SUPERMAN IV -- Subtitled 'The Quest for Peace,' this Superman sequel should have been called the 'The Quest for a Plot.' Superman-Clark Kent, again played heroically-sweetly by Christopher Reeve, takes on the nuclear arms race and vows to rid the world of their menace, only to discover even Superman can't dissuade humankind from its own destructive ways.
Margot Kidder is back as Lois Lane, hopelessly in love with the man in the red cape. Gene Hackman is about the only thing that seems to get better with every film; he's an even funnier and more cynical Lex Luthor in his attempts to destroy Superman with a a new invention -- Nuclear Man, played wordlessly but with plenty of growls by Mark Pillow. Mariel Hemingway seems totally miscast as the selfish daughter of a media mogul who is transformed by her love of Clark Kent. The special effects, once so spectacular, now look flat and fake. Sidney J. Furie directs with all the sparkle of a match about to go out. Rated PG.
