Review of Superman III (1983) by Brett W — 27 Sep 2014

It's kind of baffling, really. Nearly everyone involved with the making of "Superman 3" has been involved with the series from the beginning, and how they let this fall this far this fast will probably always remain a mystery. This inexplicably passed through a lot of people who all apparently gave their seal of approval to this mind-numbing, ill-concieved mutt of a sequel that only succeeds in tarnishing the previous two films.

The picture's tone is all over the map, in the beginning almost a comedy but taking a much darker tone when Kryptonite changes Superman's demeanor in some gloomy sequences that simply do not fit in with this film or the franchise. The screenplay is all over the map as well, trying to tell too many different stories all at one time, and the casting may be the film's ultimate blunder.

Robert Vaughn is a poor man's Gene Hackman, and his character is a pale substitute for Lex Lugar but it's Richard Pryor who is the most obvious offender here. Much like the film, he's too bland and sanitized, and he brings nothing to the proceedings. He's certainly not funny at all, or even remotely villainous and it makes you wonder what purpose he was to serve. Why hire Pryor if you're not going to let him be funny. At least Margot Kidder had the common sense to spend 98% of the movie "on assignment.".

The special effects are definitely lacking this time out, and it's now clear that director Richard Donner was the driving force behind the previous film's success. Substitute Richard Lester has been gift-wrapped this golden goose only to muck it up something awful. "Superman 3" is an embarrassing letdown to the fans, who surely deserved better than this mess of a movie.