Theme Tickling
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Marvel/DC
ab-gangulee-00 — 10 years ago(April 23, 2015 09:53 AM)
This offbeat Richard Lester superhero movie stands out for three reasons:
- this is the first Superman film to sophisticatedly deal with the theme of computer corruption by a human agent
- this is the first Superman film to deal with the idea of the heroic Man of Steel battling with his own deteriorating conscience
- this is the first Superman film to introduce a love-triangle complication (Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Lana Lang)
The evil super-computer that Gus (Richard Pryor's character) helps the three diabolical tycoons (headed by the sinister Mr. Webster) build proves to be a mighty challenge for the Man of Steel who is not used to dealing with a 'nemesis' that can attack with an array of offensive tactics (and weapons). Superman chalenges the super-computer with a strange organic substance that begins to short-circuit the super-computer's conducting energy.
When Superman tackles his own conscience which is deteriorating because of the harmful influence of a strange strain of kryptonite, his soul bifurcates into a good and evil twin set. Superman's good soul is manifest as a struggling Clark Kent and Superman's evil soul is left as a muscular substrate of a bizarre(!) and jaded anti-hero bum in an unforgettable junkyard brawl sequence that is truly a symbolic poetic gem in cinematic history.
Clark Kent returns to his hometown of Smallville and attends his high school reunion where he reunites with his hometown love, the graceful Lana Lang, which complicates his ongoing subtle relationship with the busy-body Lois Lane of the Daily Planet newspaper in Metropolis.
Overall, "Superman III" (1983) is a real achievement, since movie audiences are invited to comment on the thematic intrigue surrounding the storyline concepts of heroism and imagination. Perhaps this intricate Richard Lester film is under-rated, because audiences are not expecting the Man of Steel to tackle a confusing super-computer.