Cast: C
Plot: B-
Special Effects/Stunts: C-
Similarity to Comic: B-
Director: Richard Lester
Comic Company:
Stars: Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Margot Kidder
Rating: PG
See the IMDB page
See the Rotten Tomatoes page
They took this movie in a different direction, and it worked out alright. The plot was an improvement (thank God) and overall this film was considerably more enjoyable than the first two Superman movies. They had to sacrifice a few things though such as the similarity to the Superman comics and a couple key characters.
The Good: FINALLY they made a decent plot line that didn't end with too much science fiction crap (minus the supercomputer possessing Vera). It was actually somewhat believable especially for the time period. I like how they sparked our imaginations about what computers are capable of, especially for the early 80's that must have been very intriguing. It had done before though, not quite like this, but it'd been done. I absolutely loved how they brought out a darker Superman character in this movie. Even though it was only for a few minutes, it was done really well, and given the technology of the time I can understand why they didn't want the same actor having to play two roles for more than a couple minutes anyway.
The cast did an okay job. I liked Richard Pryor as Gus, although his facial expressions were a little over the top sometimes I feel he played his character well and was legitimately funny most of the time. Christopher Reeve turned in another great performance as Superman and an even better one as Clark Kent, and the fight between himself and himself was done very well from an acting perspective. Margot Kidder had a much smaller role as Lois Lane in this movie but she still did well and the supporting actors and actresses all did well in their respective roles. Jackie Cooper did a good job again as Perry White, although I still prefer J.K. Simmons as J.J. in the Spider-Man movies for that crazy newspaper boss role.
The Bad: Margot Kidder's fake tan in the last scene of the movie, she looks like a human Dorito. On that topic, where was she this whole movie? Apparently she was sent to Bermuda, and Clark didn't follow her. He was practically stalking her throughout the first two movies and all of a sudden he just lets her fly off to Bermuda for an entire movie and doesn't even give her a second thought. In fact, he even tries to get frisky with his high school crush AND he hooks up with one of the villain chicks. It really baffles me how they can just throw the Clark and Lois romance under the bus like that. My only other problem with the plot was the absence of Lex Luthor. I know he's not Superman's only villain but he's the most common one, I expected him to have some part in this evil scheme, or at least have one or two lines at the end to signal him being in the sequel. And let's face it, Gene Hackman was the best actor in the cast, they took a hit losing him, especially since they hardly gave Margot Kidder any face time too.
I'm really getting tired of bashing the special effects of these movies, but come on, I saw strings and wires so many times while watching this I almost gave up. The computer generated stuff was slightly better, and there wasn't much noticeable artwork like the second movie, but the effects still weren't very good.
The Interesting: Gus skiing off the top of a skyscraper and not dying was pretty interesting to me. The most interesting thing about this movie though was when Superman turned bad. First off, it didn't happen right when he touched the kryptonite; it happened like ten minutes later, it just hit him, which was weird. Also, he was so "bad" but what did he really do? He straightened the Leaning Tower of Pisa, saved an evil lady from the top of the statue of liberty (then hooked up with her), and had a couple drinks at the local bar? Hell, he didn't turn bad he just turned into a normal guy, using his powers to fix things that needed to be fixed and hook up with girls. Everyone in the world started freaking out too, it's not like Superman had turned evil, he just wasn't as happy go lucky and noble anymore.
Conclusion: This movie was an improvement on the first two and actually somewhat enjoyable. The addition of Richard Pryor made up for losing Gene Hackman and not giving Margot Kidder a big role, kind of. It's worth watching, especially if you've had it with the first two movies and need a new perspective of the character that is Superman.
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