Superman Marathon

I spent the better part of yesterday and this morning watching five of the seven Superman movies. It's an interesting experience watching several movies in a series back to back, because you get some continuity that would otherwise be missing. Except in this case where there is a lack of continuity within the first four movies as a whole.

Superman and Superman II really make a true continuing storyline as they were both filmed simultaneously and Superman II is an extension of the first Superman. These were, by far, the best movies of the four. I do have a couple issues with the Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, the first deals with continuity that doesn't make sense near at the end of the movie. In the Donner cut, Superman reverses everything by spinning the world backwards. After doing so, he goes back to the diner to confront the guy who beat him up after he got rid of his powers. Except, that guy shouldn't remember beating him up, and the diner own shouldn't have remembered that it cost him a fortune to fix the damage. Another issue was with Lex Luther, who was able to put too many pieces together about how to hurt Superman. Really, to go from an exploding Krypton to Kryptonite fragments being lethal? That's weak storytelling.

Then Superman III happened. There is just so much that's terrible about this movie, it's hard to get started. I suppose the first problem is casting Richard Pryor to play a computer genius. At the beginning of the movie, he can't keep a job at a fast food restaurant for a half hour, but by the end he develops a super-computer that could kill Superman! It's too far beyond ridiculous. Even more stupid is Superman going bad because of a synthetic Kryptonite Gus (Richard Pryor) develops with tar as an ingredient. Now it isn't fair of me to blame the stupidity of this movie solely on Richard Pryor, as the writing was terribly idiotic.

I originally thought that Superman III was the worse film in the series, and then I watched Superman IV: Quest for Peace. This one was practically unwatchable. I was so completely disappointed in this movie, that thinking about it almost brings tears to my eyes. How could something go this wrong! The entire concept of the movie is terrible as its primary story is preaching the importance of nuclear disarmament. As if the story wasn't bad enough, the special effects look more like special-ed effects. I can't remember a movie that looks substantially worse than the 9-year old original.

Finally, Superman Returns, thank goodness for this breath of fresh air. I think it's interesting after watching the previous four movies, which were all filmed in the better part of the 80's and then watching this movie, there is a difference. Superman Returns is a better movie than the others are. When it comes to Superman, I'm not a purist so I'm not going to align myself with the original just because it's the original. I think Superman Returns' storytelling and pacing is better than the others. This goes to show how far filmmaking has come since the late 70's and 80's.

If I were to list the movies in order of favorites, it would go as follows.

01. Superman Returns - I think it's more entertaining, pleasing to watch, polished and still has that timeless sensibility. It even makes homage to Superman: The Movie with various quotes including, "Well, I hope this experience hasn't put any of you off flying. Statistically speaking, it's still the safest way to travel."

02. Superman II - I've seen this a million and a half times and the battle between General Zod and his compatriots is still a favorite of mine.

03. Superman: The Movie - It's number three because they spend a little too much time on his youth.

04. Superman III - Not the worst, but certainly not the best. This is kind of like Batman Forever, It's a terrible movie, but it has its moments.

05. Superman IV: Quest for Peace - Quite possibly the worst movie ever made in the entire history of cinema. There is absolutely no redeeming value, not entertaining in the least, and doesn't effectively get its nuclear disarmament message across.

There you have it, my take on the Superman movies. I still need to watch again the original Superman II as well as the extended Superman: The Movie to get a clearer picture on which versions are actually better.