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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

PG

1987

1h 30m

Adventure

Sci-Fi

Fantasy

Action

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Popcornmeter

10%

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52 Reviews

16%

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50,000+ Ratings

Seeing the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a nuclear arms race that could lead to Earth's destruction, Superman (Christopher Reeve) decides that he must take action. He collects all the nuclear warheads from the world and throws them into space. Meanwhile, Superman's nemesis, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), has broken out of prison with a new scheme. He clones Superman with radioactive material to create Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow), a being just as powerful as the man of steel.

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Critics Consensus

The Superman series bottoms out here: the action is boring, the special effects look cheaper, and none of the actors appear interested in where the plot's going.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Tribune

The impoverishment here is not merely of means, but of spirit.

Rated: 1/4

May 5, 2014

Full Review

Michael Wilmington

Los Angeles Times

The overall effect is of a story atomized and dying before our eyes, collapsing into smashed pulp, ground down into big-budget Kryptonite ash.

May 5, 2014

Full Review

Desmond Ryan

Philadelphia Inquirer

Of course, Superman saves the world, but the real news is that there's still some life in the series.

Rated: 3/4

May 5, 2014

Full Review

Don Shanahan

Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast

The charm is there, as well as Reeve's dedication, but the execution is not.

Jun 21, 2023

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

It appears to have been filmed for a buck fifty.

Rated: 1.5/4

May 13, 2023

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is the single worst Superman film of all time--a disgrace to the franchise, its creators, and most of all, the audience's intelligence.

Rated: 0.5/5

May 9, 2023

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Stephen C

Tasteless in just 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/29/25

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Faiz D

I spent the better part of yesterday watching the Superman movies. It was an interesting experience watching these movies in a series back to back. Although I'm not that big on Superman, as I'm more a fan of Batman, these movies were very much entertaining, and delivered good actions, some good comedic elements and plenty of thrills. Christopher Reeve was very effective as Clark Kent/Superman and will always be that character. No other reboot will ever fill his shoes. EVER.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/13/25

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Carnage David Z

Ooof! Definitely the weakest movie of the Reeves Superman.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/19/25

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r96 s

'Superman IV: The Quest for Peace' isn't one I'll be filing anywhere near 'good', though it is at least a minimal improvement on III and 'Supergirl'. It has a pleasantly short run time of just under 90 minutes and features a plot that I didn't find totally terrible. Christopher Reeve stars as Superman for the final time, to as decent effect as you'd expect. Gene Hackman makes a return as Lex Luthor, to my support - I think he's the one I'll remember most from these films, aside from the main guy obviously. It's not Hackman on top form, but still solid enough. Overall though, I didn't get the required entertainment. I do think it starts better than it finishes, the end noticeably drags. One big reason for that is the Nuclear Man character. Any time he appears, I was uninterested. The 'switching' in front of Lois Lane is also extremely repetitive by this point. A blessing for all involved that this era of Superman concluded here. Now to see what they did for 2006's 'Superman Returns', a movie I'm a little surprised didn't cross my path as a kid to be honest; as the Spiderman flicks from those years did. Maybe I'll find out why!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/08/25

Full Review

Michael P

I cannot believe how bad this movie is. This is one of the worst movies I've seen. From bad editing, to Superman has telekinesis? To the writing, the sound, the story, all of it. Reeves is always good as Superman and Gene Hackman is great as Lex but everything is terrible... wow that was bad

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/08/25

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Magnus Ø

Better than Superman III at least

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/21/24

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Sidney J. Furie

Director

Christopher Reeve

Clark Kent

Gene Hackman

Lex Luthor

Mariel Hemingway

Lacy Warfield

Jackie Cooper

Perry White

Marc McClure

Jimmy Olsen

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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Seeing the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a nuclear arms race that could lead to Earth's destruction, Superman (Christopher Reeve) decides that he must take action. He collects all the nuclear warheads from the world and throws them into space. Meanwhile, Superman's nemesis, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), has broken out of prison with a new scheme. He clones Superman with radioactive material to create Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow), a being just as powerful as the man of steel.

Director: Sidney J. Furie
Producer: Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan
Screenwriter: Lawrence Konner, Christopher Reeve
Production Co: Warner Bros., Cannon Films
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.9M
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Surround

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