Rating:  -
"After Superman: The Movie's epic storytelling and Superman II's awesome battles, how could the first two hits be topped?" Well definately not by this one! Lester takes on as director in this one (only three quarters of Superman II was his), he falls flat. The only reason this is even getting two stars is because of Christopher Reeve, who continues to give everything he's got to the character. This time acting out good and evil sides of Superman (though I will admit that Superman's "evil" deeds come across as misdemeanors at best. Even the repositioning of Pisa comes across not really being all that evil, though probably more of the writers fault than Reeve). His scenes with Lana (played by Annette O'Toole, the only other saving grace in this picture, who would later star in Smallville, which I think shames the Superman franchise, but that's only my opinion) are well acted and you can see that Clark still has a high school crush on her. Pryor is not funny. Not at all. The only reason he was in this one is because the producers saw him on Johnny Carson and he said how much he loved part II, which is a stupid reason for anyone to be cast in a film. Robert Vaughn does what he can with Ross Webster (who is more or less a clone of Luthor) but he at least comes off better than Pryor. The story is downright shameful to what they had in the first two films. Gorman miraculously discovers he has a talent for computer programming when he can't even keep a job for more than 28 minutes? And none of his previous jobs had him anywhere near computers anyway. And there's the satellite which can be reprogrammed to create weather? Yeah I have a better chance of believing people flying around in space without any oxygen. Well the Salkinds did always want to make a campy Superman film and they did it. I guess they figured that with Donner and Mankiewicz out of the way, people would see this movie just because it has Superman. They should've stuck with their original idea of having Brainiac, Supergirl and Mr. Mxyzptlk involved. In fact, Gorman was supposed to be Brainiac (which would explain the supercomputer having a life of its own) but it was not to be. Little did we know though, that twelve years from now, Batman would be facing campy problems with his third movie. Coincidence? The action sequences are subpar, the only really exciting set pieces are Superman vs. Clark in the junkyard, the Grand Canyon missile attack and to lesser extents, the chemical factory scene and the supercomputer. And I guess nobody decided to tell the editor that the wires are visible in a few scenes. Couldn't they have smudged them out? Even if they didn't do it back then, they definately could've done it now, this being a Deluxe Edition. Ken Thorne, I think, is probably the only one besides Reeve and O'Toole, who didn't mess up this picture. His music sounds better with this (and thank goodness you can hardly hear the songs. They sounded horrible). This had so much potential and it pains me to give a DC movie two stars featuring one of my favorite superheroes (I usually reserve that for Marvel's movies though this movie was better than Spider-Man 3).
Rating: -
This is Superman III, the third entry in the franchise, and probably the silliest. August ''Gus'' Gorman (Richard Pryor) was looking for a job and found one at a computer company run by a corrupt millionaire Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn), his younger sister Vera (Annie Ross), and girlfriend Lorelei Ambrosia (Pamela Stephenson). Meanwhile, Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) convinces Perry White (Jackie Cooper) to let him attend his High School Reunion in Smallville, while Lois (Margot Kidder) goes on a vacation to Bermuda. At the reunion, he was reunited with Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole) who is now a mother to Ricky (Paul Kaethler). At Ricky's birthday party, Gus and Vera, in disguise as soldiers give Superman a messed-up chunk of Kryptonite in an attempt to kill him, but due to a minor component modification, it causes him to slowly go crazy. He became neglegent at his duties and messed things up by causing an oil spill and moving the Leaning Tower of Piza straight. Then the gang plot to use the sattelites to control Earth's weather. When Superman sank into alcoholism and depression in front of everyone, Ricky pleads for him to snap out of it and that plea gives him the strength to fight it. It causes him to split into two personas, the evil version Vs. Clark Kent. Clark successfully defeats his evil clone and goes to redeem himself by fixing everything, stopping the three villans, and saving Gus. In the series, this entry was okay, but the jokes and the intro were cornier. Richard Pryor was allright, but he and Richard Lester are better off in comedy films. It did have some neat ideas, like Superman saving a chemical plant from a fire, for example. Christopher Reeve's performance as a corrupted version of Superman and the battle of both versions is the highlight of this entry. Unless you are a true D.C. Comics fan, please rent this one before you buy it.
Rating: -
Extra! Extra!
Read all about it!
Producers destroy Superman film series with large amounts of cheese!
I got the Deluxe Edition. I enjoy the extras like the deleted scenes, and the commentary by the ever funny Ilya Salkind & P. Spengler. There is just something I like about Ilya Salkind, I don't know what it is.
The duality struggle of Superman was the only concept in this entire movie that has any real major motion picture value. The rest plays like a light weight overly family friendly T.V. quality production. yes, you see lots of wires showing. In the opening credits scene, they uses a extremely cheap method of just blurring the top of the image to hide the wires. These guys have no shame!
The bad jokes and prat falls start right off the bat with what seems to be a homage to the old Buster Keaton films of almost 100 years ago. that's right, a full 5 minuet Buster Keaton tribute in a Superman film.
We then get nothing new or exciting to the superman universe for the next hour.
Included are, an obligatory Daily Planet scene where we get absolutely none of the clever dialog that was present in the original film (or Donner shot segments of the second). Sure it's great to see the gang together again, but I can re-watch the original Superman The Movie for that. Hi Lois, bye Lois. Now on to a ho-hum factory fire with lame effects. These are the kind of effect gags you now see as part of a run of the mill movie studio theme park tour. Next, we meet our Lex Luthor clone. Robert Vaughn, poor poor Robert Vaughn. Let's move on.
Richard Pryor does a good job with this role. Problem is, that this role should NOT be in a Superman film. Fact is, that this movie looks to me as nothing more then a way for the then Producers to make money, and at the same time butter up studio people in Hollywood. They did absolutely no more then they had to, then to deliver a product that would be acceptable under contracts. This project lacks that feeling of Love that the first film (and parts of the second) had. The Smallvile scenes lack any feeling of Americana nostalgia. Annette O' Toole was great casting, and she is a wonderful adult version of the Lana we had been introduced to in the first film. It's her son we don't need. Anything that has to do with the character of little Ricky is purely nauseating. It's unfortunate that Reeve strongly supported this sugar coated family friendly type element in the films. Due to this twisted view of Reeve's, another nauseating little nerd would be a major part of the Superman IV plot.
Now we start to get to the only worthy part of the film. The evil Superman sub-plot.
Sure, Reeve did a great job playing the evil side of Superman. His acting in the Bar, outside on the street, and then in the Junkyard is some of his best acting as Superman he had ever done. To give the writers some credit (and I truly hate to), the use of common Tobacco Tar as a replacement for an unknown element needed to synthesize Kryptonite was clever and amusing.
Pure Kryptonite would have slowly killed Superman (as it was doing to him in the first film). In Superman III, Guss Gorman uses a deep space probe and computer to identify the elements within Kryptonite. The computer returned something like 97% of the elements needed. The last 3% where classified by the computer as unknown. Not wanting to give up, Gorman just used the first element that came to mind for the last 3%. That element was TAR.
The only time Superman can really show off how super he is, is when he is fighting a force (or forces) as great (or greater) then himself. Any scenes of superman doing any of his super-feats that does not involve such an element became boring right after his night of rescues shown in the first movie. The Factory Fire, Wheat Field Rescue, Bomb at Eiffel Tower (once superman arrives), Lois's Subway Rescue in IV, etc. are all just ok scenes, but they became obligatory very fast in the series. I'm with the camp of people who say that it would have been great in part IV, if instead of Nuclear Man, the foe would have been evil Superman played by Reeve. But due to the fact the idea was wasted in (or saved) Superman III, it was not done.
The only other note worthy scene, is the end battle with the super computer. As I am sure other reviewers have said, This part of the film can become scary for very young children (under 8).
This movie will most likely entertain older children (8 - 12), and disappoint most older then that. The campy style, and goody goody Reagan Era softness killed any chance of this becoming an epic super hero action film like the original.
So the bottom line is:
Great for Kids (9-12), Great if you need to own all the movies (good or bad), and great if you love anything with Chris Reeve in it.
Get the Deluxe Edition if you enjoy deleted scenes and commentary.
Rating:  -
I guess I am in the minority on this, but I honestly think this 3rd chapter was the best of the 4.
Very quickly, we meet Richard Pryor who is a down on his luck man who can not hold a job. But he finally finds a spot as a computer programmer, where he accidentally uncovers his hidden talents. He is willing to play a few 'cheat games' with the computers for a bit of financial gain. (So the hint of the developing villain is there. BUT, on the other hand, he does NOT want anyone to really get hurt, and that will define his character. After being caught stealing $85,000. from his work place, his boss is so impressed, that he wants Pryor to exploit the other possible capabilities of computers for exploitation on a much greater scale.
Superman (or should I say Clark Kent) goes back to his home town for his high school reunion. And we meet Lana and Brad (whom we met briefly in Part 1). Lana still likes Clark. But Brad still hates Clark. And in this small town, Clark Kent and Richard Pryor bump into each other (literally)! Great irony! (Pryor is on a mission to destroy the coffee grounds of Columbia.)
Superman thwarts this plan, but Pryor's boss (Vaughn) wants Superman dead now. Vaughn's new plan is to gain control of the world's oil supplies. (And we can see that Pryor understandably starts to get cold feet as Vaughn becomes more ruthless and ambitious.)
In a failed plan by Vaughn to kill Superman, there is an interesting side affect. Superman becomes darker and more selfish. (This really shows Reeve's acting abilities by the way.) This ends in a climactic showdown where Superman must fight the evil in himself! This is arguably the GREATEST scene in the whole saga!
Moving on, Superman has to fight this ultimate computer (constructed for Vaughn for world conquest) that can fight back on its own. And somehow, we get the impression that if Richard Pryor does not have a change of heart, 'The Man of Steel may be destroyed by steel.' (So it is not only superpowers that may save the day, but personal redemption as well. GREAT!)
Overall, I grant this 3rd chapter the top spot because it has the perfect combination and intervals of normalcy, menace, comic relief, unfolding events, surprises, horror, and even redemption.
I know I'm in the minority on this, but I really think this 3rd chapter was the best.
Rating:  -
Despite the directorial struggles that plagued the simultaneous shooting of Superman I and II (Richard Donner being ousted in favor of Richard Lester), the films did very well financially, prompting a third effort. However, instead of the epic feel and formula of the first two films, this one falls completely flat for numerous reasons:
-First, the direction of Lester. After watching this film, I am now convinced that Richard Donner really was the mastermind behind the success of the Superman film franchise, as Lester's "Superman III" is riddled with stupid humor and sight gags that do nothing to enhance the film viewing experience. Ironically enough, Donner was supposedly booted from the director's seat of Superman II due to too much farcical humor, but Lester is much worse in that department in this film.
-The actors also seem to be sleep-walking through their roles, or were completely miscast in the first place. The new villain is wooden and doesn't hold a candle to Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor, while Richard Pryor's "funny" antics only make the whole film seem like a farce. Even Christopher Reeve, the centerpiece of the Superman franchise, turns in a sub-par performance both as the "heroic" and "bad" Superman. Not until the last few moments of the film does he seem to snap out of his acting doldrums and become the heroic character I remembered from the first two films.
-The special effects are also a big step down from the previous efforts. At one point, the wires holding Reeve in the air can be clearly seen, while Superman's landings at times are not as smooth as they were in the earlier films. Once again, in this area "Superman III" could not recapture the greatest of the majestic special effects of the first two movies.
-Finally, the two main plots in the film fall as flat as the acting, casting, and special effects. The "bad Supes" thread could have been done much more effectively (think of the good Kirk/bad Kirk in the old Star Trek: Original Series), and the same can be said for the "supercomputer" angle (Captain Kirk talking a computer into submission is much more compelling by comparison).
Sadly, then, this film fails in nearly ever aspect of filmmaking. Instead of sticking with the lofty ideals and walking the fine line between heroic and cheesy that Donner did in the first two films, Lester tried to make a campier version of Superman and failed miserably. The only reason I would "recommend" this film to anyone is to show them how horribly wrong a film franchise can turn. Hard-core Supes fans will watch this film regardless of what I say, but to the casual fan I say that you can EASILY skip these two hours of boredom and not miss a beat in your Superman viewing experience.
|
