Post by rom on Jul 6, 2017 20:59:33 GMT -5
I recently re-watched Superman III after many years, and found the film enjoyable, well-done, and extremely underrated. As a kid back in Summer '83, I remember seeing this theatrically at that time & enjoying it then as well - and the years have not diminished this. Sure, the effects & technology are extremely dated (especially the computers), but this is still a decent, enjoyable, amusing, entertaining, and well-done film.
Some of my favorite sequences:
The opening sequence with the "fools of Metropolis" was amusing, in a slap-stick way; this intentionally reminded me of some of the old slap-stick routines from years before (Laurel & Hardy; Three Stooges; etc.). And, sure, a lot of Superman III was comedic, but a lot of this was just in line with the Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) character.
Superman/Clark going back to Smallville for his high school reunion & running into Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole), etc. Very cool sequence, and I liked seeing Superman return to his "roots". Also, based on the reunion you get an idea of the character's ages - i.e., the reunion said "Class of 1965" & since the film came out in 1983 (and supposedly was set in "real time), then Clark & his class-mates were all around 36 years old at that point.
The whole sequence where Superman was exposed to the "Red Kryptonite" (though they didn't call it that in the episode) and became dark/somewhat evil. They did a great job of transforming Superman/Clark to look dirty/unshaven/burned out (even his costume was darker!), and not only disinterested in helping others - but also being somewhat malicious as well. I especially liked the battle that Superman had with his good & bad selves in the junkyard; I'm guessing this battle may have been metaphorical. It was also interesting on another level, because we saw what would happen if Superman had been evil instead of good.
And, of course, Richard Pryor as the scam artist Gus Gorman was hilarious - obviously, because of his inclusion many fans probably dismissed the film as a comedy; however, his presence brought a light-heartedness to the film that was reminiscent of the comedic Ned Beatty character from Superman I & II. One of my favorite Pryor scenes was when Robert Vaughn & his hangers-on (his gf, sister, etc.) were trying to figure out who in their organization was stealing money from them. Vaughn went on to say that anyone who was smart enough to have figured out how to "skim" those extra cents from the system would be intelligent enough to lay low, not make any large purchases, etc. And right after this comment Pryor pulls into the parking lot in an expensive, new sports car - despite the fact that he obviously couldn't afford one on his salary. Perfect comic timing - LOL.
I also liked how this film was referenced in one of my all-time favorite comedies, Office Space (1999)
And, this film has been homaged (if that's a word) in the modern Superman & Superman-related TV series:
-Obviously, casting Annette O'Toole to play Clark Kent's mother in the great series Smallville had a lot to do with her having played Lana Lang in this film.
- In the first season of Supergirl (one of my favorite DC series) involved her being exposed to Red Kryptonite, and turning temporarily "evil/mean". In one scene, she was in a bar & destroyed some bottles by flicking nuts at them - this was taken from a similar scene when an infected Superman did the same thing in III - nice homage.
In any case, it's sad that a lot of the principal actors in this film have since passed, i.e. Chris Reeve, Richard Pryor, Robert Vaughn.....
Some of my favorite sequences:
The opening sequence with the "fools of Metropolis" was amusing, in a slap-stick way; this intentionally reminded me of some of the old slap-stick routines from years before (Laurel & Hardy; Three Stooges; etc.). And, sure, a lot of Superman III was comedic, but a lot of this was just in line with the Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) character.
Superman/Clark going back to Smallville for his high school reunion & running into Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole), etc. Very cool sequence, and I liked seeing Superman return to his "roots". Also, based on the reunion you get an idea of the character's ages - i.e., the reunion said "Class of 1965" & since the film came out in 1983 (and supposedly was set in "real time), then Clark & his class-mates were all around 36 years old at that point.
The whole sequence where Superman was exposed to the "Red Kryptonite" (though they didn't call it that in the episode) and became dark/somewhat evil. They did a great job of transforming Superman/Clark to look dirty/unshaven/burned out (even his costume was darker!), and not only disinterested in helping others - but also being somewhat malicious as well. I especially liked the battle that Superman had with his good & bad selves in the junkyard; I'm guessing this battle may have been metaphorical. It was also interesting on another level, because we saw what would happen if Superman had been evil instead of good.
And, of course, Richard Pryor as the scam artist Gus Gorman was hilarious - obviously, because of his inclusion many fans probably dismissed the film as a comedy; however, his presence brought a light-heartedness to the film that was reminiscent of the comedic Ned Beatty character from Superman I & II. One of my favorite Pryor scenes was when Robert Vaughn & his hangers-on (his gf, sister, etc.) were trying to figure out who in their organization was stealing money from them. Vaughn went on to say that anyone who was smart enough to have figured out how to "skim" those extra cents from the system would be intelligent enough to lay low, not make any large purchases, etc. And right after this comment Pryor pulls into the parking lot in an expensive, new sports car - despite the fact that he obviously couldn't afford one on his salary. Perfect comic timing - LOL.
I also liked how this film was referenced in one of my all-time favorite comedies, Office Space (1999)
And, this film has been homaged (if that's a word) in the modern Superman & Superman-related TV series:
-Obviously, casting Annette O'Toole to play Clark Kent's mother in the great series Smallville had a lot to do with her having played Lana Lang in this film.
- In the first season of Supergirl (one of my favorite DC series) involved her being exposed to Red Kryptonite, and turning temporarily "evil/mean". In one scene, she was in a bar & destroyed some bottles by flicking nuts at them - this was taken from a similar scene when an infected Superman did the same thing in III - nice homage.
In any case, it's sad that a lot of the principal actors in this film have since passed, i.e. Chris Reeve, Richard Pryor, Robert Vaughn.....
