SIDNEY J. FURIE

Bil’s rating (out of 5):   BB.5. 

United Kingdom/USA, 1987.  Cannon Films, Warner Bros., Golan-Globus Productions, London-Cannon Films.  Story by Christopher Reeve, Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Screenplay by Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, based on characters created by Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel.  Cinematography by Ernest Day.  Produced by Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan.  Music by Alexander Courage.  Production Design by John Graysmark.  Costume Design by John Bloomfield.  Film Editing by John Shirley.  

Christopher Reeve‘s hero franchise definitely reached its finale when this under-baked adventure was released. Despite an earnest plot line devoted to dealing with current world issues (nuclear disarmament and world peace), there’s very little fun to it and even less creativity. Reeve (who also co-wrote) is once again the man of steel, pitted yet again opposite the evil Lex Luther (Gene Hackman) in a fight for world domination. Luther has created a nuclear weapon in the form of an android who takes his power from the sun and is possibly powerful enough to kill Superman, leaving the world vulnerable to Luther’s takeover. Will the man in blue tights save the day? You bet your spinning phone booth. Margot Kidder returns, plus there’s a new lady interest in Mariel Hemingway.