Special effects fail Til test, too tt . By Tony Mastroianni Special to the Beacon Journal In this latest outing for Super-manhe Man of Steel is drained of much of his power in a battle with a-supervillain called Nuclear Man,He is, for a time, just a shadow of his former self. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace also pales in comparison to the previous films. What pluses it has are left from- the previous films Christopher Reeve in the dual role of Superman and the klutzy Clark Kent; Gene Hackman, chewing I comic scenery as the criminal ge nius. Lex Luthor: Mareot Kidder. Lois Lane in love with Superman; and bits of John Williams' original background music. But even these are diluted. The actors have neither lines nor the uperman, REVIEW Movie: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace Start: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Mariel Hemingway Director Sidney J. Furie Studio: Warner Bros. Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes Theaters: Akron Square, Kent Plaza, North Canton Circle Mall, and East, Summit and 42 drive-ins. Rating: PG scenes to give them anything to work with. The music has been adapted and conducted by someone else, which means that the title music and the flying music are retained and all else is bland. Just like the movie. Superman IV is a message movie about nuclear disarmament. It doesn't get pretentious, but messages are not among the reasons we go to see Superman movies. We go to see the special effects, but the effects In this film look as though they were made ho - hum with a close eye on the budget. We also go to see Superman fly, but the flying scenes look cheap compared to the earlier films and they have lost their zip. Even the photography is only so-so. In Superman IV, not only is the world in trouble but so Is the Daily Planet, the paper for which Kent and Lane work. It's been taken over by a Rupert Murdochlike newspaper czar who plans to turn it into a sensational tabloid. He installs his daughter, Mariel Hemingway, as the boss and she quickly takes a shine to Kent. Since Lane dreams only of Superman and fails to make a connection between him and Kent, there's no rivalry, only a setup for a double date. This results in a too-long farcical sequence, in which ClarkSuperman hustles to exit and reappear in alternate identities. Sydney J. Furie has directed this in a pace both leisurely and uneven. The dramatic scenes don't play well, and the action sequences are treated like set pieces, dropped in every now and then when the mood strikes. outing doesn't quite fly M.'v . 57: 5 h& I I l; ;: ' bStgpa fc4i... Villain Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) chats with Superman (Christopher Reeve)