Superman III (1983)

Christopher Reeve as "Superman/Clark Kent" 
Richard Pryor as "Gus Gorman" 
Robert Vaughn as "Russ Webster"
Annette O'Toole as "Lana Lang"
Margot Kidder as "Lois Lane" 

Directed by Richard Lester 

Back in the mid-1980s, Eddie Murphy had a very lucrative deal with Paramount Pictures, an association that produced such mega-hits as "Trading Places," "48 HRS," and the first two "Beverly Hills Cop" movies. Following that string of hits, someone at Paramount had the bright idea of casting Murphy in a little picture called "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." History will forever state that this fell through somehow, and perhaps it was for the best. After all, had Eddie Murphy co-starred in "Star Trek IV," we might have had another "Superman III."

"Superman III" opens with a typical day in Metropolis as directed by Charlie Chaplin. Director Richard Lester gives us a pleasant enough slapstick sequence involving the citizens of Metropolis, but it's totally out of place in a Superman movie. I guess this could be viewed as a sign of things to come.

Gus Gorman (Pryor) is a general ne'er-do-well who decides to take instructional computer classes, and becomes a computer wizard. He is hired by rich Lex Luthor wannabe Russ Webster (Vaughn), and his genius is used to do things like hijacking weather satellites. Naturally, Superman comes to the rescue, foiling Webster's plans, which prompts the villain to have Gus attempt to synthesize Kryptonite. For the most part, Gus has everything figured out, but he's missing one element. Reasoning that the Last Son of Krypton isn't a smoker, he uses tar to fill in the last slot.

Meanwhile, Clark is in his hometown of Smallville, covering his high school class reunion for the Daily Planet and reconnecting with former sweetheart Lana Lang (O'Toole). Gus manages to present the fake Kryptonite to Superman while in Smallville, but it doesn't affect Supes as planned. Instead of killing Superman, the false Kryptonite alters his personality and twists him into an evil version of himself. In a matter of days, Superman becomes an unshaven, womanizing drunk on a campaign of terror throughout the world. Finally, enough is enough, and Clark decides to take matters into his own hands. Yes, you read correctly. Clark separates himself from Superman in a junkyard, and the two have it out in an oddly affecting battle sequence. The true Superman (I won't say who) wins, but it isn't over. Russ, in the meantime, has taken Gus' designs for a supercomputer, and has built it somewhere within the Grand Canyon. The Man of Tomorrow must locate and destroy the computer, and soon, it's time for payback.

First of all, let's address the obvious complaint: what is Richard Pryor doing here? Never mind that he's one of the most important comedians of the 20th century; he doesn't belong in a Superman movie. At best, his casting can be called inspired, but he represents a conscious studio decision to increase revenue by mucking with a strong series.

Here, Richard Lester is on his own throughout the film, but the results don't speak very highly of his ability. The opening slapstick ballet, as mentioned before, is funny, but completely out of place. The rest of the movie isn't that great either. Reeve is once again in good form as Superman and Clark (and doubly good as both at once in the junkyard fight), but the rest of the cast simply doesn't shine. Vaughn makes a pretty pedestrian villain, not really coming into his own in this film.

Many other factors are just too ridiculous to mention in detail. From the slapstick ballet to the Leaning Tower gag that quickly falls flat, this is one disappointing feature. Once the supercomputer boots up, all credibility is thrown out as Webster uses it as a giant video game system while firing actual missiles at Superman. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. Hardly anything in this film works.

It's been said that the script was written to capitalize on Pryor's improvisational skills. Surprisingly enough, he stayed close to the screenplay, which didn't really do the movie any favors. Don't get me wrong, I think Richard Pryor is an incredibly talented and hilarious comedian. This isn't supposed to be a comedy, though. Thank you, Richard Lester, for opening the wounds that eventually killed the Superman series.