Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

PG

1987

1h 29m

Adventure

Sci-Fi

Fantasy

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

17%

Tomatometer

127 Reviews

16%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Seeing the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a nuclear arms race that could lead to Earth's destruction, Superman (Christopher Reeve) decides that he must take action. He collects all the nuclear warheads from the world and throws them into space. Meanwhile, Superman's nemesis, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), has broken out of prison with a new scheme. He clones Superman with radioactive material to create Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow), a being just as powerful as the man of steel.

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Critics Consensus

The Superman series bottoms with The Quest for Peace -- the action is boring, the special effects look cheaper, and none of the actors appear interested in where the plot's going.

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Jeff Millar

Houston Chronicle

Jun 8, 2026

The film's just one big piece of coal in a Christmas stocking.

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Joe Kane

New York Daily News

Sep 12, 2025

While the FX are pretty cheesy... Superman IV supplies enough B-movie fun to make a bijou visit worthwhile.

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Juliann Garey

Village Voice

Jul 3, 2025

Superman IV seems like a sloppy, low-budget echo of the original.

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Peter McPhee

Winnipeg Sun

Jun 8, 2026

Preachy and simple-minded, even the special effects here are third rate.

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Bill Brownstein

Montreal Gazette

Jun 8, 2026

Unbelievably boring.

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John Danakas

Winnipeg Sun

Jun 8, 2026

Kids might put up with it, but adults will see Superman IV for what is really is: boring.

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BikingBirder P

@TheWorldFamousBIKINGBIRDER Aug 16, 2026

Appalling in so many ways and yet I laughed so hard during so many moments. Can we contrive to call it a comedy, a parody? Of course not, it was rubbish. Jerky editing and ridiculous plot moves, so many out into space scenes where no man, or woman to that matter or ballistic has gone before. I now know why I avoided it for thirty years.

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Raja A

@Trafficman Aug 4, 2026

Love the lois and clark stuff in this, everything else- not so much. But I will be one of the very few people to defend this movie. Sure IT MAY HAVE BAD ACTING, IT MAY HAVE AN INCOHERENT DERIVATIVE PLOT, it may have terrible visual effects that were outdated even for the time, It may have some of the most nonsensical things ever, BUT DAMN IT-IT ALSO SUCKS! I can look past all of that, but what I can't look past, is the unforgivable sin that the film commits of once again reusing the same final shot of superman flying into space. It's all a real shame considering the troubled production with more then half the budget being cut, as well as many deleted scenes leading to a half-bake film that once had potential with a great story, co-written by christopher reeves.

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John K

@WQCMI Jul 18, 2026

This is some of the worst editing I have ever seen and is so pathetic.

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Thomas F

@RT70557918 Jul 17, 2026

Best way I can describe this movie is “comic booky.” I liked it. Was the CGI bad? Of course! It got its budget severely slashed, so I can’t complain. This film had a compelling plot with more Reeve than the third. Highly underrated movie. Worth a watch for Superman fans.

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diogo13 T

@Tua_mera Jul 11, 2026

Conseguiu ser melhor que o 3 filme, mas mesmo assim é uma porcaria.

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Dan K

@RT05142617 Jun 28, 2026

Christopher Reeve couldn't even save this mess. The worst of the Superman films made.

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Sidney J. Furie

Director

Christopher Reeve

Clark Kent

Gene Hackman

Lex Luthor

Mariel Hemingway

Lacy Warfield

Jackie Cooper

Perry White

Marc McClure

Jimmy Olsen

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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Seeing the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a nuclear arms race that could lead to Earth's destruction, Superman (Christopher Reeve) decides that he must take action. He collects all the nuclear warheads from the world and throws them into space. Meanwhile, Superman's nemesis, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), has broken out of prison with a new scheme. He clones Superman with radioactive material to create Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow), a being just as powerful as the man of steel.

Director: Sidney J. Furie
Producer: Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan
Screenwriter: Lawrence Konner, Christopher Reeve
Production Co: Warner Bros., Cannon Films
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.9M
Runtime: 1h 29m
Sound Mix: Surround

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