3. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
The fourth
Superman film is so horrible it nearly undoes the goodwill earned by the first two - compared to their confident brilliance, this is absolutely bottom-of-the-barrel, dead-in-a-car-wreck, flat-lining awfulness of a nuclear order. The plot feels like it's written by a child because it basically is; the film begins with a kid writing to Superman and asking if he can get rid of all the nukes the world over. Supes then declares he will do just that, but before he can, Lex Luthor is sprung from jail, steals a strand of his DNA, and by attaching a matrix to a nuke, manages to create some sort of a reaction that generates Superman's nuclear equivalent, imaginatively titled Nuclear Man. There are also horrible subplots which include that acquisition of the Daily Planet by a mindless windbag who wants to turn it into a glossy rag, and some head-smackingly dull romantic interludes. Somehow, despite the previous films actually having a strong artistic style and grasp on visual effects, things look ropier than ever here, and it generally reflects an attitude of apathy throughout; Gene Hackman, whose wacky portrayal of Luthor has often been the high point of these films, feels toned down, as though he can't be arsed and just wants to collect a pay-cheque. There's too much goofiness here, and not enough entertainment; it is a horrible, sorry, brain-damaged husk of a superhero film.