24
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 60The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinThreadbare as it's beginning to look, the Superman series hasn't lost its raison d'etre. There's life in the old boy yet.
- 60Tampa Bay TimesTampa Bay TimesSuperman IV: The Quest for Peace doesn't attempt to disguise its sentiments - no more so than Greenpeace - but neither does it lose the campy spirit of the 1978 original. Although never as stylish as the first movie, it shows verve and a modest wit. Superman IV is not as funny as the first sequel, but it isn't as violent, either. [27 July 1987, p.1D]
- 38Miami HeraldMiami HeraldSuperman IV works rather well as a children's movie. It even has a line or two for adults -- though not, one hastens to qualify, enough to actually warrant adult attendance. [25 July 1987, p.B1]
- 25Chicago TribuneDave KehrChicago TribuneDave KehrSuperman IV is a pathetic appendage to the series, a dull, shoddy film that makes the minimal 1950s TV series seem rife with production values by comparison. [27 July 1987, p.10C]
- 20VarietyVarietyThe earlier films in the series were far from perfect, but at their best they had some flair and agreeable humor, qualities this one sorely lacks. Hackman gets a few laughs, but has less to work with than before, and everyone else seems to be just going through the motions and having less fun doing so.
- 20EmpireWilliam ThomasEmpireWilliam ThomasPredictably awful fourth installment.
- By ordinary movie standards it's awful, but fans of cinematic dementia should have fun for about half an hour.
- 20Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleySuperman IV, except for a glitzy new villain named Nuclear Man, is one of the cheesiest movies ever made. It's so grainy and grossly envisioned, it seems filmed on pulp. Superman's crystalline Arctic palace looks as if it's made of no-deposit-no-return soda bottles, and his suit of primary colors has ring around the collar.
- 12The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jay ScottThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jay ScottThis one is a big, big disappointment. [27 July 1987]
- 10Los Angeles TimesMichael WilmingtonLos Angeles TimesMichael WilmingtonSequels to big-budget popular hits usually end up super-slick, shallow and inflated. But this one isn't even super-slick; it's shallow and deflated...The overall effect is of a story atomized and dying before our eyes, collapsing into smashed pulp, ground down into big-budget Kryptonite ash. [27 July 1987, p.1]