Rating:  -
"You can't take it with you," I've heard said. It's true: one cannot take it with one. When I heard this line (not in Superman III), I began to reflect in a way that I had never reflected before. When one dies--I mean, really dies--what does he carry from this life into the next? Not one's material objects, they are fleeting. One's memories? I hope so, because if I can't bring my film prints (material objects), and I can't bring my memories, then how will I bring Superman III to the afterworld? (I do not know what kind of afterworld there is, or if there is one at all, although I believe that there is.) If there was one thing in this non-permanent world that I could bring over into eternity, it would be Superman III. This is absolutely true. The only reason I'm alive right now is because of Superman III--what else is there in this world of suffering and tragedy? And yet, I am frightened by death. I am afraid of death because I don't know if there will be Superman III on The Other Side. Yes, horrible, terrible things have happened to me, and horrible, terrible things await me, and yet every day I am "in joy" (to quote Jim Perry) because Superman III is out there, and I know it so thoroughly, it's in my memory, I know every line, every shot, every gesture (and yet, still yet, there is always more to be discovered!), it is with me interminably, and it makes death frightening. I don't think that there is cinema in the other world, which is very, very depressing. I don't even want to talk about how sad it is. I weep, nightly. This movie was made by "life-affirm[er]" Richard Lester ("The Beatles A Hard Day's Night," "The Beatles Help!"), and it really stands above anything else out there. The comedy is very, VERY spot-on, with Richard Pryor doing his funny-man routine...it is very, very righteous, but it is also a classic character, a man who fights with his morality (good vs. evil), and comes out on top (he turns out good)! He is the quintessiantal human character, "Odyssey-esque" (as old Cock used to say), an everyman for today. Superman (who is superhuman) also fights the ultimate--I would even say PENultimate (best ever) good vs. evil scene...he fights with himself..........Literally! Clark Kent fights with his evil impulses, personified as Superman with a slight stubble (this technically dazzling scene was accomplished with the use of split-screen technology and stand-ins, who look VERY convincing), and comes out on top--barely! I can't get enough of it. Also, there is a pretty girl in this film (can you guess who?). Thanks to the Warner Brothers for putting this one out on DVD, why did it take so long!!!! The Warner Brothers really care about their customers, and that's what sets them apart. My only complaint is that Lois Lane doesn't get enough screen time in this movie, perhaps as a result of M. Kidder's condition.
Rating:  -
talk about too many cooks spoiling the broth! Everybody is phoning in their parts, even #4 is better then this. No wonder Chris Reeve tried to take over for the next one, but like William Shatner, he was over his head. The DVD arrived on time in NEW or like new condition to add to the wall after one watching. The order of quality: Superman Returns, Sman #1, Sman #2, Sman #4 and, way around the block, Sman#3. Supergirl is in a league all by itself!
Rating:  -
As with most of the people who have reviewed this series, I grew up watching the Superman movies. Not to take anything away from the other actors who got the chance to wear the red cape and blue tights, I think that Christopher Reeve will always be remembered as the one who gave the best portrayal of The Man of Steel. As for my review of this the 3rd installment, I must say that there is a rule that you must follow. Know when to stop while you are ahead. The first two movies were awesome. It wouldn't have made a difference if the original director/writers had been around for Superman III. There is a thing called overkill, and by the 3rd seaquel of a film you begin to start yawning.
There are some good points in this film and Christopher Reeve was great again as Superman/Clark Kent. My four star rating is based on that. The first two films were more serious so the sudden change to include more humor hurts the credibility, and for like of better words makes the film look like a joke. Not even Richard Pryor and the trio of new evil folks could fill the void left by the absence of Lex Luther and Lois Lane. This film was a chance for the series to end with a somewhat decent send off, however the decline was clear.
Rating:  -
I proudly admit that this movie rocks! Yeah, it's full of cheesy 80's moments but c'mon it's got Superman vs Richard Pryor!!!!! Granted if you were born after this film was produced; it's doubtful that you will like an iota of it, and (for you) that is just too bad. Mr Pryor basically is hating life and wants to make some cash. He learns how to program and bam he's mastered the banking software and does the infamous rounding off the pennies and saving it for yourself hack. As far as geeky hackers go, you could do a lot worse than Pryor; but the best (worst) part is that he is simply left to his own devices. The true big bad builds this super computer thingy that Pryor designs and with it almost beats Supes, end of movie. I guess the success of it, is that you really do feel as though you are leafing through a Superman comic circa '83.
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).
|
