Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

Honestly, I liked it better than Superman II as well. It's earnest, hokey, well-meaning, and weirdly feels like the first Superman film sort of exploring a bit of a Post-Crisis sensibility. The scene of Clark on the farm wearing a flannel shirt and no glasses is VERY familiar to viewers of both Smallville and Superman & Lois. And I see it here for the first time in live-action and I'm like, "Aha!" The first three films felt like old movies. This one although definitely an 80's film, has a bit more of a modern pace to it. Not much, but it's not as slow.

Nuclear Man is a pretty ridiculous villain, but frankly, at this point so is Lex Luthor. The thing that kills me about Hackman's Lex is how utterly ineffective he is at every one of his goals. And I get this was the age of cinema where effective villains didn't exist, but you compare this Lex to the ones from Justice League Unlimited, Smallville, and Superman & Lois, and he's utterly lacking. Pretty much the only Lex Luthor worse than Gene Hackman is Jon Cryer on Supergirl. And I always said I could never imagine Jon Cryer in any worse role in a DC project. Here though? Lenny Luthor is a fucking contender. Maybe it wasn't entirely bad writing that made me hate Cryer's Lex. Maybe he's also a shitty actor it turns out I cannot stand. That seems plausible after seeing this film.

I do like that his name is pronounced Lu-THOR instead of LU-ther. That's how I prefer it. And this is the continuity that mispronounced "Krypton" several times in the first two movies.

I hate Superman revealing himself to Lois because I knew they'd buy it back, and it's the same damn forgetting kiss. As shaky as the movie, that bit is the only part I find outright objectionable.

Question: A single strand of Superman's hair can hold up a thousand ton weight. And yet Luthor can cut it with some pliers. Do I have that right? Also how does Clark Kent shave and get a haircut? It's a bad gag because it raises those questions and those aren't questions that should EVER be raised. Because there is no good answer for them.

I thought Clark juggling the double date as himself and Superman with Lois and Lacy was BEYOND charming. This was the value of Christopher Reeve. Also love that he's finally billed ahead of Gene Hackman.

The bit with the American flag on the moon is cool because the truth is Superman is a hard character to fuck up. It doesn't take much to make everything he does memorable and iconic.

This film and Superman III are considered the Black Sheep of the Reeve canon. Honestly, this is nowhere NEAR III's level of suck. I also think it's better than II. I will also go out on a bit of a limb and confess I liked it more than both Superman Returns AND Man Of Steel. Come and get me, Snyder cultists. 2 1/2 stars.