Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

 Yes, this is a much derided film. It is undoubtedly true: this one is not good (and I'm being generous here). But it is also true that the poor quality of this film lies solely with the producers and company, who managed to completely butcher something that actually had some promise. 

Superman is conflicted: he has sworn not to interfere with human history (even though him saving people does actually interfere, but hey, nitpicking), but when nations of the world start building up their nuclear arsenal, he finally feels he has to do something and thus plans to rid the world of all nuclear weapons. 

In the meantime, Lex Luthor is sprung from prison by his nephew and immediately plots to make tons of money with illegal arms deals, especially nuclear missiles. He also wants to create a foil for Superman, from his and Superman's DNA. When Superman lobs a missile into the sun, he unwittingly gives birth to Nuclear Man, who is pretty much like him, only with nuclear power. 

See, this story did have a lot of promise, truth be told. It is the execution that destroys this film. Christopher Reeve is great as Superman/Clark Kent, as he knows the character through and through. Margot Kidder has some more lines and her interaction with Reeve is reminiscent of the first film, which is nice. Sure, they shouldn't have recreated their flying moment in this one, as it comes across as being cheap and makes Superman into a douche, as he once again erases Lois' memory. 

Gene Hackman is once again fun to watch as Lex Luthor, but why on Earth they decided to give him an anooying sidekick (his nephew), is beyond me. Lenny makes no sense, is irritating beyond belief and adds nothing. Yes, Otis from the first one was a silly character as well, but at least Ned Beatty made him fun. 

But then, it's only horrendous. The special effects look like crap, thanks to massive budget cuts. They use the same footage of Superman flying towards the camera at least five times and the blending with the background looks awful. Well, I say blending, but there isn't much blending to be done. You can feel and smell the bluescreen this time. Also, the long distance flying is ugly to look at, as it feels like third rate animation. Superman's foil Nuclear Man has a decent look, but he does nothing but growl and yell "Kill Superman" and they don't do anything interesting with him. In all fairness: they could have left him out of the film entirely. The fight scenes feel improvised and not in a good way. It even seems as though at one point during their lunar battle, Christopher Reeve gets hurt for real. Watch when he clutches his head, it doesn't seem acted at all. 

Oh, and plot holes and inconsistencies galore. Suddenly, everyone can breathe in outer space? Who knew? And because the producers and studio cut roughly 50 minutes worth of footage about halfway through, it makes a horrid jump from Superman dying of radiation sickness, to suddenly being at full health again and stopping Nuclear Man from abducting new Daily Planet owner Lacy Warfield, because somehow, Nuclear Man has the idea to procreate with her. 

No, it doesn't make any sense. No, the makers don't care. 

Maybe this is the most painful of all realizations: there is a good film in here, but budget cuts and excision of plot points and story makes this feel like a cobbled together mess, instead of a coherent film. It is a painful way to end a franchise that had promise. In comparison with this one, even the third entry feels fun and enjoyable, and lord knows it isn't really. But this is so poorly put together, you can not even try to like this one, as it is - alas - nearly impossible.