9. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
The original Superman film series created the initial formula for the superhero genre, and is the first commercial instance of the genre on the big screen on any major scale, sans the Batman TV motion picture. The first and second Superman films were received incredibly well, both critically and commercially, with particular attention to Christopher Reeve's depiction as the last son of Krypton, and Gene Hackman's ever-scheming Lex Luthor. However, after the critically acclaimed appearance of General Zod in Superman II, things quickly went downhill. After the negative reception Superman III received, the rights to Superman on the big screen were sold to Cannon Films. They had little faith in the film, and produced Superman IV: The Quest For Peace on a measly budget of $15 million, while the film's subject matter would paint Superman IV as an unfitting entry into the series. Most of the elements are still there, but the whole scale of everything, the sets, extras etc, are all significantly pared down due to the minimalist budget, making the film very visually dull compared to the earlier installments. In addition, the film's subject matter was heavily related to that of nuclear war, as Lex Luthor uses technology to create a nuclear powered clone of Superman known as Nuclear Man, who threatens to cause a nuclear apocalypse. A lot of the film is kind of pseudo-political, and more ridiculous than usual, with some heavily scaled-back production values during the film's essential action scenes making it quite dull and full of filler. While not completely different, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace offered a minimal, imperfect experience compared to the earlier, action-packed Superman films.