man!
Christopher Reeve's heart may have been fully into the idea of "Superman IV: The Quest For Peace," unfortunately, the movie itself comes off as an incredibly half-hearted attempt at a real Superman film. I won't go into the effects issues. Apparently, the budget wasn't quite as high for film number four. Also, I tend to be very forgiving of Superman films for having "fantastic science." Clearly, spinning the Earth in reverse would do more harm than good, and certainly would not turn back time, yet we all love the original Superman movie! I just look at events like these in Superman films as an homage to the early days of Superman, when people actually might have believed something like that would have worked. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see such crazy feats performed in Superman cartoons and comics when I was a kid, so it doesn't bother me so much to see them done in Superman films. Additional, god-like Superman powers in Superman movies I am less comfortable with, however, I seem to recall these turning up throughout the previous films as well. No, these are only small aspects of what makes "Superman IV" a failed, though still watchable, attempt at giving the franchise one more go. This film is just poor quality; simple as that. The story is rushed, flat, and uninteresting. The film takes for granted the fact that we know most of the characters, the new ones are exceedingly two-dimensional, and the story (what little there is of one) just doesn't go anywhere. Superman does battle with this dangerous but dense Frankenstein and the audience learns you can't hug your children with nuclear arms. Nothing special, and nothing much to rave about once the movie is over, unlike the other Superman films (yes, I like Superman 3!). Sure, the lesson is important, but did anyone go into this film thinking nuclear weapons were a great thing? And, after all, the ending doesn't really resolve anything in that direction. All you really get with "Superman IV" is another Superman battles super-villain story, this time badly executed (yes, possibly due in part to the excessive editing I have heard so much about). There are some good moments here and there, such as the Smallville scene, Clark pulling a Jack Tripper as he tries to have a date with Lois and Lacy at the same time, and other fun bits. We do get Gene Hackman back as Lex, though he's sadly wasted in this Superman film that doesn't even have the cinematic "look" of the previous three. I'm sure he still helps the film considerably. I also didn't mind the addition of Jon Cryer as his idiot nephew. I found the Lenny character to be quite funny against the elder Luthor, even if there were moments when his Valley dialect did cause eyes to roll. Still, over all, "Superman IV: The Quest For Peace" is watchable at best, and only for the Superman fan that doesn't require every Superman film to be...well...super. Once again, as with the other Superman sequels, the DVD is practically bare bones. We are given little more than a theatrical trailer and some cast filmographies. Cross your fingers, all you folks who are crying out for an uncut version. If Warner's Batman releases can be used as any sort of guideline, perhaps next year's "Superman Returns" will be heralded by Special Edition releases of all the Christopher Reeve Superman films!
Rating:  -
I tried to like this movie, I really did. I loved all the Superman movies, even the third with Richard Pryor and all that campy, silly, humor they added into it. But this was just so bad.
It's so hard to like this movie, they were playing on cliches and tired themes from the last three movies. Margo Kidder got older - and looked it! - and was obviously self medicating to compensate for the bad time they were having. Mariel Hemingway costars as the sexy manager who is actually the boss's daughter, who, for reasons we are never quite privy too, prefers Clark Kent over Superman despite his bumbling antics. And not like it wasn't obvious throughout the other movies, but ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME THAT THEY REALLY DIDN'T KNOW THAT CLARK KENT WAS SUPERMAN!?!?!?!? The man had an absolutely positively perfect body this side of Morten Harket and they DIDN'T KNOW?!?! Those thick glasses and dorky suits only hid so much!!!
Lex comes back with Nuclear Man, who looks like a rip off of that guy from Greatest American Hero with a relaxing job on his curls. Superman almost dies but is saved, miracle of miracles, by the last remaining crystal from the asteroid pod he came to earth on. Lois Lane has a rememberance of her love for Superman but conveniently forgets again with the magic kiss. And worst of them all, Superman didn't really save the day! He wanted to rid the earth of all nuclear weapons, and didn't! "Make Love Not War" didn't work in the hippie era, it didn't work in the Regan era, and it ain't happening today either! This laid a big fat goose egg and ended the series on a bad note. What a shame it was all down hill for Christopher Reeve after that, otherwise I think he would've had a much more rewarding career in films.
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