Ranking the Superman Movies: From Classic to Contemporary

With the release of the new Superman reboot, I decided to rewatch all of the theatrical Superman movies. There have been eight Superman movies released over 47 years, ranging from feel-good, campy films of the 1970s and 1980s to the dark and brooding Superman of the 2010s. There has been a wide range of quality of these films but regardless Superman remains the one of greatest Superheroes of all time. With all that said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the 8 Superman films.

Honorable Mention: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

While this isn't a real Superman movie, I still wanted to mention this movie on my list. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is a documentary about the life of Christopher Reeve from his rise to fame as Superman to his tragic accident and life after. This is such a moving and inspiring documentary. It does a great job of taking us through the highs and lows of Christopher Reeve's life. It was so fascinating and inspiring to see his refusal to give up and still make a difference in the world after his accident. We see the impact he makes on others and the aid for people with paralysis. I learned a lot about him as an actor and person such as how he was very close to Robin Williams. The movie does a great job of showcasing all aspects of his life from his career as Superman to his home life and his life after his injury. This is something that, if you're a fan of Superman or Christopher Reeve, is worth watching.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

8. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Superman IV is not only the worst of the Superman films but it is also widely regarded as one of the worst movies ever made coming in at #88 of the lowest-rated movies on IMDB. The biggest thing that hurt this movie was that the budget got slashed. The movie was given a budget of $17 million which was half of the budget for Superman III and a third of the budget of the first two films. To save money, they had to do a lot of things that ultimately hurt the quality of the film. They reuse the same flying over and over again and it is painfully obvious. The fight scenes between Nuclear Man and Superman and the special effects in general look terrible even by 1980s standards. The plot itself is complete garbage as it is about Superman taking all of the world's nuclear weapons and launching them into the sun because a kid asked him to and just assumed the world would be cool with it and not make more weapons. It is as stupid as it sounds. They somehow blackmailed Gene Hackman to be in the movie and even that doesn't bring any merits to it. The movie is full of terrible acting, bad voice dubs, and poor miniature models. The movie also just makes up powers for Superman such as fixing the Great Wall of China with his eyes and allowing people to breathe in space. Overall, this is just a terrible movie that can just be erased from the Superman legacy.

Score: 3/10 Grade: D

7. Superman III

Superman III is a bit of a step up from Superman IV but is still a pretty bad movie. The movie lacks a lot of the stand-out cast from the first two films. There is no Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, or Marlen Brando. This is also the movie that turns the franchise into full camp and makes Superman more of a joke. Superman III lacks any sort of memorable villain. Richard Pryor is funny enough but he is more of a buffoon than an interesting character. The main conflict with Superman is actually about him becoming evil and having split personalities but that is treated as more of a B plot in favor of the forgettable billionaire and his oil scheme. I think it would have been more interesting to have the main story be about Superman fighting an evil version of himself. From a performance standpoint, it feels like Christopher Reeve is just phoning it in. He doesn't have the same passion that he does in the first two films. There was a significant drop in quality after Richard Donner departed as director of the franchise. In the end, while not Superman IV bad, Superman III is still a bad addition to a franchise that should have ended with Superman II.

Score: 5/10 Grade: C

6. Superman Returns

Superman Returns the legacy sequel to the original two Superman movies. While there are some positives to it, as a whole I am not a fan of this movie. On the positive side, I like how the movie feels like a love letter to the original Superman film. It has the classic feel with the iconic music and a Superman with the same personality as Christopher Reeve. I think Brandon Routh does a great job of playing Superman. He captures the energy of Christopher Reeve quite well. I also thought Kevin Spacey was decent as Lex Luthor. While no Gene Hackman, he still gives off a similar energy. The movie also has a nice 21st-century polish to it. The effects look great and the overall style and colors make the movie look very good. However, beyond that, the movie didn't work for me. I did not like Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. I don't think this was the right choice for Lois and closes the confidence and strong will that the other actresses bring. I also thought Luthor's plan was a bit redundant. It is yet another real estate plot that involves killing millions of people. In general, I thought the movie was a bit dull. It feels like such a drag to get through and takes forever to get going. It also just doesn't capture that uplifting spirit that the movies it is following up had. Overall, while visually it looks good, Superman Returns just doesn't capture the magic of the original films and is just too long and too much of a drag to get through.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

5. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is the most ambitious of the Superman films. On paper, this film should have been so good But ultimately, its ambitions are what keeps it from being great. There are a lot of good moments in this film. As a Man of Steel sequel, I thought it was very good. The movie addresses Superman having to deal with the mixed reception to his acts and the government trying to control him which plays well into today's society. I also like the struggle he goes through with his motivation of whether the things he does matter. The movie also has a lot of great action sequences, specifically anytime Batman is on screen. However, the film tries to do way too much. It is trying to be a Man of Steel sequel, a Batman solo film, introduce The Justice League, Lex Luthor, and Doomsday, take on the Death of Superman, and deliver on the epic battle promised in the title. Because it is trying to do all of this, it takes way too long to get to the titular fight. It is almost 2 hours into the movie before we see Batman and Superman fight. I also am not a fan of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. His portrayal turns Luthor into a cartoon character. In the end, while there is a lot of good about this movie, its ambition keeps it from being as good as it should have been.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

4. Man of Steel

Man of Steel is the first film of the DCEU and a reboot of Superman that brought a darker tone to his legacy. The movie itself is very exciting. It was so cool to see all of this Superman action that just couldn't be delivered back in the 1970s. Henry Cavil is a great choice for Superman and handles the role well. I also liked how the movie really dives deep into Superman's early life and his interactions with both of his Dads. Visually, the movie looks good, especially with the Krypton scenes. Zach Snyder does a great job of incorporating his signature visual style into the film. I also like the nonlinear storytelling aspect and how it is used to flesh out Superman as a character. The main thing that keeps this film lower on this list is that there was just way too much destruction in the 2nd half of the film. The battles and destruction were to the point that they felt excessive and took away from the overall story. I also felt that the plot itself was a little uneven. The first half was all backstory with flashbacks while Clark becomes Superman then Zod shows up and it becomes a mindless smash fest for the second half. Overall, while it does have some extreme aspects with the action, I still think this is a solid Superman movie and a great modernization of the character.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

3.Superman II

Superman II is a bit of a weird movie at this least as there are two competing versions. There is the theatrical version and the Richard Donner Cut. For some backstory, Richard Donner was originally hired to make Superman and Superman II. He was filming them back to back, got about 70% of the way done with Superman II, and was fired by the studio after having beef with the executives. He was replaced by Richard Lester who reshot a good chunk of Superman II to get the director's credit. However, years after Superman II was released Richard Donner was able to cut together his version of the film using unused scenes and test footage and thus we have two vastly different versions of the film. They both have their merits and faults, the theatrical version is a more polished and complete film but is also a bit campier and lacks scenes with Marlen Brando and Gene Hackman while The Richard Donner Cut is more true to Richard Donner's original vision but has some rough looking test footage, abrupt cuts and reuses the ending from the original film. However, in the end, they are both pretty equal. I like Zod as a villain in the movie as we get to see Superman face someone more equally matched to him. I also like how the movie explores more of the relationship between Superman and Lois and shows the lengths he is willing to go to to be with her. However, as I talked about before, each version has its faults which is what keeps it from beating out the original. The theatrical film has some clear plot holes and an overall goofier feel while the Richard Donner kit feels more like a rough edit of the film. My personal favorite of the two is the Richard Donner version. In the end, Superman II is a great follow-up to the original and even with its faults is a great example of how a sequel should be.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

2. Superman (2025)

This is the newest Superman movie and probably the most well-rounded. This version of Superman showcases the traditional values from the 1978 movie while utilizing special effects of today's age. This is probably the most comic booky out of all of the Superman movies as it embraces the weird and wacky, such as giant monsters running through a city or a flying space dog, that is usually only found in comic books. However, James Gunn uses this weirdness in such a way that it feels normal within the story he is telling. I also like how this movie drops the audience right into the action with a Superman who has been active for 3 years. This avoids the story having to get bogged down by an origin that takes up half the movie and instead gives more time for Superman in action. Doing it this way also makes the world feel more lived in and preestablished with all sorts of monsters, metahumans, and villains already running around instead of having to take the time to find a natural way to introduce all of this stuff. From a performance standpoint, I thought David Corenswet was great as Superman. He doesn't try to copy either of the other actors in the role and instead brings his own take. Instead of playing a level-headed version of the character, he instead plays it more emotionally, with his version of Superman making decisions based on emotion instead of logic. In the end, this is a great modern-day take on Superman and helps bring in a new era of comic book movies.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

1. Superman

Ultimately, the original Superman is still the best Superman movie. I will admit that the movie can be a bit dated at times. Some of the special effects haven't aged super well and the movie does have a little bit of cheesiness to it due to its age. While it is very much a product of its time, that doesn't make it any less special or important. Christopher Reeve was perfect as Superman as he conveyed this sense of honor and American Pride. He also does a great job of showing a difference in personality between Superman and Clark Kent making you buy into the idea that nobody thinks Clark is Superman. The movie also has some great supporting actors in Gene Hackman and Marlen Brando. Both actors add a sense of gravitas to the movie. While some special effects don't look great, a lot of the movie still looks pretty good. It was the first movie to make the world believe that a man could fly. The movie was also a game changer in the production of Superman movies. This was the first big-budget Superhero movie and without it, we wouldn't have the superhero craze we have today. The score is also so iconic with an amazing theme from John Williams as one of the most recognizable themes of all time. Overall, Superman is just a classic movie with great performances and a solid romance that paved the way for Superhero movies to come.

Score: 9/10 Grade: A