Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Dir: Sidney J. Furie
1987
**
The story of failed production company Cannon is the stuff of cinema legend. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, the first Superman film made without the involvement of the Salkinds, was ambitious for the company and pretty much ended up ruining them. After a series of box office flops, the budget for Superman IV was reduced to impossible levels. After buying the rights and persuading Reeves and Hackman (as well as other original actors in cameo performances) to return, you'd have thought that this would have been the studios key investment. For all of the films problems, poor old Sidney J. Furie took some unfair flack, the film failing in every way a film could before the cameras even started filming. Milton Keynes was used as a substitute for New York and the script was rushed out with any clear focus. I don't want to knock the City of Milton Keynes (I have family there and my Grandfather, a top architect, was responsible for much of its design) but it is no New York. Pretty far from it. The script is awful, the only redeeming feature is the idea of Superman ridding the world of its Nuclear Weapons, an idea by Reeves and included in the story as a deal maker for his return. Everything else is just plane awful. Nuclear Man represents the worst of 80's thinking. I'll always defend Superman III as being great because it's Superman in the 80's - like that's a cool thing, but I can't say the same for Quest for Peace. Reeves and Hackman are both on good form but are both fighting an impossible fight, like I've said before regarding the other films, sometimes an omission of logic can be forgivable but when the leading lady has no problem breathing in space, it's time to call it for what it is. A very sad ending to what was a beautiful franchise. Quest for Peace aside, Christopher Reeves will always be Superman.