Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

The Man of Steel crusades for nuclear disarmament and meets Lex Luthor's latest creation, Nuclear Man.

Director:

Sidney J. Furie

Writers:

Jerry Siegel (character created by: Superman), Joe Shuster (character created by: Superman)

Stars:

Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder

Bottom Rated Movies #61 | 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Reeve	...	Superman / Clark Kent
Gene Hackman	...	Lex Luthor / Nuclear Man (voice)
Jackie Cooper	...	Perry White
Marc McClure	...	Jimmy Olsen
Jon Cryer	...	Lenny
Sam Wanamaker	...	David Warfield
Mark Pillow	...	Nuclear Man
Mariel Hemingway	...	Lacy Warfield
Margot Kidder	...	Lois Lane
Damian McLawhorn	...	Jeremy
William Hootkins	...	Harry Howler
Jim Broadbent	...	Jean Pierre Dubois
Stanley Lebor	...	General Romoff
Don Fellows	...	Levon Hornsby
Robert Beatty	...	U.S. President

Storyline

Superman does a lot in his newest adventure. Archvillain Lex Luthor, determined to make the world safe for nuclear arms merchants, creates a new being to challenge the Man of Steel: the radiation-charged Nuclear Man. The two super-powered foes clash in an explosive screen extranvaganza that sees Superman save the Statue of Liberty, repulse a volcanic eruption of Mount Etna, rebuild the demolished Great Wall of China and perform many more spetactular feats.

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Plot Keywords:

dc comics | superman character | perry white character | clark kent character | lex luthor character | 

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Taglines:

Nuclear Power. In the best hands, it is dangerous. In the hands of Lex Luthor, it is pure evil. This is Superman's greatest battle. And it is for all of us.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

WB Home Entertainment - DVD site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Russian French Italian

Release Date:

24 July 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Superman IV

Filming Locations:

M25 Motorway, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$15,681,020

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cannon Films,Warner Bros.,Golan-Globus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 93 min (1987) 134 min (pre-release cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Esmond Knight's final film before his death on February 23, 1987 at the age of 80. He died five months prior to the film's release.

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Goofs

After Superman swings all of the nuclear missiles toward the Sun, he waits several seconds until we see an impact on the Sun's surface. That is impossible with physics. Even if he could throw the collection of missiles very near the speed of light, the Sun is about 92.9 million miles away, so we would have an on-screen waiting time of at least eight and a half minutes from the time he would throw them until they would hit the Sun.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Cosmonaut Captain: [in Russian] You can sing later comrade Sinatra.
Cosmonaut: [in Russian] Back at home they told me to sing in space.

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Alternate Versions

The 94 minute version played theatrically in Australia, however all Australian video versions have been taken from the 90 minute North American print.

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Connections

Version of Superman (1948)

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Soundtracks

Someone Like You (Lacy's Theme) (Slow Version)
(uncredited)
Composed by Alexander Courage
Original Material Composed by John Williams

User Reviews

Crashing down to Earth

* (1 out of 5)

Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

Directed by: Sidney J. Furie, 1987

Perversely bad. With major budget cuts (from $28 to $16m) and story problems, the moviemakers suddenly found themselves cutting corners in all areas. And it shows. Completely lacking in awe, fun and excitement, Superman IV most of all feels like a bad joke.

The fact that it comes across more cartoonish than the previous three is hardly intentional, as everything - from effects to dialogue - just seems oddly rushed and second-rate.

The only highlight is Gene Hackman - who returns in high spirits as Lex Luthor. Christopher Reeve co-scripted this time and he again personifies the Man of Steel. But most of his co-stars are either wasted (Mariel Hemingway) or hysterical (John Cryer).

The new villian, Nuclear Man (as played by Mark Pillow), looks like a Swedish showwrestler in a home-made Halloween suit, complete with mullet hair and horrendous over-acting mannerisms.

Director Sidney J. Furie (the man behind the otherwise taut thriller The Entity) seems unable to create any sparks and Superman IV falls completely flat, head first. Game over.

Note: Certain scenes had to be borrowed from the previous movies, most notably Superman and Lois on their romantic evening flight above the Manhattan skyline. How they even managed to make this scene look worse than in the original is really mind-boggling.