The Edmondson Blog

I watched Superman 4 last night, part of my Christopher Reeve Superman Collection, to remind myself why it was panned by the critics so comprehensively. I can now see why. The movie was originally budgeted at $36 million dollars. Just before filming was to begin, Cannon Pictures, which was starting to suffer financial problems, slashed the budget to $17 million. It is a truly budget film:

- The vast majority of the external scenes, such as the U.N. building in Metropolis, were filmed in and around Milton Keynes
- When Superman is fighting Nuclear Man on the moon, there are several shots where black curtains can be seen off in the distance of the moon surface
-It's daylight in China, New York, Italy and Russia at the same time
- Cars with UK license plates are visible in several shots
- In a fight between Nuclear Man and Superman, a platform is visible under their feet, although they're fighting in space
- In the shot where the piece of space debris strikes the Soviet space capsule, you can see the head of the Cosmonaut (a model, that is) actually break off. In the next shot it is intact
- A fire hydrant Nuclear Man blows up is clearly made of foam when it explodes
- Nuclear Man abducts a girl and flies her into outer space where she is unaffected by the lack of breathable atmosphere and air pressure

Weak from start to finish. I listened to the screenplay writer's commentary on the DVD and he's obviously still bitter, twenty years on, about the producer's lack of respect for the Superman franchise.