Rakesh's movie talk
Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987)













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Directed by Sidney J. Furie
Written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal
Starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman.
















superman4.jpg

After seeing Superman 3, I decided I will not waste my time seeing Superman 4. I told this to my friend Mazlan, who just replied, "Never mind. Watch it. I know you like Superman." See? People think they can predict my taste just like that. Who do they think they are, Nostradamus? Telling others to watch a movie just because I like the freakin' character. Huh! I got to prove him wrong. I watched Superman 4 and er...hum...I liked it very much!

There lies but a defeated man. That's me. Mazlan was goddamn right! If I like Superman, I am sure as hell will like this movie, even if it had a plot as thin as mineral water and special effects so phony I swear I saw the wires in some scene. But who cares a rap? I enjoyed the movie.

I guess I owe a lot to the cast. Reeve is back, of course, as good as he always is. Then there was Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, who appeared only in two or so scenes in Superman 3. I realise now how important her character is to the series. Of course, the best part is the return of Lex Luthor played gleefully by Gene Hackman. Superman 2 was helped a lot by this two actors and characters, but the film itself was strong enough on his own. In case of this film, they gave it a bit of class and a lot of quality by performance alone.

I understand that Christopher Reeve initially announced that he will not don the Superman cape again after Superman 3. He must have actually seen that movie. But he got back, when the studio agreed that he contribute to the story. He did, the one about Superman finally getting rid of all the nuclear weapons in the world (how he does it is probably the silliest thing in the movie, among others), after a letter from a school kid.

On the side, there is Luthor, still escaping from prison, and still harbouring revenge on Superman. It is all tired stuff, but the actors managed to look as interested in their job as always. I am not saying this film is one of the best Superman. It is definitely better than the bombastic and stupid Superman 3. If only someone had paid some attention to the script and production quality
















Check out my comments on other Superman movies:

Superman (1978)
Superman II (1980)
Superman III (1983)