JediJones
Super Freak
I prefer it too. I can't say I like Superman 3, but Returns was so horrible. Superman 3 is cheesy and dumb at times, but it's not boring and completely lacking in imagination and humor like Superman Returns. Like you said, there's a decent amount of good stuff in there like the Lana Lang relationship, the transformation scenes, the rescue scenes and the junkyard brawl. Even some of Pryor's lines are genuinely funny. There's also a lot of fairly clever uses of Superman's powers (perhaps in an even more disciplined way than in Superman 2).
I think if Superman 3 had pulled off a rip-roaring final battle, it would have redeemed itself as a positive adventure in the Superman mythos. Unfortunately the film just peters out badly in that final showdown with the computer. Not much exciting really happens, the computer isn't really scary at all (except for the brief moment it possesses Annie Ross) and the special effects are awful. We had that great build-up early on of the "great cloud of acid" that was supposed to eat through the eastern seaboard, but then all that happens when Superman activates the chemical is a little baking soda volcano that eats through the floor it spills on. The other problem with the final scene dramatically is that Lana Lang isn't a part of it. To build up the love interest that much and then not involve her in the conclusion of the movie is just horrible writing. You don't introduce a damsel and then never have her in distress. Almost no superhero movie gets that wrong, not even Superman 4.
Another important point is that Alexander Salkind wanted Frank Langella to play Ross Webster (of course he ironically played Perry White in Superman Returns). Coming off of Langella's role in Dracula, Salkind wanted that same villainous quality in the character. But he was overruled by the other producers who apparently wanted the light, comical, campy approach. This was around the time movie producers and non-fans seemed to get it stuck in their heads that "comic book" = "comic strip" or "Sunday funnies." The superhero junk on TV at the time like Super Friends probably didn't help matters. I think it's easy to see how Langella would have improved the film and added to the sense of threat. Just imagine him saying the line, "I ask you to kill Superman and you're telling me you couldn't even do that one, simple thing." Instead of a sitcom gag line, it would have played more like the obsessed ranting of an uncompromising killer. Well, maybe.
And, finally, the big problem with Pryor is that both he and Superman seem to be operating in parallel movies. They really don't have too many scenes together and absolutely no relationship of any substance, until the end when Superman inexplicably lets him go and recommends him for a job despite Pryor's committing many crimes and nearly causing Superman's death. If it had been an actual "buddy" movie, Pryor and Reeve actually might have had enough chemistry to pull it off. A Superman buddy movie, as opposed to the romantic relationships we normally get, is kind of an interesting idea.
Last edited:
Perhaps the wind rush from flying up to save Lois that fast gave his hair that distinctive wind tunnel effect. Or maybe not...
,thanks for kind words on the custom ,its a real shame Ultra jack did a runner ,because the ajustments he made were realy nice,judge for yourselves ,i found the pictures 
