Superman III (1983)

January 25, 2015 5:34 PM

The Man of Steel has a new love interest and a new nemesis.

Richard Pryor builds an AI. Clark Kent‎ dates a woman with a kid and gives her a sparkling diamond. Superman is interested in sex only when he's evil. There's a sexy blonde bombshell who turns out to be (mostly) smart. A rich brother (the inestimable Robert Vaughn)  ‎and sister duo manipulates the coffee and oil markets for fun and profit.‎

posted by Ik ben afgesneden (7 comments total)

This holds up better than expected. Definitely worth the re-watch.
posted by Ik ben afgesneden at 5:35 PM on January 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

People hated this when it came out, but I think it is a perfect filmic representation of the Silver Age Superman where he was always a dick and the plot never made sense.
posted by maxsparber at 8:42 PM on January 25, 2015 [3 favorites]

I don't remember the general reaction at the time but I liked it then and now. I understand the criticism of the gags. At any rate, it's way better than that Superman reboot where he was Christ, or something.

However, I started looking into the background of this one and found out about the Salkind family, the producers, and their alleged disagreements with Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman (hence the bit part for Lois) and their habit of trying to make several films from the cuttings of one movie. There's a legal clause named after them. Fascinating stuff.
posted by Ik ben afgesneden at 5:43 AM on January 26, 2015

FYI SPOILERS: Robot Lady=Stuff of nightmares! This came out when I was a kid, and I could never look at the screen when the woman turns into a robot. Re-watching as an adult, it looks pretty cheesy (she reminds me of Dot Matrix from Spaceballs) but the look on her face as the computer assimilates her is still pretty chilling.
ComicsAlliance review of Superman III, Part One.
Part Two
posted by cottoncandybeard at 6:56 AM on January 26, 2015 [2 favorites]

Starring the rounding error embezzlement scheme, also seen in Office Space.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:08 AM on January 27, 2015 [2 favorites]

I just saw Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night and enjoyed it so much that I want to go back and see if this movie isn't actually a lot more fun than I remember. Especially since I first saw it when I was a kid whose desires for a Superman movie were the sort that the Hollywood monkey's paw twisted into Man of Steel. Sorry about that.
posted by straight at 11:28 PM on December 8, 2015

So... summer of either 82, I was on a trip "out-west" to see my father - I would have been 9/10 at the time - and at one point we happened to be in downtown Calgary - and there was a crowd on the street - and I got an autograph from Richard Pryor - it was immediately after (or before) the rooftop skiing scene - he was dressed for the part. Later in life, I actually worked in the same building.

When it finally came out - I was both entranced by the computer-hacking/AI plotlines and traumatized by the extreme (at-the-time ... or at least for me...) body-horror.
posted by rozcakj at 10:56 AM on December 7, 2022