--- title: "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" year: 1987 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/superman-iv-the-quest-for-peace" fi1m_score: 30 critics_score: 22 critics_reviews: 8 published: "2026-09-16T14:29:44.475504+00:00" updated: "2026-09-16T14:29:44.987282+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) Directed by Sidney J. Furie · 1h 30m · MPA PG · Action, Adventure, Science Fiction **Fi1m score: 30** · Critics 22 from 8 reviews *In a sentence:* Superman wants rid of nuclear weapons; we would settle for a convincing flying scene > Christopher Reeve is a likeable Superman in a poor sequel that cannot make its anti-nuclear mission compelling. Weak effects, muddled storytelling and tired romantic comedy leave Sidney J. Furie’s film with little to offer. ## Synopsis Clark Kent / Superman (Christopher Reeve) wants to rid the world of nuclear weapons while keeping his two identities apart. Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is caught up in his romantic complications, with changes of clothes needed as Clark switches between his ordinary life and his public one. Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) has his own interest in nuclear power, and it has nothing to do with peace. Superman wants to remove a threat to everyone. The cape does not free Clark from the problems of maintaining a private life. ## Review *Superman IV: The Quest for Peace* gives its hero a problem worth his attention: nuclear disarmament. Sidney J. Furie directs a poor, dispiriting adventure in which that concern keeps getting lost among weak action and laboured comedy. Christopher Reeve shares the story credit with Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, who also wrote the screenplay. There is something appealing about asking Superman to prevent mass destruction, rather than simply arrive once it has started. The trouble is that the film cannot turn the wish for peace into a story with enough interest to sustain 90 minutes. Reeve provides the strongest reason to persevere, giving Superman enough decency to make the undertaking seem sincere. He does not need to insist on the character’s goodness, and that restraint helps when the writing grows solemn. The screenplay by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal is much less persuasive about what its hero should actually do with his power. It introduces a subject that needs thought, then seems impatient to get back to the ordinary business of villains and fights. Reeve keeps the hero sympathetic, even when there is little dramatic interest in what he is saying. The romantic material is worse, because it asks for lightness from a film that can barely keep moving. Margot Kidder plays Lois Lane, while Reeve has to manage the quick changes demanded by Clark’s double identity. We were bored by the costume-changing routine: the business of getting the right man into the right clothes takes precedence over any pleasure in the company. A secret identity ought to make a comedy more complicated without making it more laborious. Here we wait for the changing to stop. Ernest Day’s cinematography has little chance of making the flight convincing when the effects so often advertise how it was assembled. Superman appears to have been placed against a background rather than to be moving through it. The repeated shots are especially damaging, because each return makes the shortcut harder to ignore. John Graysmark’s production design also struggles to give the action sufficient scale. We do not need vast sets, but we do need places that feel substantial enough for the danger to matter. John Shirley’s editing moves abruptly between incidents without giving the adventure a persuasive rhythm. Individual scenes drag while the connections between them feel missing. Alexander Courage gives the action emphatic musical support, which makes its slackness more noticeable. The score keeps asking us to care about incidents that the film has scarcely bothered to connect. A superhero adventure can survive a weak plot if doing the impossible is still fun to watch, but here even the flying becomes a chore. Gene Hackman gets some laughs as Lex Luthor, largely by approaching villainy as something worth enjoying. His pleasure in the role offers relief from the dutiful air elsewhere. Mark Pillow’s Nuclear Man provides a less rewarding threat, a character whose name does too much of the work of explaining why he belongs here. The film’s interest in nuclear danger deserves better than such an uninteresting opponent. Hackman can briefly enliven a scene, but cannot give the whole adventure a purpose. There is no requirement for a Superman film to be politically sophisticated, and the wish to let its hero address nuclear weapons is not foolish. Furie simply never finds an engaging way to bring that wish together with the romance, comedy and action. Those coming for Reeve will find a performance that still respects the character. We would not recommend sitting through the rest for it. *Fi1m score 30, published 16 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The consensus is firmly negative: all eight reviews find Superman IV: The Quest for Peace a weak sequel, with cheap-looking effects, sluggish storytelling and little of the earlier films’ humour. Praise is sparse and centres on the performers, particularly Christopher Reeve and Hackman’s occasional laughs. Even sympathetic notices find those contributions overwhelmed by weak plotting and poor production values. The anti-nuclear message offers little compensation, coming across as either buried or heavy-handed. The differences concern what remains worth defending, rather than whether the film succeeds. The Hollywood Reporter finds some spectacular action amid the flatness, while most critics treat the effects as a central failing. The Los Angeles Times credits the cast with retaining a playful grip on their roles; Variety finds most of them going through the motions. The spread is narrow, with even the less hostile reviews offering scant encouragement. ### Reviews we read (8) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Paul Mungo (30/100, inferred): The critic notes some spectacular action sequences but finds the film turgid, flat, and unmemorable overall, with the villains providing the only relief. The excess of effects looks stale, and it skimps on ingredients while following the standard formula. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/superman-iv-review-movie-1987-christopher-reeve-1236308915/) - **Time Out**, BC (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film as dreary as a summit conference in Belgium, with a story that lacks momentum and half-hearted special effects. A weedy romantic subplot involving quick costume changes is singled out as tiresome. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/superman-iv-the-quest-for-peace) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (**): The film sorely lacks the flair and agreeable humor of earlier entries in the series, with Hackman getting a few laughs but everyone else going through the motions with less fun. It features Superman addressing nuclear disarmament and battling an evil clone on the moon. [Read](https://variety.com/1986/film/reviews/superman-iv-the-quest-for-peace-1200427105/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Michael Wilmington (20/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a ragingly dull thud with cheap-looking effects and a skimped extravaganza that submerges its idealistic anti-war core. The cast retains a playful grip on their roles, but the movie lacks the magic of its predecessors. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-07-27-ca-4091-story.html) - **The AV Club**, Nathan Rabin (20/100, inferred): The review details how budget cuts and poor production turned a promising sequel into a cheap, incoherent mess with bad effects, destroying the franchise's dignity. It singles out the deteriorated flying effects and the desperate anti-nuclear message as complaints. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-a-franchise-killing-case-f-1798215561) - **Empire**, William Thomas (10/100, inferred): The critic deems it a dreadful fourth installment that ruins the Superman series, singling out the low budget effects, ridiculous plot elements like Nuclear Man, and poor production values for criticism. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/superman-iv-quest-peace-review/) - **Eye for Film**, Stephen Carty (25/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a surprisingly poor outing that marks the death of the Superman series, attributing its failures to severe budget cuts that resulted in cheap effects, reused shots, and a small-scale production compared to earlier entries. Some positive notes on Christopher Reeve's performance and a few scenes are overshadowed by weak plotting, illogical elements, and underwhelming new cast members. [Read](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/superman-iv-the-quest-for-peace-film-review-by-stephen-carty) - **Collider** (10/100, inferred): The film is an undeniable low point, sickening and worse than Superman III, with a reduced budget, poor continuity, and everyone going through the motions. Reeve's well-meaning anti-nuclear message feels heavy-handed and phony, while Lenny Luthor is among the most annoying characters ever. [Read](https://collider.com/superman-motion-picture-anthology-blu-ray-review/) ## Details - **Director:** Sidney J. Furie - **Director:** Sidney J. Furie - **Screenplay:** Mark Rosenthal, Lawrence Konner - **Story:** Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Christopher Reeve - **Cinematography:** Ernest Day - **Editor:** John Shirley - **Music:** Alexander Courage - **Production design:** John Graysmark - **Costume design:** John Bloomfield - **Producer:** Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan - **Cast:** Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent / Superman; Margot Kidder as Lois Lane; Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor; Mariel Hemingway as Lacy Warfield; Jackie Cooper as Perry White; Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen; Jon Cryer as Lenny; Sam Wanamaker as David Warfield - **Runtime:** 1h 30m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG - **Release (the US):** 24 July 1987 - **Genres:** Action, Adventure, Science Fiction - **Budget:** $17 million - **Box office:** $37 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3IFSj4ebwU ## Where to watch in the US - HBO Max: streaming, uhd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Hulu: add-on, hd *Checked 2026-09-16.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BR, CH, CL, CO, DE, EC, EE, GB, HK, ID, IE, IT, LT, MX, MY, NL, PA, PE, PH, PT, SG, TH, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress 1988: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress (nominated) - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Visual Effects 1988: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Visual Effects (nominated) ## If you liked this - *The Iron Giant* (1999), Fi1m 88: A gentler, more affecting fantasy about choosing not to be a weapon. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-iron-giant.md) - *The Day the Earth Stood Still* (1951): A visitor from space makes the case for peace with considerably more urgency. - *Shin Godzilla* (2016): Nuclear anxiety becomes a monster crisis, with bureaucracy providing the bleak comedy. - *The Rocketeer* (1991): For airborne heroics, a decent lead and comic adventure that remembers to move. - *A Matter of Life and Death* (1946), Fi1m 92: Another earnest fantasy about human decency, with wit and convincing romantic feeling. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/superman-iv-the-quest-for-peace