I had forgotten how bad the last Christopher Reeve Superman movies were

After watching and re-watching James Gunn Superman Tractor In recent weeks, I’ve been on a Superman high. To continue it, I decided that while Building Lego during the Christmas holidaysI would rewatch it all Christopher Reeve Superman films. Movies I’ve seen before, I’m old enough to have seen them Fourth in theaters — but it hasn’t been rewatched in order for decades. What I found was one of the quickest films to decline that I can think of, although I think history has reversed a couple of films.

Everyone agrees that the 1978 Richard Donner film Superman It is a classic. It’s so epic and full of unforgettable scenes, that it remains one of the greatest superhero films of all time. He’s clearly the best of the bunch. Superman II It’s a step down for sure but it complements the story of this film well, giving us full circle with the characters of Clark Kent, Lois Lane and wrapping up the whole General Zod thing.

Then it popped up Superman III Immediately I knew it was a bad decision. It starts with Richard Pryor’s character in the unemployment office. Then, magically, he becomes the world’s greatest computer hacker. Clark Kent returns to Smallville and grows strangely close to his old colleague. Pryor and his evil boss create fake Kryptonite that is basically a cigarette and inexplicably turn Superman into a fool. Then we have to watch him be an idiot for a very long time. Finally, Superman fights himself, becomes normal again, and fights computer hackers while also inexplicably forgiving Pryor’s character. It’s, frankly, a huge piece of shit.

Superman III It actually made me angry. If I wanted to watch a Richard Pryor movie, I would. Obviously this was just Richard Pryor starring in a movie Superman film and not the other way around. It misunderstands the characters, never develops a dramatic plot, is full of all sorts of inappropriate gags, and works better as an anti-smoking ad than anything else. This worries me a lot because while I saw… Superman and Superman II Several times in recent years, I don’t remember Third or Fourth also. All I remembered was, I thought, Fourth He was the worst of the group. So when I started it, I was a little hesitant.

I’ve actually found that I go with those low expectations Superman IV: The Quest for Peace To be vastly superior Superman III. It’s still terrible – let’s not forget that – but at least it’s trying to be Superman film. He’s back in love with Lois Lane, and Margot Kidder is back for the entire movie. Lex Luthor has a new plan and Gene Hackman is back for the entire movie. Superman has to fight a supervillain from another universe in Nuclear Man. Personality works to improve the whole world. These are all things that seem crucial, in one way or another, to anyone’s DNA Superman film.

Of course, this all happens too easily, and none of the actors – with the exception of the always exceptional Reeve – care one iota about what they’re doing. Superman IV It forgets the events of other films, it looks bad, it somehow feels too small for the franchise, and the action scenes are terrible. It’s a bad, bad movie. But it is a step forward from the previous abomination.

As the movie ended (Superman IV It’s also about 45 minutes shorter than the previous three, thankfully There are many reasons for this), I felt very confident in my rankings. One is one, two is two, four is three, and three is four. It honestly felt like an almost infallible list. So, when I looked at Wikipedia and Rotten Tomatoes to see that Superman III It is viewed better – though not by much – than FourthI was a little surprised. Obviously this is the narrative I had in mind, but when I watched the two bad movies back to back, after a great first movie and a good second movie, I felt like the date was wrong. Superman III Awful in every sense of the word while Striving for peace It’s terrible, while at least trying to be a Superman movie. This put him over the top.

Fortunately, Warner Bros. has it. The perfect disinfectant for these two brutal processes. No, it’s not an unofficial sequel Superman returns From 2006. We mean Superman/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, A wonderful documentary about the man and the character. Which It may actually be the best Superman movie ever.

All of these movies are currently streaming on Max.

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