Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
31%RT Audience Score: 16%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 6 nominations
The Superman series bottoms out here: the action is boring, the special effects look cheaper, and none of the actors appear interested in where the plot’s going
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is like a bad superhero movie that you watch just for the laughs. It’s so bad that it’s almost good, but not quite. The critics were right, this movie is a mess. The plot is all over the place, the special effects are terrible, and the acting is wooden. Even Christopher Reeve couldn’t save this one. But hey, if you’re in the mood for a good laugh, give it a watch. Just don’t expect anything remotely close to the first two Superman movies.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Aldwych Underground Station, Aldwych, Holborn, London, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1987
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English, Russian, French, Italian
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Nov 28, 2006
Genre(s)
Adventure/Fantasy
Keyword(s)
Superman IV, The Quest for Peace, Adventure, Fantasy, PG, Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Mariel Hemingway, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Jon Cryer, Sidney J Furie, Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan, Lawrence Konner, Christopher Reeve, box office, budget, critic reviews, produced by, directed by, written by, action, superhero, nuclear warheads, Lex Luthor, Nuclear Man, special effects, United States, Soviet Union, arms race, Earth’s destruction, clones, radioactive material, powerful, man of steel, spirit, dramatic scenes, set pieces, editing room, peacenik, plot, horror movies, MCU movies, Netflix series, TV shows, streaming movies
Worldwide gross: $15,681,020
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $41,856,325
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,418
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,564,485
US/Canada gross: $15,681,020
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $41,856,325
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,147
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,683,122
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $15,169,587
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 783
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $17,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $45,376,993
Production budget ranking: 867
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $24,435,511
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$27,956,178
ROI to date (est.): -40%
ROI ranking: 1,625
Gene Hackman – Lex Luthor, Voice of Nuclear Man
Mariel Hemingway – Lacy Warfield
Jackie Cooper – Perry White
Marc McClure – Jimmy Olsen
Jon Cryer – Lenny
Director(s)
Sidney J. Furie
Writer(s)
Lawrence Konner, Christopher Reeve
Producer(s)
Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 6 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (48) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (5) | Rotten (43)
In the end, while it can be said that Christopher Reeve made four Superman movies, only the first two are worth watching.
January 9, 2022 | Rating: 1.5/4
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
The impoverishment here is not merely of means, but of spirit.
May 5, 2014 | Rating: 1/4
Dave Kehr
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
The overall effect is of a story atomized and dying before our eyes, collapsing into smashed pulp, ground down into big-budget Kryptonite ash.
May 5, 2014
Michael Wilmington
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Of course, Superman saves the world, but the real news is that there’s still some life in the series.
May 5, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Desmond Ryan
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Superman IV is cinematic kryptonite. Not only could it kill the Superman series, it might also leave filmgoers feeling weak.
May 5, 2014
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Predictably awful fourth installment.
July 12, 2010 | Rating: 1/5
William Thomas
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The simplest and briefest of the bunch, running more than half-an-hour less than its predecessors – which is actually a suitable modification.
January 2, 2022 | Rating: 3/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The dramatic scenes don’t play well, and the action sequences are treated like set pieces, dropped in every now and then when the mood strikes.
August 16, 2021 | Rating: 1/4
Tony Mastroianni
Akron Beacon Journal
“Superman IV: The Quest for Peace,” a confused and cheap-looking movie that evidently was butchered in the editing room, would be better titled “Superman Farce: The Search for a Quick Buck.”
July 9, 2020
Joe Leydon
The Moving Picture Show
In his fourth and feeblest movie appearance in just under a decade, the man of steel in blue underwear becomes a peacenik.
November 6, 2019 | Rating: 1/4
Richard Freedman
Newhouse News Service
As bad as Superman 3 is, Superman 4 is even worse.
April 13, 2019
Rachel Wagner
rachelsreviews.net
Subtitled The Quest for Peace, this Superman sequel should have been called the The Quest for a Plot.
December 9, 2017
Cathy Burke
United Press International…
Plot
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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No specific tidbit is given about someone in the cast.
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