With a new Superman movie swooping into cinemas courtesy of writer-director James Gunn, here’s how the previous Man of Steel features fared with critics.
George Reeves was the first big-screen Superman, playing the DC hero in 1951’s Superman and the Mole Men.
Since then, we’ve had the Christopher Reeve era, which re-invented the superhero movie through a huge budget and stars, though ultimately experienced diminishing returns.
Brandon Routh got a brief bite at the cherry when the character returned, while Henry Cavill had a stop-start Superman career, until the DCEU became the DCU. So here’s how they stack up in terms of critical consensus.
Ranking the Superman movies by Rotten Tomatoes score
Superman and the Mole Men hit screens in 1951, and therefore doesn’t have a Rotten Tomatoes score, but we’ve ranked the seven since, from best-to-worst:
- Superman II: 88%
- Superman (1978): 86%
- Superman Returns: 73%
- Man of Steel: 57%
- Superman III: 29%
- Batman v Superman – Dawn of Justice: 28%
- Superman IV – The Quest For Peace: 14%
We’ll update this list when reviews for James Gunn’s Superman drop, which will be later today (July 8). But early reactions on social media have been generally positive, which bodes well for that RT score.
One critic wrote: “I absolutely loved James Gunn’s Superman. Big themes, but still pure joy. It put me in a great mood (which isn’t often these days); it’s the happiest I’ve walked out of a theater since Top Gun: Maverick.”
Another Tweeted: “Superman absolutely soars! An awesome achievement and hopeful balm, honoring past iterations (cinema and comics) while cutting its own path. Corenswet has that heroic shimmer. Hoult is delightfully diabolical. Brosnahan brims with vim and vigor. Krypto’s adorbs.”
While a third posted: “Gosh, I absolutely loved this. James Gunn’s feature-length comic book splash page is so unapologetically silly, earnest, and intentionally corny that it utterly charmed me. Left a big, stupid smile on my face by the end.”
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