Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a Superman movie of questionable quality! Directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by David Newman and Leslie Newman, Superman III failed to leap over anyone’s expectations in a single bound. Despite recouping its $39 million budget, this chapter of the Christopher Reeve era might as well have been tossed into the Phantom Zone rather than released in conjunction with such classics as Superman and Superman II.
The film stars Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Annette O’Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn, and Margot Kidder. Of all the Superman films released, Superman III is far from the worst (that honor goes to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace), but it is also a far cry from the first two classic films. So join us as we take a look back at what worked and what didn’t in a film featuring drunk Superman, Clark Kent fighting his alter ego, a disturbing nightmare fuel robot, and so much more.
DC Films Revisited is written, edited, and narrated by Tyler Nichols. Chris Bumbray produces, with Berge Garabedian serving as executive producer.
You can check out other Superman videos in our DC Films Revisited series below: