(POSSIBLE SPOILERS)
I am split on my opinion of this movie. On the one hand, we have a great superhero film with excellent special effects and moments that delight and inspire. On the other hand, we have a sequel that fails to equal the power of its predecessors and has moments that provoke anger and confusion. Indeed, Superman III is a guilty pleasure at best and a major let down at worst.
The changes begin at the opening credits. If you're a fan of the first two films, you're naturally expecting something spectacular and semi-cosmic. Not so with this film. The credits slide across the bottom of the screen as a series of slapstick comedy incidents play out on screen. This is one of the movie's more perplexing and less favourable moments. The scene is played for laughs, which along with being a radical change in tone from the first two entries, fails to humour at all. This is the film's rough start, and is likely to turn off many people to Superman III instantly.
The most recognizable change in the series is the presence of Richard Pryor. What can I say? Pryor is hilarious. Watching him is a great experience, but he seems terribly out of place in a Superman film. Sometimes his Gus Gorman character is a delight, other times it is an annoyance. He receives way too much screen time, and in many instances Superman III appears to be more of a Pryor film than a Superman one. However, there are other times where Pryor shines as a good addition. He portrays the innocent, well-meaning, manipulated character of Gorman quite well, but these moments are few and far between.
Superman III also includes the addition of an evil Superman, and this is where the film gets very interesting. When the Man of Steel is exposed to synthetic kryptonite laced with tobacco tar (via Gus Gorman), he is twisted into a dark, corrupted Superman. Christopher Reeve portrays this change beautifully and leaves with the impression that the new Superman is truly a force of menavolent darkness. After a few scenes displaying his new anti-heroic disposition, the dark Superman and good Clark Kent face off in a junkyard. This is easily the highlight of Superman III, and probably one of the major highlights of the entire Superman series. Whether or not the fight is occuring in reality or in the minds of the characters is ambiguous, but the visuals that result are fantastic. This leads us to the movie's most inspiring moment. After defeating the evil Superman, Clark rips open his shirt and reveals the clean "S" shield underneath and flies out of the junkyard. It is a great cinematic moment as well as a great Superman moment.
Superman III's final battle is, well, rather anticlimatic. Superman faces off with a giant super computer that has a mind of its own. Great concept, but it's executed fairly poorly on the screen. All of the effects and ingenuity appeared to go into making the technological colossus come to life instead of creating an entertaining fight sequence. In the end, Superman wins using brains instead of brawn. This seemed to be a cop-out on the part of the writers and producers, and the ending seems rushed and ill-planned. What we are left with is a film that starts and ends on a bad note.
Overall, Superman III is a mediocre Superman movie. Although it has outstanding special effects and a few moments that show that it is indeed a Superman film, it lacks the heart and verisimilitude of the first two. However, the movie does not deserve the burning it generally receives from critics, either. Christopher Reeve delivers another stunning performance as Kent and Superman and Annette O'Toole is charming as Lana Lang. The Man of Steel would not appear on the big screen again for four more years, with decidedly mixed results.
I am split on my opinion of this movie. On the one hand, we have a great superhero film with excellent special effects and moments that delight and inspire. On the other hand, we have a sequel that fails to equal the power of its predecessors and has moments that provoke anger and confusion. Indeed, Superman III is a guilty pleasure at best and a major let down at worst.
The changes begin at the opening credits. If you're a fan of the first two films, you're naturally expecting something spectacular and semi-cosmic. Not so with this film. The credits slide across the bottom of the screen as a series of slapstick comedy incidents play out on screen. This is one of the movie's more perplexing and less favourable moments. The scene is played for laughs, which along with being a radical change in tone from the first two entries, fails to humour at all. This is the film's rough start, and is likely to turn off many people to Superman III instantly.
The most recognizable change in the series is the presence of Richard Pryor. What can I say? Pryor is hilarious. Watching him is a great experience, but he seems terribly out of place in a Superman film. Sometimes his Gus Gorman character is a delight, other times it is an annoyance. He receives way too much screen time, and in many instances Superman III appears to be more of a Pryor film than a Superman one. However, there are other times where Pryor shines as a good addition. He portrays the innocent, well-meaning, manipulated character of Gorman quite well, but these moments are few and far between.
Superman III also includes the addition of an evil Superman, and this is where the film gets very interesting. When the Man of Steel is exposed to synthetic kryptonite laced with tobacco tar (via Gus Gorman), he is twisted into a dark, corrupted Superman. Christopher Reeve portrays this change beautifully and leaves with the impression that the new Superman is truly a force of menavolent darkness. After a few scenes displaying his new anti-heroic disposition, the dark Superman and good Clark Kent face off in a junkyard. This is easily the highlight of Superman III, and probably one of the major highlights of the entire Superman series. Whether or not the fight is occuring in reality or in the minds of the characters is ambiguous, but the visuals that result are fantastic. This leads us to the movie's most inspiring moment. After defeating the evil Superman, Clark rips open his shirt and reveals the clean "S" shield underneath and flies out of the junkyard. It is a great cinematic moment as well as a great Superman moment.
Superman III's final battle is, well, rather anticlimatic. Superman faces off with a giant super computer that has a mind of its own. Great concept, but it's executed fairly poorly on the screen. All of the effects and ingenuity appeared to go into making the technological colossus come to life instead of creating an entertaining fight sequence. In the end, Superman wins using brains instead of brawn. This seemed to be a cop-out on the part of the writers and producers, and the ending seems rushed and ill-planned. What we are left with is a film that starts and ends on a bad note.
Overall, Superman III is a mediocre Superman movie. Although it has outstanding special effects and a few moments that show that it is indeed a Superman film, it lacks the heart and verisimilitude of the first two. However, the movie does not deserve the burning it generally receives from critics, either. Christopher Reeve delivers another stunning performance as Kent and Superman and Annette O'Toole is charming as Lana Lang. The Man of Steel would not appear on the big screen again for four more years, with decidedly mixed results.
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