Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is a 1987 American superhero\action-adventure\sci-fi film directed by Sidney J. Furie which was released on July 24, 1987 by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Plot[]
Superman takes action after seeing the United States & the Soviet Union involved in a nuclear arms race that could lead to the destruction of Earth and comes to face to face with Lex Luthor's latest creation, Nuclear Man.
Cast[]
- Christopher Reeve as Kal-El\Clark Kent\Superman
- Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor\Nuclear Man (voice)
- Mark Pillow as Nuclear Man
- Jackie Cooper as Perry White
- Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen
- Jon Cryer as Lenny Luthor
- Sam Wanamaker as David Warfield
- Mariel Hemingway as Lacy Warfield
- Margot Kidder as Lois Lane
- Damian McLawhorn as Jeremy
Production[]
In 1983, following the negative reaction to "Superman III", Christopher Reeve and the producers, Alexander Salkind and his son Ilya, assumed that the "Superman" films had run their course.
Christopher Reeve was slated to make a cameo in the 1984 film, "Supergirl", but bowed out early on and the film was a box-office failure.
Two years later, Ilya Salkind sold the "Superman" franchise to Golan and Globus of Cannon Films.
Wes Craven was originally hired by Cannon Films to direct "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace", but he and Christopher Reeve did not get along well and Reeve demanded that a new director be brought in.
Filming[]
Production for "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" began in August of 1986 and ended on January 29, 1987.
In his autobiography, "Still Me", Christopher Reeve described filming the movie:
"We were also hampered by budget constraints and cutbacks in all departments. Cannon Films had nearly thirty projects in the works at the time, and Superman IV received no special consideration. For example, Konner and Rosenthal wrote a scene in which Superman lands on 42nd Street and walks down the double yellow lines to the United Nations, where he gives a speech. If that had been a scene in Superman I, we would actually have shot it on 42nd Street. Richard Donner would have choreographed hundreds of pedestrians and vehicles and cut to people gawking out of office windows at the sight of Superman walking down the street like the Pied Piper. Instead, we had to shoot at an industrial park in England in the rain with about a hundred extras, not a car in sight, and a dozen pigeons thrown in for atmosphere. Even if the story had been brilliant, I don't think that we could ever have lived up to the audience's expectations with this approach."
Mark Rosenthal's DVD commentary cited this scene as an example of Cannon's budget slashing.
According to Rosenthal, Christopher Reeve and director Sidney J. Furie begged to be able to film that sequence in New York in front of the real headquarters of the United Nations because everyone knew how they looked and the Milton Keynes setting looked nothing like them, but Cannon refused. According to Rosenthal, they were "pinching pennies at every step."
Superman's childhood home in Smallville was built on farmland outside Baldock in North Hertfordshire—even though the original set from "Superman: The Movie" was still standing in Canada.
According to Jon Cryer (who played Lex Luthor's nephew Lenny), Christopher Reeve had taken him aside just before the release of "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" and told him it was going to be "terrible."
Although Cryer enjoyed working with Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman, he claimed that Cannon ran out of money during the production and ultimately released an unfinished film.
According to Margot Kidder, she and Christopher Reeve did not get along during filming. She states that Reeve's ego was inflated because he co-wrote the story and that he didn't get along with director Sidney J. Furie.
Christopher Reeve's flying harness was concealed under a larger version of the red shorts he wore for the costume, making his waist look bigger.
In previous "Superman" movies, the bigger waist was hidden by the cape, quick cuts, or creative camera angles. In the movie, the bigger waist is clearly visible, leading some reviewers to speculate that the thicker waist was Christopher Reeve's actual waistline.
It was originally planned for Christopher Reeve to play the role of Nuclear Man, but the idea was ultimately scrapped due to budgetary limitations and time constraints.
Box Office[]
"Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" grossed $5,683,122 during its opening weekend. Overall, it grossed $15,681,020 on an estimated budget of $17,000,000.
Critical Reception[]
"Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" was widely lambasted by critics and fans, with many reviewers citing its poor special effects, inconsistencies and plot holes.
On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 11% based on 46 reviews with an average rating of 2.83\10. The site's consensus reads: "The Superman series bottoms out here: the action is boring, the special effects look cheaper, and none of the actors appear interested in where the plot's going."
On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 24 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews."
The Tampa Bay Times said: "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace doesn't attempt to disguise its sentiments - no more so than Greenpeace - but neither does it lose the campy spirit of the 1978 original. Although never as stylish as the first movie, it shows verve and a modest wit. Superman IV is not as funny as the first sequel, but it isn't as violent, either."
The Miami Herald wrote that "Superman IV" works "rather well as a children's movie. It even has a line or two for adults -- though not, one hastens to qualify, enough to actually warrant adult attendance."
Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune called it a "pathetic appendage to the series, a dull, shoddy film that makes the minimal 1950s TV series seem rife with production values by comparison."
Variety magazine wrote: "The earlier films in the series were far from perfect, but at their best they had some flair and agreeable humor, qualities this one sorely lacks. Hackman gets a few laughs, but has less to work with than before, and everyone else seems to be just going through the motions and having less fun doing so."