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37 out of 48 people found the following review useful: You always wanted to fly Kent -- now's your chance!, 14 November 2006 Author: bartfargo67 from Earth
Superman III is a very misunderstood film. It did lack the epic nature that the previous two films had since they had a lot to do with Krypton with the origin and Phantom Zone villains and did a great job in setting up the mythos, but III just went in a different direction being more down-to-earth, and with a more comic book plot. Different and stranger menaces arose to meet Superman: environmental threats, the growing power of computers, characters blurred between doing good and evil, as well as an internal battle of psyche. The first two movies may have been better made but Superman III still has its moments.In terms of the comedy, Richard Lester just played to his strengths. He's a good comedic director collaborating with Peter Sellers in the past, and one of the foremost swashbuckler directors with 73's The Three Musketeers, 74's The Four Musketeers and 76's Robin and Marian. So his experience in adventure was appropriate to tackle this type of film but his love of humor was not so widely well received, Supes III just had his regular brand of humor. The opening in Metropolis, the fighting stop-lights, and the kill Superman video-game sequence i found funny as a kid but it's still kind of amusing now. These movies were based off of the 40s originated comic book which had plenty of that humor there. I enjoyed Richard Pryor and thought he had some pretty funny bits here. But who draws you in is of course Christopher Reeve. He was at his physical prime here, he kept increasing his weight gain with each Superman peaking here (by IV he opted for a more cardiovascular workout) and he really looks the most like the on screen incarnation of Superman, even more so than the comic book incarnations, when i watch him i'm not seeing Reeve but the actual Superman. What i loved was rather than have Lois be Clark's love interest again and Lex be in this again, it is a nice change of pace for another villain and Lana Lang, who actually loves Clark Kent while Lois just liked Superman the most. The scenes with Lana are heartwarming and really sweet. She's a cutie. We get to know Clark a little better and see him in a better light through Lana's eyes than we do through Lois'. He plays a more down-to-Earth Clark, more like Smallville Clark than Metropolis Clark, but still never losing that lovable dorkiness from the first two films, the Clark in this film is my favorite interpretation of him.Reeve always wanted to challenge himself as an actor, and it definitely shows here. He would have played no less than 4 different characters by III: Superman, his natural Smallville Clark, Metropolis Clark, and the evil version of Superman. The premise of synthetic kryptonite screwing up Supes is excellent: him being lazy, doing mischievous things (like straightening out the Leaning Tower of Piza which was one of Donner's ideas in his drafts), forcefully seducing the evil lady on the Empire State Building, his 5 o'clock shadow and darker suit makes him look like a bad ass. Getting drunk and breaking alcohol bottles by flicking peanuts with a "whattya lookin' at!?" toward the onlookers; instead of making it just a paper thin evil character, Reeve gives legitimacy to it, Supes really disdains everyone and himself included (he burns the mirror when he sees himself with his eyes) and the junkyard battle between Clark and Evil Superman is my favorite moment of the whole series. It was just choreographed so great. Evil Supes screaming "come on, come on!" gave shivers to my spine. The end of the titanic brawl feels like the most Superman-like of the whole series. Evil Superman is truly my favorite villain of the movies. How ironic Reeve could play the best antagonist too, able to control his performance so well.The computer element, and the super computer felt like an un-named version of Brainiac (which was the original intent but Warner assumed more control over the producers such as more screen time for Pryor). Another moment i liked is the chemical plant disaster, there's a real felt sense of dire urgency, and the coming of Superman feels so heroic. The film has some real neat effects too, the Kryptonite Ray, and one of the creepiest parts ever, that haunted me as a kid, when the lady gets sucked in the computer and instantly transforms into a psycho robot with those silvery eyes. I like how Supes also uses his smarts against the supercomputer instead of his powers. Superman III i feel is a lighter movie from the previous 2 but it's interlaced with the most extremely dark parts of the series, the romantic Smallville scenes, and is a really underrated film that to me, makes a great installment in the series and my favorite Superman film. Experience this gem.
30 out of 35 people found the following review useful: "I hope you don't expect me to save you...", 28 November 2006 Author: burbs82
Despite the overwhelming hatred for Superman III, I gotta say that I think it's an excellent film. One of the two best of the whole Superman saga, actually. The other, of course, is the original film. But Superman III is so much fun, and a great example of how it's possible for Superman to have enemies OTHER than Lex Luthor. The guy's been the main villain in, how many is it, FOUR of the now FIVE Superman films? I liked Gene Hackman's Luthor (far superior to Kevin Spacey's), but you gotta take a break at some point. No, Superman III is a refreshing change of pace, not only in that respect, but in several ways.Most noticeable, and much to the chagrin of many people, is the slightly more comedic tone of the film, centered mainly around Richard Pryor's character, August 'Gus' Gorman. I thought Prior was great. He plays an over-the-top character in a movie series about an over-the-top character. I hear people complain all the time that they hate the comedy that Prior brought to the film because Superman is supposed to be, and these are actual quotes, "gritty" and "realistic". NO, he's not. Superman is not gritty, and he's not realistic. Never was, never will be. Richard Donner's original doesn't even come CLOSE to playing it straight. Just look at how he portrays Clark Kent. In the comic books and 1950's television series, the "mild-mannered" Clark Kent is treated with respect and professionalism. He basically co-exists amongst his peers at the Daily Planet. In "Superman: The Movie", Richard Donner has taken the character straight out of the old comics and TV series, with all the same mannerisms and morals, and placed him in a very modern 1978. This is a set-up for much of the films adequate amount of comedy relief. "Superman: The Movie" is not a comedy. Neither is "Superman III", but they both have comic relief. The Clark Kent character is slightly more serious in this one, thus, you have Gus. A funny little man, with an interesting power. A savant-like intellect that gives him complete control over any computer system.I especially like how Clark Kent, Superman's alterego, is fleshed out more as he returns home to Smallville. This is a great follow-up to Richard Donner's brief exploration to Superman's early years in Smallville. The inclusion of Lana Lang as Clark's high school crush was great, even better in that they chose the lovely Annette O'Toole to portray the character. I LOVE Margot Kidder, but I think Lana is a very important character in Superman's backstory.All the delving into Clark Kent's character and background leads us to one of the greatest scenes in motion picture history... Clark Kent vs. Evil Superman. I could sit here and expound on the scene's metaphoric implications all day long, but simply put, I found it jaw-dropping. Christopher Reeve was always perfect as Superman, but his best work is here in this scene. Evil Superman is a very physical representation of everything Clark/Superman has ever repressed, and obviously we're talking about a lot of repression here. It's great stuff. I still wanna cheer every time the victorious Clark Kent opens his shirt to reveal his famous insignia, which, by the way, is differentiated by Evil Superman's in that it's excessively bright, where as his was really dark and dingy looking. Having been a Superman fan since I was a kid way back in the day, that's one of those scenes I'll remember 'till the day I die. I remember it from my childhood, but it's actually more relateable for me now as an adult.Superman III is one of the greats. If you haven't seen it yet, I only ask that you watch it with an open mind and not look for grit or realism where it has no place being. Instead, just believe a man can fly... again.
32 out of 44 people found the following review useful: Not that bad of a sequel., 2 October 2000 Author: lartronic from Akron, Ohio.
I will admit that when compared to the first two films, this is obviously inferior. But still, it's not all that bad. Christopher Reeves is still the best Superman, and Richard Pryor was okay. I remember seeing this a lot when I was real young, so I have a special place for this film in my heart. I will always remember the scenes when Superman fights the separate superman. The scene where that lady is turned into a robot used to scare me, but I think it's cool now. A good Saturday afternoon film.
14 out of 15 people found the following review useful: Like Office Space With a Super Hero, 17 September 2006 Author: Gavin Schmitt (gavin6942@yahoo.com) from Kaukauna, Wisconsin
After making two fairly decent Superman movies, things took a slightly different turn with Superman III. Gene Hackman was nowhere to be found, Lois Lane has such a small part that she's essentially not even in the continuity anymore (Clark apparently forgets all about his love of Lois when he re-meets Lana Lang). And things became really funny, or were at least supposed to be. If you consider "campy" to be funny.Superman faces off against himself, after being exposed to a new form of kryptonite that has tobacco tar mixed in. Can the world trust a Superman who destroys oil tankers and sleeps with random women on top of the Statue of Liberty? The best part of the "Evil Superman" sequence is when we see Superman drunk, if for no other reason than the thought of Superman getting drunk (or even having the ability to become intoxicated) is a most unusual thought. Good thing Superman doesn't drive a car.I really enjoyed the entrance of Lana Lang into the film. Lana, in my opinion, was always the more appropriate match for Superman and there is no exception in this movie. She shares a history with him, is more caring than Lois and less dominant. I'm curious where the Lois/Lana thing will go in Part 4, if it goes anywhere. (I am not suggesting dominant women are bad, by the way. But the fact of the matter is anyone dating Superman is going to have to be comfortable with being second fiddle.) What sold me on this movie (and almost scored it a 7 instead of a 6) is the tie-in with "Office Space". In Office Space, Superman III is referenced for a computer program that takes fractions of a cent and puts them in a bank account. The scene in this film was great, and really made me appreciate the way Mike Judge used it many years later.With nicotine and tar being the secret ingredients in the new kryptonite, was there some message being sent? Richard Pryor was great. He was funny and made the entire film more of a comedy with kitsch than the serious films we had seen before. Many people really didn't like the campiness, I guess, but I thought it was enjoyable for the most part (though they did go over the top just a bit). In my mind, Superman was the light story and Batman the dark story, so I'd rather see a silly Superman than a silly Batman.The new villain to replace Lex Luthor was okay, but why bother making a new villain if he's going to be the exact same character? I would hope after fifty years of comic books, there would have been at least one other super villain they could have chosen (although the new "Superman Returns" focuses on Luthor again, so I guess creativity is minimal in the Superman world).If you've seen parts one and two, you may as well see this. But do keep in mind that the world of Superman turns a little "bizarro" for the next two hours of film time...
15 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Great Superman sequel - underrated by traditionalists, 3 July 2006 Author: mattrochman from Australia
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This film is not worthy of the 9/10 I gave it. But I saw that the average was below 5 and I feel the need to "corrupt" the statistics. I want to increase this average so that score is a truer reflection of the quality and public's perception of this film.Many may think that this is unfair or unreasonable. But I regard it as a reflex reaction to traditionalists who gave it '1' because it strayed from the typical superman formula, irrespective of whether it was a good film in its own right... and it was! Since they are unfairly under-rating the film, I feel justified in over-rating the film..... DEAL WITH IT! The traditionalists want the love interest Lois Lane to feature prominently, along with the naive Jimmy Olsen, the ranting Perry White and the conniving and ruthless Lex Luthor.Well, Jimmy breaks his leg in the first 15 minutes and is (presumably) hospitalised for the rest of the film, Lois (kidder) makes a cameo appearance at the start of the film to let us know that she's going on holiday, Lex (& his numb-skull sidekick Otis) isn't even mentioned and it seems as if the Daily Planet doesn't mind if Clark Kent goes to his high school reunion and then takes the next few weeks off work. With all the plot devices removed, I was actually interested in where this movie would take me, rather than rolling my eyes before the film has even begun.First and foremost, the film opens better than any other of th0e Reeve Supermans. First, Superman saves a man from drowning in his car (wait till you see it!) and shortly after, there is a fire at a chemical factory (and superman arrives again to save the day). I felt that this opening was rather thrilling and the film makers stuck to the traditions of classic Superman.Then we move onto the story of Clark Kent rekindling a romance with a high school sweetheart, who is, at the same time, fending off an old alcoholic ex-boyfriend. This scenario gives rise to a number of funny scenes (the one at the bowling alley was side splitting). As per usual, Reeves played the part of the bumbling, geeky Clark Kent to perfection.Running along side is the story of Richard Prior. He's an unemployed bum (scenes in the welfare office are hysterical) who suddenly finds that he has a knack for computers. He commits a fraud using his extensive knowledge of computers (the fraud is later repeated - with acknowledgment - in the brilliant film "Office Space") and when he is caught, he assumes that he will be fired and arrested. However, his sinister boss has something else in mind for our comic computer whiz.However, their plans are thwarted by Superman and in response, Prior and his boss obtain kryptonite. However, the kryptonite is 'not quite right' and causes superman to become evil (rather than weaken him). In any case, superman is out of the way, which allows Prior and his boss go to work on a "super computer" that can control the world. Will Superman become good again and save the day in time? All in all, a very enjoyable film, even though there are short comings. The performances are very good and I couldn't imagine the computer whiz's part being played by anyone other than Prior. The villain was also terrific, as was his sister and co-conspirator.Yes - this does stray from the traditional Superman plot formulars. But it did so without dishonouring the Superman tradition if that makes sense. And besides, it's good to have a different villain than Lex Luthor and a break from the irritatingly unresolvable romance between Kent/Superman and Lois Lane.In closing, I found it rather amusing that the traditionalists put this effort down, but when the Reeve's series returned to it's old plot formulars (Luthor, Daily Planet, Lane...) in the woeful Superman IV - The Quest For Peace, the critics, traditionalists and general audiences all gave it a giant thumbs down!However, the film did lose a star for having this bizarre left-wing after-taste. Instead of a crazed criminal seeking world domination, the villain is a corporate boss who wants control of the coffee market and quotes Atilla the Hun. He is enraged by and destroys a small South American country that thinks it can dictate terms to the "free market." Clark Kent's high school crush is now a "perfect single mother" - see it's perfectly OK if Hollywood says so; and the film opens with poor old lovable Richard Pryor getting booted off welfare. Ironically, the villain goes for the oil towards the end of the film. But alas, Superman saved the day by ridding the world of this capitalist threat. Almost as laughable as the politically neutral "truth, justice, and .... all that stuff" in the recent Superman Returns. Get over it.
12 out of 14 people found the following review useful: It's not all that bad folks!, 11 November 2006 Author: John Lindsey (Johnlindsey289@hotmail.Com) from Socorro, New Mexico USA.
Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) who is a fun-loving computer genius has been hired by a mad rich computer company tycoon named Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn)to help him with his plans along with Ross's sister Vera (Annie Ross) and girlfriend Loreli (Pamela Stephenson) but Superman (Christopher Reeve)interferes with their plans as they must plot to stop Superman for good. Clark Kent revisits his old boyhood town called Smallville, where he is reunited with an old flame named Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole) at a high school reunion during his visit. Gus comes up with a scheme to make a special kryptonite with tobacco tar to make Superman evil including splitting up with his personality so that way Gus and Webster can make their supercomputer that can control the world's energy, can Superman come back to normal or will the computer take over mankind? Enjoyable sequel but not as awesome as the first two movies, Richard Lester who did his version of "Superman II" just added some unnecessary comedy relief such as the "Three Stooges"-esquire opening sequence that didn't help or that ludicrous video game footage but there was some good special effects and memorable moments like Clark Kent vs. Superman in the junkyard sequence or the part where Vera becomes a Dot Matrix from Spaceballs-like android, although Ms. Stephenson was pretty cute.All in all it's that bad folks, just relax, enjoy and suspend your disbelief.
24 out of 38 people found the following review useful: Richard Pryor and Richard Lester and two Supermans... What else could a man want?, 31 July 2004 Author: John Wayne Peel (jwpeel@tiac.net) from Lynn, Massachusetts
I love this movie, for those of you think it's really bad because it's too ridiculous, you must not read too many of the comics. The very first comics I never read were Superman comics, and that was when I hadn't even got into kindergarten, and let me tell you, they could be pretty silly but never boring.The same could be said for this movie. First of all, I love Richard Pryor and he has a field day in this movie. Secondly, I love Robert Vaughn, and he plays a really juicy villain in this one. And then there's this great fight scene between two Supermen... but I don't want to give away everything from those of you haven't seen the film yet.There is everything you should expect in this kind of movie. My only complaint was not enough Lois Lane (Margo Kidder) and maybe I'm nitpicking, but continuity with the other two films seems to be ignored completely. According to this entry in the series, Clark graduated from Smallville high in 1962. The problem with that is that in the first film, is clear that when Clark is in high school, it's the late 1940s by the vintage cars and trucks in the scenes. But hey, if we can believe that a man can come from another planet, fly, see through walls, burn through things with his eyes and lift trains into the air then why bitch about little things like continuity?Not only do I have this baby on video from cable TV, but I also taped the network version just for the outtakes and edited out every single commercial. (The beautifully choreographed opening credits with the blind man, some mechanical penguins on fire and more is even longer and better in the TV version.)So hate this one if you must, but I will take it over the second film any the day of the week. (That is, the Richard Lester version. I LOVED the Richard Donner cut which recently made it to DVD.)I give it a 7 out of 10.
11 out of 13 people found the following review useful: A lot less humor needed, 16 October 2006 Author: Bjorn (jbjorns) from Iceland
If you're a fan of Superman you'll find plenty to enjoy in this third installment in the series. I do, but it must be admitted that this film is much inferior to the first two.This has Richard Lester written all over it. Superman II was Richard Donner's creation and Lester simply took over and wisely kept the tone of the film but with some added humor. This time around the humor steers the film as it's mostly a Richard Pryor vehicle. It doesn't come as much of a surprise that the film fares best when focusing on the Man of Steel, whether he's romancing an old flame in Smallville or in high flying action.This is also the film where Superman goes bad and fights his alter ego to the death. Those scenes are the best in the film. Some set pieces are pretty good and special effects are decent. However, the finale has to be deemed utterly ridiculous when Superman battles a "sophisticated" computer! Reeve is amazing as Superman/Clark Kent. Effortlessly switching to playing a meaner version of himself, he's simply perfect. Richard Pryor is always the same, so if you're a fan of his work you'll love him here. Everyone else is decent except those three villains; they're a little too much, especially Vaughn.A lot less humor and more seriousness would have made the film very good.
16 out of 23 people found the following review useful: The best superman movie of them all!, 8 December 2002 Author: craigmathieson
The great thing about this movie is that it does not take itself too seriously, unlike the other superman movies. Casting Richard Pryor as a bad guy is a great idea because he is funny and all too human throughout the entire movie, and he is very easy to relate to. Christopher Reeve does the best role of his career, and in the scene where he fights with himself, it is good to see such a talented, in control actor assert himself on the screen. The plot does not take itself seriously either, and is often played for laughs, which is by no means a bad thing - the whole movie goes for two hours, but you will have such a good time watching it, you will not even notice. Highly reccomended.
17 out of 26 people found the following review useful: One of the better comicbook movies around, 7 November 2003 Author: The Spectacular Spider-Man from Can you get me a cup of coffee, please?
Cool things about Superman III: 1. Reeve gives his best Superman performance; no messing about, kick ass and take names heroics. I love it. 2. The junkyard fight scene, the best superhero movie fight sequence ever, outside the Matrix trilogy. 3. When Clark becomes Superman again after that fight scene; the way he stands up, realises who he is and then rips his shirt open to reveal the clean, fresh, heroic S symbol is awesome, and is one of the most stirring and effective Superman moments ever. 4. Best special effects of the series. 5. Richard Pryor IS funny, even though he is clearly in the wrong flick. 6. That nasty Zelda-from-Terrahawks cyborg monster that woman gets turned into at the end - SCARY! 7. Lana Lang is so much better than Lois Lane, you can actually see why Clark would go for her. 8. The way Superman outwits the computer at the climax rather than just using his power to defeat it. Here's the ultimate cool thing: when most actors play evil versions of their characters, they just play them as 2D bad guys. But Reeve makes the evil Superman a convincingly bitter, currupted version of the Man of Steel, who realises how great he used to be and hates himself and everybody else for his fall from grace. He's a disgraced hero, a fallen angel. Ironically, he's the best villain of teh Superman series. The whole good/evil Superman thing is awesome and for me makes Superman III a very good film. I'll take Superman III over Spider-Man, Daredevil and Batman Forever.
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