MovieChat Forums > Superman III (1983) Discussion > Awful Superman film; but with some AMAZI...

Awful Superman film; but with some AMAZING scenes.

posted 11 years ago by Odd_Adoxographer
28 replies | jump to latest

I enjoy Superman 3 for what it is. I think it's very entertaining, even funny at times, and much, much better than the 4th film, but it's still a pretty bad film. The silliness of it all makes it hard to take seriously.

HOWEVER, it does have some incredible scenes.
I think many people have mentioned this before, but "bad" Superman is probably Reeve's best performance, ever. That scene in the bar where he flicks the peanuts at the bottles? Holy crap. Amazing acting.
Also, the simple meaning of that scene. Can you imagine? The protector of humanity, the great Hero, suddenly going a little crazy? How torn must the people beside Supes in that scene must have felt? THE Superman! The guy you look up to and admire! Ughhh, scared and sad at the same time?

Also, the battle between both Supes is pretty damn good.

Superman II is my favorite in the series, but I think bad Superman alone in 3 makes for the best scenes out of the entire films.

4 has no redeeming qualities whatsoever I can think of.

Anyone agree?

[–] anannya_sen 11 years ago

I agree and disagree. I love all the Reeve movies, even 4 which I think has some redeeming qualities.

I agree about 3, it's a guilty pleasure for me. It's not a great Superman film per se but has some beautiful scenes (chemical plant fire, Smallville scenes) and I find Gus hilarious throughout the whole film. and yes, the evil Superman scene is one of the best scenes in the film series history (the closeup of the S, removal of the shirt and music gives me goosebumps every time, who said Lester didn't get Superman?) but clearly the plot is aimed and kids and a vehicle for Pryor.

What I like about 4 is the message it tried to convey, however badly. Not just about the threat of nuclear war and how we are one big world, but war profiteering, the decline of journalism and effect of the rumour mill, tampering with genetics and human laws and the vacuous nature of some of society's upper crust.

I also love Reeve's two speeches, especially the one at the end, I find Lex's lines about Lenny hilarious (dutch elm disease of the family tree) and also his responses (about the toupe that flies) and I love the double date scene.

Gothamite #3
But it happened at sea! See? C for Catwoman!!

[–] jsl_99 11 years ago

While Superman III was a major step down in quality compared to the first two it still has its moments and is watchable. I think those who hate it do so because of Pryor and the overall comedic aspect of it. Superman IV is the painful one because it was pretty much the nail in the coffin for what started out as a really good film series. The fourth film should've been good but Golan/Globus had the movie heavily edited and cut the film's budget in half which resulted in really crappy special effects. But I think Reeve and the other writers at least had good intentions when developing the fourth movie. Things just went horribly wrong in the execution of it.

[–] Soupful 10 years ago

What I like about 4 is the message it tried to convey, however badly. Not just about the threat of nuclear war and how we are one big world, but war profiteering, the decline of journalism and effect of the rumour mill, tampering with genetics and human laws and the vacuous nature of some of society's upper crust.

I also love Reeve's two speeches, especially the one at the end, I find Lex's lines about Lenny hilarious (dutch elm disease of the family tree) and also his responses (about the toupe that flies) and I love the double date scene.
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^ True about this @anannya_sen on 'Superman IV' and the matured friendship between Kae-El/Superman and Lois Lane relationship having transitioned from lovers to trusted friends instead.

"Nothing is as it seems, nothing is just one thing and nothing is ever just over there"

[–] Herreken 10 years ago

the evil Superman scene is one of the best scenes in the film series history (the closeup of the S, removal of the shirt and music gives me goosebumps every time, who said Lester didn't get Superman?)

As much as I love the first & second films, this is the most memorable moment out of those four films.

DISPLAY thy breasts, my Julia!

[–] CapitanJusticia 9 years ago

Even more memorable than Clark opening his shirt as he runs across the street and reveals his 'S' for the first time in the first movie? Come on!

[–] joe_538 11 years ago

I liked the scenes with Lana, even if they made her a mother (It suits her a lot better than Lois). You get to see this side of Clark where he doesn't have to be pretend to be a clumsy buffoon, and he can have a little bit of a personal life. They never really get into that in the other movies, you know he likes Lois, and judging by his apartment in Superman IV he's a football fan, but that's about it.

[–] Skye_Reynolds 11 years ago

I'm going to be honest, I think that the series had its share of silly, campy, or outright stupid moments from the very start. As such, the drop in quality between films didn't bother me in this series as much as it did in the Batman series when Joel Schumacher took over.

I actually think I enjoyed Superman IV better than this one. Superman IV was a bad movie, but this one was mostly boring and that's one of the worst things that a film of this kind can be. I enjoyed several individual scenes though and that's honestly what I think of when I think about the Christopher Reeve series. I don't think of a continuous narrative but rather a collection of individual scenes and highlights from the life of Superman.

I enjoyed Superman IV as a child and, even though it is a bad film, I have to admit that I did still enjoy in in a b-movie sort of way. Gene Hackman plays Lex Luthor as though he were a fight promoter or sinister manager for Nuclear Man. Superman gets an evil doppelganger with similar, yet slightly different abilities. It's a low grade Superman film, but it still has a little bit of charm to it.

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"In literature, it's called plagiarism. In the movies, it's homage." ~ Roger Ebert

[–] Gustav_Fiers 11 years ago

The scrap yard fight is still one of the best in the series.

[–] Lantern_Jaw 11 years ago

The Junk Yard fight is great ...but I also love the build-up to it: Superman getting drunk and then losing control at the sound of the voice of child who praises him. Remember comics were predominantly for children, but it's only as a nostalgic adult that the true potency of the scene hits home. Perfect.

As for Superman IV, it has lots of redeeming qualities, or at least some good ideas. Who can possibly not like him ridding the world of nukes? ... Also, the lifting of the statue of liberty scene? Awesome...The other movies have nothing on this scale, easily the MOST ambitious superman movie, yet unfortunately also the cheapest, isn't it ironic?

www.paulloudon.com

[–] HellboundHero 11 years ago

I think most of the effects are passable, other than the overused head-on shot of Superman and Nuclear man flying. Looking at some of the deleted scenes with incomplete flying effects(where it's red and you can see the rigging), I'm guessing they originally wanted more varied flying shots but didn't have the money for them.

[–] omgdarrenlol 11 years ago

I would go one further than you, and say that all four of those Superman films are awful. I think they all get far more credit than they deserve. They are all campy and silly; Superman III is just the most silly of the bunch, and because it embraces the silliness instead of having a serious tone like the others, it is the most tolerable of the four IMO.

I will also add, I think that sequence when Vera gets turned into the cyborg is one of the most terrifying images in Hollywood cinema in the last 40 years or so. Probably because it's so unexpected. The movie is just bouncing along being a goofy Richard Pryor vehicle, and then HOLY *beep* THAT WOMAN JUST HAD METAL FORCIBLY GRAFTED ONTO HER BODY AND BECAME A CRAZED KILLER ROBOT WTF JUST HAPPENED. Nine year old me was traumatized to hell by that scene.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] omgdarrenlol 10 years ago

Hey, thanks for the feedback! Since a glance at your posting history shows that you are a barely literate moron who writes in poorly punctuated sentence fragments and replies regularly to discussions that have been dead for months, there is no offense taken! Cheers.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] lenlarga 10 years ago

Superman The Movie has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Superman II original has an 89% rating and the Donner cut a 90% rating.

So I would say you are in a distinct minority in regards to the first two films.

[–] Doom 10 years ago

“You know it's unusual finding a good-looking girl like you alone like this.”

From that moment, up until the end of the junkyard battle, this movie ROCKED.

But both before and after that? Ugh.

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Wait a minute... who am I here?

[–] CapitanJusticia 9 years ago

LMAO!! You are so right, that scene was scary as hell!

[–] Protecious 11 years ago

YES, although III is highly underrated in my opinion. there are some SUPERb quality scenes, as well as a full length film, sorry but SUPERMAN III is epic!

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] manchof1 10 years ago

The scenes with evil Superman were good as well was the junkyard fight but that's about it.