Superman III (1983)

The greatest movie ever made..!

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Maybe at its release, the movie didn't seem good: indeed, the story is so ridiculous and repetitive from the 1st movie than we can be disappointed (thus Donner was right when he wanted rewrites from this same team!)… However, today, it has become really good: first of all, I don't know any funny guy in the new generation and this late Richard Pryor at last makes me laugh! He is maybe a clone of Eddie Murphy but their wit and tongue were cool and not dirty! Next, the movie happens at the start of the computer era: now it's funny to discover the look of the elders and the naive way they were considered (change climate, drive boats, living organism). Here, the capacities are so unbelievable and geek (the computer game against Supe) that it ends funny! Next, if I missed badly Lois, at least Christopher proved one more time how he was talented and I really like the different attitudes he shows… His return to Smallville and the introduction of Lana is interesting to the myth. At last, it's a American movie that feels good: the violence is very light and all the family can watch the movie; you see American people working, meeting together to have fun so it's very different of today productions when we wonder when people earns their life and it was a world free of digital relationships! In addition, all along the movie, there is moments when the movie goes totally nuts (the beginning, the electronic jam) and thus, this simple, cheaper candid America was really enjoyable to come back today!

Again I say: a movie of superheroes does not have to be totally serious, but also does not have to be totally stupid. Christopher Reeve, who truly portrays Clark Kent/Superman and even an Evil Superman, is the only redeeming factor of this disgrace, along with Annette O'Toole who plays Lana Lang, Clark's high school crush. Richard Pryor may be a great comedian, but here he's just an idiot who somehow goes from vagabond to computer genius, and villains are nothing threatening. Only the beginning of the movie with a sequence of stupid scenes á là Mr. Magoo sets the tone for the rest of the two hours, which clearly is no good omen.

Superman III is best watched on a Saturday night, with fizzy and sweets. It's such an entertaining flick that includes action, comedy, suspense, love and excellent stunts. Richard Pryor is great as the unlucky Gus Gorman, a man that can't quite find the right job. He soon becomes involved with the villains as his computer skills become abused for the evil plans of Mr.Webster. There are many interesting plots in Superman III, such as Superman's fall from grace and the relationship between Clark Kent and Lana Lang. Ken Thorne gives the film some style and Gorgio Moroder produces some decent synth songs that feature throughout the adventure. The special effects are well realised and the best of the series by a country mile. The junkyard fight is also a memorable sequence which ranks as my favourite moment from the Superman films. Superman III shouldn't be a 4.9; it's too good for that.

Although he seems to be a nice guy "Gus Gorman" (Richard Pryor) is essentially a bum. He manages to scrape by on unemployment and when he does get a job he doesn't keep it for very long. Then one day he notices an ad offering training for computer programming and he discovers that he is a natural at it. Soon he finds low-level employment working for a multi-national conglomerate and becomes dismayed when he gets his first paycheck. However, his income changes dramatically when he ingeniously comes up with a plan to acquire the small percentages normally rounded up by the computer and subsequently transfers them to his payroll account. Unfortunately, this penny shaving technique is caught by the accountants who immediately inform the CEO by the name of "Ross Webster" (Robert Vaughn). Yet, rather than being angry, Ross is so impressed with Gus' ability that he talks him into a scheme to hack into other computers in order make a fortune for him and his small group of conspirators. While all of this is going on, "Superman" (Christopher Reeve) has assumed his alternate identity as "Clark Kent" and gone back to Smallville to attend a high school reunion and while there he gets caught up in a relationship with "Lana Lang" (Annette O'Toole). Now, initially I had high hopes for this movie. Unfortunately, film seemed to get side-tracked by repeated (and mostly unsuccessful) attempts at humor and numerous sub-plots which only served to detract from the movie as a whole. On that note, at times it seemed like Gus Gorman was the main character rather than Superman. But that's just my opinion. In any case, while I don't consider this movie to be necessarily bad, I must admit I was somewhat disappointed and because of that I have rated it accordingly. Average.