Every Superman Movie Ranked, According to Letterboxd
Alongside the likes of Batman and Spider-Man, Superman is one of the most famous and iconic superheroes in history. He’s the symbol of hope in comic books, the Kryptonian who is more human than most, and proof that strength doesn’t just come from superpowers. There’s so much to love about Superman, and the proof of that can be found within his numerous Hollywood outings across the years.
His film career has been a rollercoaster of quality throughout cinema history, bringing some of the best superhero films ever made, as well as some of the worst. What’s the best way to discover what the general public thinks of his career, though? Those asking this question need to look no further than the social media platform, Letterboxd, where users can rate the movies they watch and see how their friends are doing the same. So, how do Superman’s movies rank based on the many Letterboxd reviews they all have?
10
‘Superman IV: The Quest for Peace’ (1987)
1.7/5.0 (19 Fans)
The Christopher Reeve Superman: The Movie franchise is one of the most legendary superhero movie franchises ever made. It is hugely responsible for where they’ve gotten to today in popularity and quality, and had people believing a man can fly when the first movie came out in 1978. The success, of course, led to numerous sequels, with its final one, unfortunately, being the worst. However, it also introduced a completely original villain that would eventually make his way to the comics, thanks to the concept behind him being not too bad: the extremely powerful Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow).
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is a rough film, through and through. This much can be seen through the reviews from fans across the social media application. User Alexander Thomas describes one of the more positive parts of the movie in his review, though, “The only thing that saves this film from not being worth watching is Christopher Reeve.” As usual, Reeve found himself being the highlight of the movie, meaning even the worst Superman movie can have rewatchability, which gives it a lot of points in many people’s books.
9
‘Superman III’ (1983)
8
2.2/5.0 (26 Fans)
It’s hard to state the quality of Superman III any other way than what Silent J says in their review for the movie, “Richard Pryor: The Movie featuring Superman”. Superman III is another rough one. After the pretty dang good film that was Superman II, the franchise really began to lose its steam with this third installment. The film’s premise may be interesting, following a wealthy bad guy named Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn) developing synthetic Kryptonite, Superman struggles against a conflict unlike anything he’s faced before, but this doesn’t save the movie, not even a little.
It’s not easy to make a Superman movie, but the way Superman III flopped was definitely surprising. While not as bad as Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Superman III has very little to love, besides, of course, Christopher Reeve still finding a way to give his all despite the content he’d been handed. The 2.2/5.0 average rating isn’t surprising to anyone. It’s one of the worst sequels out there.
7
‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (2016)
2.5/5.0 (2.2k Fans)
If there’s any franchise in superhero cinema that is divisive, it’s the “Snyderverse” that began with Man of Steel. People may adore Henry Cavill as Superman, but most did not have that same adoration for the films themselves. While the Snyderverse has a niche, but a hardcore group of dedicated fans, the general consensus for the films can definitely be seen through their average Letterboxd rating, especially the Man of Steel sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
“… it tries to be overly-dark and mature, but it just falls flat on its face. It’s trying way too hard. And hey, I’m all down for a dark comic book story, hell yeah. But this is not the way to do it,” is what user Eric Elliott said about the movie in his review. It’s a well-put opinion that carries across most reviews. The idea behind Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is pretty great, but it simply falls face-first in execution. Many may disagree, but the reviews speak for themselves.
6
‘Superman Returns’ (2006)
2.7/5.0 (128 Fans)
After the flop of the Christopher Reeve Superman franchise with Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, the Man of Tomorrow took a step back for a while, returning a whopping 19 years later with Superman Returns. This franchise revival is supposed to be a continuation of the Reeve movies, but now starring the iconic Brandon Routh, taking over the role after the unfortunate passing of Reeve in 2004.
On Letterboxd, Dan K says, “Kind of an interesting experiment to make a sequel 20 years later, too bad the script and the director don’t actually have too much to say…” Routh had a huge weight on his shoulders stepping into the role, and it felt like he was honestly set up to fail. Why the filmmakers didn’t decide to make it a new universe? No one really knows. The actor rose above the weight, however, and delivered a wonderful performance, despite the movie being considered pretty boring, unfortunately, making it not very rewatchable.
5
‘Man of Steel’ (2013)
3.0/5.0 (2.5k Fans)
Although it had a very rough follow-up film with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the Snyderverse had a relatively alright start with Man of Steel. The first film to star Henry Cavill as the hero got mixed reviews, but is looked back on with nostalgia by many. Does nostalgia equate quality, though? The answer is a bit complicated, as many claim that Man of Steel was unfairly reviewed upon release in 2013.
People’s biggest issue with Zack Snyder‘s first Superman outing was how out of character it felt for the Big Blue Boy Scout. The reasoning is very well described in Lise’s review: “In the middle of a showdown with the bad guys in downtown Metropolis with people everywhere, a flaming truck or some other huge thing is thrown towards Superman who is standing in front of a building. A building presumably filled with people. Superman jumps out of the way. He jumps out of the way. Superman.” With how much of a symbol of hope and protection that Supes is supposed to represent, there’s a lot of validity to a complaint like this, and it just made this feel so un-Superman for many. It’s not a terrible movie whatsoever, but it’s not much of a Superman movie.
4
‘Superman II’ (1980)
3.3/5.0 (180 Fans)
After the massive success that was Superman: The Movie, many wondered how director Richard Lester was going to follow up Richard Donner’s original vision for the character. He didn’t do a terrible job, though. Bringing the iconic villain, General Zod (Terence Stamp), and his lackies to the screen to take on Superman, as he gives up his powers to be with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), was a great creative choice. It made for a great conflict that enhanced the stakes from movie one a lot.
Superman II is filled with 80s camp, making it a great kick-off to the decade. Said camp was for better and for worse, though, as some of it aged well and some did not. Jorge, on Letterboxd, jokes, “super-cellophane logo” as the entirety of his review, referencing the moment in which Superman throws his logo to trap his enemies, which comes out of nowhere. It’s funny and doesn’t ruin the experience of watching the film at all, but it does feel random. However, many will argue that the positives definitely outweigh the negatives with Superman II.
3
‘Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut’ (2006)
3.6/5.0 (47 Fans)
The history behind the production of Superman II is just as, if not more interesting, than the movie itself. Fun fact, Superman II was being produced simultaneously alongside the production of Superman: The Movie, both originally being directed by Richard Donner. This didn’t end up working out, though, and Donner was fired midway through filming Superman II to focus on Superman: The Movie. While Warner Bros. got away with this for quite some time, a fan campaign eventually forced their hand in 2006 to let Donner and editor Michael Thau come in and re-edit the movie to fit the original vision that Donner had for the sequel.
This was received very well, with many finding it to be better than the original theatrical cut. “Good on Warner Bros. for doing right by Richard Donner and releasing his original cut and vision for this movie, even if it was decades later,” is how Shawn Peer praised Warner Bros. on Letterboxd for their decision. Despite being so late in life, they got respect for doing the right thing, which made them some major points, especially given the fact that Superman Returns was released the same year with less-than-ideal reviews.
2
‘Superman: The Movie’ (1978)
3.7/5.0 (2.5k Fans)
How could one forget and not love the film that started it all? Not only do people love Superman: The Movie (also simply called Superman), but it has a massive cultural impact on superhero cinema, and, therefore, Hollywood history as a whole (thanks to how large an impact the genre has had on Hollywood). It’s not a perfect movie, though, as it does struggle a bit in the third act, but the first two are excellent regardless.
Has it aged well? The Letterboxd reviews on that are pretty mixed. CarmViewinFilms explains a good reasoning for it in their review: “Very charming and a product of it’s time…” A product of its time is a great way to describe how people view this movie. It may not have aged perfectly, but it’s still a wonderful flick.
1
‘Superman’ (2025)
3.9/5.0 (32k Fans)
Never before has a film captured the heart and soul of Superman like Superman did this year—not since Superman: The Movie. Despite the hardcore Snyderverse fans giving the movie a lot of flak for… whatever reason they can come up with (hard to argue with the reviews this flick has gotten), Superman has more than proven itself as a great adaptation of the character, with director James Gunn as one of the core reasons for this.
Lead actor David Corenswet is an excellent performer and portrays a younger Superman perfectly. This movie is so lighthearted, hopeful, and whimsical, while still having incredibly deep and complex emotion within the plot and character arcs. The response to this movie is the proof in the pudding that shows how much people adore this new iteration of the character and why they’re so excited for Gunn’s DCU. It’s hard to argue with user Michael Innamorato when he says, “… this is what superhero movies needed.”
