Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Better than the tedious Superman Returns/Man Of Steel

Bad effects aside, this one is definitely more fun than the tedious and dull Superman Returns and Man Of Steel stuff - an overload of special effects does not make an engaging film.

The performances here are all top notch as usual and the plot moved swiftly without taking itself too seriously. The franchise has always been silly - stupid even - especially when we remember that Richard Donner's Superman had Ned Beatty as the moronic Otis.

The silliness has always been integral to the Superman series.

Filled with cheap gags, really horrible visual effects, a lazy story, a very bad musical score by Alexander Courage, a terrible villain (Nuclear Man), and some tiresome performances by the cast (except for Christopher Reeve), Superman IV: The Quest For Peace is one of the worst films ever made, the one of the worst movie sequels of all time, and the worst Superman film of all time. It is the kryptonite nail in the coffin for the Superman films, and none of the films after this even tried to save the Man Of Steel from his own detriment.

The least of the tetralogy due to a slashed budget and the corresponding cheesy F/X

Superman (Christopher Reeve) destroys all nuclear warheads on Earth for the sake of world peace, but Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) has discovered a way to make a nuclear-powered thrall from Supes DNA and the energy of the Sun. Meanwhile a tycoon & his daughter take over The Daily Planet (Sam Wanamaker & and Mariel Hemingway).

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) is the weakest of the quadrilogy because the Salkind family sold the franchise to a Grade B production company, Cannon, and so instead of the healthy $39 million budget of Superman III (1983) it was slashed to $17 million (although it was originally supposed to be $36 million), which is ap...