"Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" finds the Man of Steel full of
self-doubts at the grand old age of 50. He is worried about nuclear war,
shopping malls in Smallville and the hostile takeover at The Daily
Planet, now an intemperate tabloid run by Mariel Hemingway.
Surprisingly svelte as The Planet's new publisher, Hemingway uses
her big headlines to force Superman to promise world peace. The "dude of
steel," as he is called today, vows to disarm the Earth, a plan that
fizzles after longtime nemesis Lex Luthor escapes from a chain gang.
The story line, conceived by star Christopher Reeve, follows the
form -- it's as thin as the comic-book movie concept itself. The
original producer, Alexander Salkind, has abandoned the flying Boy
Scout, who was already showing his age at III. Don't expect the flashy
special effects that Salkind lavished on his movies, for the Cannon
Group is now holding the money clip, and they are not big spenders.
"Superman IV," except for a glitzy new villain named Nuclear Man, is
one of the cheesiest movies ever made. It's so grainy and grossly
envisioned, it seems filmed on pulp. Superman's crystalline Arctic
palace looks as if it's made of no-deposit-no-return soda bottles, and
his suit of primary colors has ring around the collar. Clark Kent,
however, has become a sharp dresser, because Reeve wanted to give his
alter ego more dimension.
This Superman is more vulnerable than I, II and III -- a sort of
Alan Alda who can fly. Surely, an allergy to kryptonite was weakness
enough. Superheroes shouldn't shilly-shally.
Certainly our hero's nuclear-powered foe has no second thoughts.
He's blond, he's bad, he's going to blow up the world. Created by Luthor
from Superman's own DNA, Nuclear Man is as strong as the Kryptonian. And
what's more, he has Bette Midler's fingernails. "I will hurt people," he
warns. Woe be unto Superman. Woe be unto the screenwriters. Woe be unto
world peace. Woe be unto children in school buses everywhere.
When he isn't off thinking about whether he really should involve
himself in earth politics, Superman helps rebuild the Great Wall of
China, save a crew of Soviet cosmonauts and stop up an erupting volcano.
He and Lois Lane fly over well-known landmarks, but frankly I don't know
how she stands that greasy blue hair.
Reeve remains as chisel-jawed and neatly muscular as ever, but he's
stale opposite Mark Pillow, the golden bimbo who plays the Nuke Man.
Margot Kidder reprises her role as Lois, though the girl reporter has
lost her pluck. Of the returning cast, only Gene Hackman seems engaged
by the project, his Luthor lending an occasional spark to the laggardly
pace. Luthor's not the schemer he was, nor are the writers as clever.
Sidney J. Furie, who directed "The Ipcress File," evidently has lost his
touch for action. Don't look for speeding bullets.
Finally, after we've watched the Supe pop a few bad guys from here
to the Crab Nebula, pine over Loisand probably worry about whether to
eat goat cheese, the movie simpers to its close. Basically, Superman
says if you want world peace, do it yourself. Only in a nice way, of
course. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, rated PG, is at area theaters
and contains cartoon violence.
