At some point during "Superman III", a little boy tells a strangely out of character Superman that he's "just in a slump". Audiences will probably say the same thing. After really enjoying the first two "Superman" movies, "Superman III" comes as a big disappointment. As directed by "Superman II's" Richard Lester, it makes a misguided turn towards campy comedy, while the screenplay by David and Leslie Newman simply serves as a vehicle for two popular icons of the early 1980s: comedian Richard Pryor and the computer.
Pryor plays an otherwise ordinary man who discovers an uncanny talent for computer programming. He's recruited by an unscrupulous industrialist (Robert Vaughn) to aid plans to dominate the world's economy. At the same time, Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) visits his hometown of Smallville and is reunited with his high school crush Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole). When Superman interferes in the bad guys' schemes, they attempt to synthesize Kryptonite to destroy him, but they get the formula wrong and the resulting compound instead alters the Man of Steel's personality (much like the Red Kryptonite from the old comic books did).
"Superman III" goes wrong on many different levels. Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor is absent and Margot Kidder's Lois Lane only has a cameo. Vaughn's okay, but Annie Ross is one dimensional as his haggish sister and Pamela Stephenson is annoying as a "psychic nutritionist" who may not be the blonde bimbo she appears to be. As for Pryor, he's simply miscast and has no place being in a "Superman" picture. Pryor's racy stand up act usually gets toned down for film and here he's reduced to silly pratfalls. I wouldn't have minded the greater emphasis on comedy if most of the jokes were funny (watch "Star Trek IV" as an example of how to do it right), but much of the humour in "Superman III" is forced and out of place. An opening sequence involving a slapstick chain of accidents belongs in a "Keystone Kops" episode.
"Superman III" does have a few saving graces. Christopher Reeve gives another good performance as the title character, even when the script lets him down. Reeve is also convincing portraying Superman's evil split personality. I don't want to give the movie's high point away, but there's a technically impressive fight sequence in a junkyard that brings a touch of darkness and psychological complexity to a movie otherwise lacking in it. O'Toole also provides a pleasant alternative love interest for the Man of Steel. Just like in the comics, Lana prefers Clark as he is while Lois only had eyes for Superman. There are also some decent action sequences, like when Superman puts out a chemical plant fire, but I found the climactic fight against the villains' giant super-computer to be nothing more than an ad for an Atari video game. Unfortunately for all, "Superman III" marked the beginning of the end for a once great movie franchise.
3 out of 10.
Pryor plays an otherwise ordinary man who discovers an uncanny talent for computer programming. He's recruited by an unscrupulous industrialist (Robert Vaughn) to aid plans to dominate the world's economy. At the same time, Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) visits his hometown of Smallville and is reunited with his high school crush Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole). When Superman interferes in the bad guys' schemes, they attempt to synthesize Kryptonite to destroy him, but they get the formula wrong and the resulting compound instead alters the Man of Steel's personality (much like the Red Kryptonite from the old comic books did).
"Superman III" goes wrong on many different levels. Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor is absent and Margot Kidder's Lois Lane only has a cameo. Vaughn's okay, but Annie Ross is one dimensional as his haggish sister and Pamela Stephenson is annoying as a "psychic nutritionist" who may not be the blonde bimbo she appears to be. As for Pryor, he's simply miscast and has no place being in a "Superman" picture. Pryor's racy stand up act usually gets toned down for film and here he's reduced to silly pratfalls. I wouldn't have minded the greater emphasis on comedy if most of the jokes were funny (watch "Star Trek IV" as an example of how to do it right), but much of the humour in "Superman III" is forced and out of place. An opening sequence involving a slapstick chain of accidents belongs in a "Keystone Kops" episode.
"Superman III" does have a few saving graces. Christopher Reeve gives another good performance as the title character, even when the script lets him down. Reeve is also convincing portraying Superman's evil split personality. I don't want to give the movie's high point away, but there's a technically impressive fight sequence in a junkyard that brings a touch of darkness and psychological complexity to a movie otherwise lacking in it. O'Toole also provides a pleasant alternative love interest for the Man of Steel. Just like in the comics, Lana prefers Clark as he is while Lois only had eyes for Superman. There are also some decent action sequences, like when Superman puts out a chemical plant fire, but I found the climactic fight against the villains' giant super-computer to be nothing more than an ad for an Atari video game. Unfortunately for all, "Superman III" marked the beginning of the end for a once great movie franchise.
3 out of 10.