Scene Anatomy 101: Superman IV - The Quest for Peace
Posted by George H. Sirois on 06.13.2006
The last gasp of life for the franchise…
It's a pretty overwhelming feeling when you see a film franchise that you love so much, and watching helplessly as every bit of magic is squeezed out of it. When you first laid your eyes on the original film, you saw a feeling of care and respect for the source material and your heart soared as the story unfolded before your eyes. Then you saw the sequel and you felt just as satisfied, even if there were a few kinks in the franchise's armor. Then the second sequel came out, and even though you found yourself wishing for something much better, there was just enough magic to think that if they stopped here, that would be just fine.
Then a few years pass and the fourth film in the franchise you once thought was finished comes out, and you find yourself just plain disgusted with what you're seeing. Not only is there barely anything that was so wonderful about the previous films, but the moments that were pushed as exciting were lame re-hashes of what we've seen before.
In case you were wondering, the film I am talking about here is the 1987 disaster, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. This was directed by Sidney J. Furie (Iron Eagle I, II and IV) and written by Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal (The Jewel of the Nile), with a story by Konner, Rosenthal and Christopher Reeve. When I first saw this in the theater (I was 11), it almost shames me to say that I actually enjoyed this. I was into it from the beginning all the way to the end. It only took one year (between my first and second viewings) for me to realize my folly and see this movie for what it really is. It is a cheap carbon copy of what made the preceding films so great. While the plot's heart is in the right place (Superman attempting to rid the world of nuclear weapons), the execution of that plot is so badly handled that it's very difficult to get through the entire movie, and it's only 90 minutes long.
Interestingly enough, as the movie goes on, the sub-plot that develops reflects the problems with the franchise. The Daily Planet has been bought out by David Warfield (Sam Wanamaker) and his daughter Lacy (Mariel Hemingway), owners of Warfield Publications, who publish cheap tabloids. This perfectly mirrors how the Superman film series was bought from the Salkinds by Menahem Golan & Yoram Globus, owners of Cannon Films, distributors of cheap action exploitation flicks. (If you caught my column on the 1989 Phantom of the Opera, you'd be familiar with my hatred towards Menaham Golan.) So what we are watching is a cheap, low-budget, rushed 90-minute kids' movie that is less than a shell of the greatness we have seen only nine years before.
Anyway, as the main story goes on, Superman rids the planet of as many nuclear weapons as possible, and Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman, who had to be dragged back to the franchise when Christopher Reeve pleaded him) uses this act of kindness to create a brand new villain for Superman to fight. The resulting villain is the Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow, with Hackman's voice), a man designed to pierce Superman's skin, which would make him mortal. I'm not sure how Luthor came to that conclusion, but it works. After Nuclear Man trashes various world monuments and Superman repairs them, Superman is scratched right on the back of his neck, while he is returning the Statue of Liberty to its rightful place on Liberty Island. He falls to the ground, and Nuclear Man kicks him in the gut so hard, he tumbles in the air and his cape drops on the torch of the Statue of Liberty.
Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) quits the "new-and-improved" Daily Planet and visits Clark, who is bundled up under a blanket with a terrible flu. His hair is graying, and he is sweating and shaking.
Lois knocks on the door while Clark struggles to get up to answer it.
CLARK: Just a minute.
But Lois has already used her credit card to open the door and walk inside.
CLARK: Lois? What are you doing here?
Lois immediately breathes a small sigh of relief.
LOIS: I knew it.
As Clark speaks, he tries to keep up the illusion that he's barely aware of what's going on, although in his condition, he doesn't really need to pretend.
CLARK: Well, I just got a really bad flu, really. What do you mean, you knew? How did you know?
LOIS: You haven't been at work. You didn't call the office. You didn't even call me. How could you not call me back?
No answer from him. Lois walks further into the apartment, holding onto a package wrapped with brown paper.
LOIS: Well, whatever it is, I guess you got your reasons.
But then Lois says something really interesting.
LOIS: But I knew you were here. Somehow, something pulled me here. I always know when Superman is in trouble.
She's in Clark's apartment, yet she brings up Superman being in trouble. It's very possible that the kiss Clark gave her at the end of Superman II – and another one that Superman gave her during this film – didn't exactly erase her memory; it just pushed her knowledge that Clark and Superman are one and the same to a dormant part of her mind. She's not even sure why she's bringing up Superman to Clark, she just is.
It can also be interpreted that she knows the Superman franchise is in trouble. These two actors have been the heart and soul of this series (Lois' absence was definitely felt in Superman III), and they of all people would know that the series was being taken in a direction that neither one of them would approve.
Clark disregards how Lois brought up Superman and tries to hold onto his secret identity.
CLARK: Superman? Has something happened to him?
A lot's happened to him, Clark. A lot's happened to a lot of things here.
LOIS: Well, everyone's saying that he's dead, but… that can't be true. I just know it. I feel it in my heart. I… I think he just needs help.
Hearing this dialogue had to be especially painful for Christopher Reeve, since it was his idea for this story in the first place. Like I said before, the story's heart was in the right place, but the wrong people were behind it and they simply eviscerated it and made it like this.
CLARK: Well, you know, wherever he is, Lois, I'm sure he'll manage.
LOIS: Well, if he can't… manage… if he really was in trouble, then there are a few things I'd like to tell him.
Lois goes on like she's giving a elegy for both Superman and the franchise. Her tears start rolling down her cheek as she speaks.
LOIS: I'd want to tell him that I cherished the time we spent together. And I never expected anything in return. Even if I only saw him for a few moments, it made me happy. And I would tell him that I love him and that I'll always love him. And… whatever happens to the world, I know that he's doing his best to make sure it'll be alright for the rest of us.
Clark nods, obviously touched by what she is saying.
CLARK: Well, wherever he is, Lois, I know that he'd want to thank you.
A long pause, and then Clark decides that there's something that he needs to do. And he obviously can't do it when Lois is around.
CLARK: Listen, I'm… I'm really tired. So I'm just gonna lie down here for a while. I'll be fine. Okay?
Lois nods.
LOIS: I hope you feel better soon, Clark. And if you do see him or hear from him…
She hands Clark the brown package. Inside is Superman's cape, retrieved by the Daily Planet.
LOIS: …he might need this.
Lois leaves, and now Clark is alone. He later goes into the back of his closet and uncovers a module that he retrieved from the module that carried him from Krypton to Smallville. This module is basically a backup that will restore his powers and make him Superman again. (You probably remember this handled much better in Superman II, and back then it was not just a simple deus ex machina like it is here.)
This is the only real magical scene that sticks out from all of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. So much of this flick is executed so poorly that it literally defies the laws of physics, but then again it was marketed towards young boys who wouldn't notice capes and flags blowing in the winds of space (apparently space has wind) or even people able to breathe in space. When I was 11, it didn't really bother me, but the very next year, I found myself absolutely disgusted.
But then there was this scene, this quiet moment between two actors that have seen the highest of highs with this franchise and were currently stuck in the lowest of the lows. Both Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve knew that the way this film was being handled, it was very likely there wouldn't be a fifth chapter. And of course, they were right. But this moment showed that at least these two would go down swinging. They wouldn't let this series just end without some sort of fight, and because of this scene, we can see the little bit of magic that couldn't be stamped out no matter how much Cannon Films tried.
Thankfully, the Superman franchise has been resurrected with the release of Superman Returns on June 30th. This new film will be a brand new sequel to Superman II, which will serve to sweep III and IV under the rug where they belong. Whether this new incarnation will live up to the potential of the first two classic films, that's for all of us to find out for ourselves.
Next week, I'll take a look at a scene requested by one of my readers.
