Rank the Superman movies (including MOS)

[Lead Cenobite]

Best to worst:

Superman II (8/10, maybe 7/10) - The Kryptonians made for good adversaries, the action worked, Hackman's Luthor was better in this sort of conniving side character role than he had been as the lead villain, and I liked the "human" drama that came with Clark wanting to live a normal life.

Man of Steel (7/10) - I didn't care for the choppy editing early on (which was probably because the movie had more to cover than it had time for), but I found the second half exciting and compelling. I liked Clark and Lois, Michael Shannon as Zod was underwhelming but Faora was pretty cool, the movie looked good...it held its own against II.

Superman 3 (6/10) - It was pretty borderline, and then it lost me at the very end.

Superman Returns (6/10, maybe 5/10) - You can't be a sequel and a remake at the same time, it doesn't make any sense. Plus its just kind of flat and kind of dour, and it falls into the same trap as the original of not giving Superman enough in the way of compelling battles.

Superman 4 (3/10, maybe 4/10) - It's really dumb, but at least it had a supervillain for him to fight. That just seems like basic superhero expectations, like maybe this is going to suck, but at least the hero is going to fight something that's hard for him to fight.

Superman: The Movie (2/10) - Boring and filled with plot holes (which I might not have noticed quite so much if it weren't so boring). Lois and Superman were supposed to be charming together in this one, but I found them gross.


So far, 2 for 6.

This is close to the worst Superman movie ranking I've ever seen. The only way it could have been worse is if Superman II and IV switched places. Who rates STM lower than III and IV? Honestly. And judging a superhero movie based on whether there's a supervillain fight is pretty shallow in my eyes. In the comics, Superman didn't have a steady superpowered nemesis that he could actually fight for the first ten to fifteen years of his existence. It's not like he could get into knock-down, drag-out fights with Mr. Mxyzptlk, Lex Luthor, or Toyman. I just don't understand this belief that superhero movies have to have fight scenes in order to be entertaining. Superheroes do more than fight.

1. Man of Steel
2. Superman returns
3. Superman IV
4. Superman III
5. Superman II
6. Superman the movie

This is the worst. It's like they were ranked by age alone, where the oldest is the worst and the newest is the best. I didn't respond at first because I thought it was a joke, but now I'm starting to wonder..

 

[ConnorKon-El]

Superman: The Movie (8/10)
Superman II: Donner Cut (8/10)
Superman II and Man of Steel (7/10)
Superman Returns (6/10)
Superman III(4/10)
Superman IV (3/10)

 

[Beast]

Superman has yet to have a really great movie, but Man of Steel is the most complete of them all.

 

[snpklsdmbldr]

1. Man of Steel
2. Superman II
3. Superman The Movie and Superman Returns
4. Superman III and IV never existed!

 

[famicommander]

Superman
Man of Steel
Superman II
Superman Returns
Superman III
Superman IV

The only one I'd consider a "good" movie is Superman. I like the tone, the score, the acting, etc.

Man of Steel is okay, but it's weighed down heavily by the nonsensical codex subplot and too much exposition before the actual story gets going.

I liked Superman II as a kid, but upon further viewings it lost a lot of its luster.

Returns wasn't offensively bad, it was just incredibly boring and, I felt, unneccesary.

I don't think I need to explain why I don't like III or IV.

 

[Dr.]

Superman has yet to have a really great movie, but Man of Steel is the most complete of them all.

An interesting point (notwithstanding your banned status).

STM has obvious strengths (and it’s far-and-away the best of the Reeve films). But judged as a “stand-alone,” it falters somewhat by being an “incomplete narrative.” To wit: at the beginning of the movie, Zod swears vengeance against Jor-El and - explicitly, ominously - his heirs. Obviously, this foreshadows a dramatic confrontation between Zod and the future Superman. Except… Zod & co. make no further appearance in STM. There isn’t even a post-climax, cliffhanger “tease” to remind the audience that this looming conflict will be addressed in a sequel.

Of course, this “flaw” can be resolved by simply taking STM and SII as a two-part movie. But the problem with this, imo, is that SII is conspicuously inferior to STM (the campiness was amplified, Supes’ “personal conflict” was awkwardly executed, the sfx were terrible and John Williams’ absence was painfully obvious). So while SII does “complete” STM, this necessary association also taints the latter movie.

Now, some folks actually like SII wow; and in that regard, I can at least appreciate calling STM/SII a “single” movie and placing “it” at the top of one’s Top List. But as a pure “stand-alone” - considered in complete isolation from its sequel (which, I admit, is hard to do) - STM does lack narrative closure.

 

[Nemeres]

It's kinda tough to hold a superhero film from 2013 (one of many contemporaries, and with many examples to draw from) to the same standard as one from 1978 (arguably the first of its kind) and its sequel. The context is different, the expectations are different. The level of accomplishment is different. MOS is probably the most sophisticated Superman film, the one with the clearest idea of the story it wants to tell. But the... I wanna say beauty? Soul? Essence? Chutzpah?... of the character and his world was only captured adequately in the first two Donner movies and never again since. And that counts, big time. So for my part, it goes like this:

1. Superman: The Movie
2. Superman II
3. Man of Steel
4. Superman Returns
5. Superman IV
4. Superman III

 

[STARMAN]

In some ways I'm still looking for the definitive Superman movie.

 

[schereZada]

Hi there.

If I were to rank them, it'd be this way:

Superman the movie - a classic and a pioneer in spite of the cheese (10 out of 10)
Superman II - very good sequel (8 out of 10)
Superman Returns/Man of Steel - mixed bags; some great things there and some other ones that are a no-no in my book (6/7 out of 10)
Superman III - Really not very good. (4 out of 10)
Superman IV - Painful. (1 out of 10)

 

[Milu]

1. Superman: The Movie
2. Superman II
3. Man of Steel
4. Superman Returns

Haven't seen the others so I can't comment on them.

 

[kedrell]

1. Superman: The Movie 9/10 Great and IMO easily still DC's best movie. A true classic.
2. Superman II 7.5/10 Nowhere near as good as it's predecessor due to all the really dumb humor brought in by Lester but even he couldn't really torpedo this one and all the good stuff from Donner keeps this an enjoyable film.
3. Man of Snyder 5.5/10 If I wanted destructo-porn, I'd watch a Michael Bay movie.
4. Singerman Returns: 5/10 Yes, by all means, just rip off the best of these and call it a new movie. The dumb super kid plot is the final straw that makes this sink below Man of Snyder.
5. Superman III 4/10 Damn you, Lester. You managed to ruin Superman and Richard Pryor in just one movie.
6. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace 3/10 This is the movie that shows why Superman shouldn't deal with real world problems in his movies.

I never saw The Donner Cut so it's not listed.

 

[Thoix]

1. Man of Steel - 9/10
2. Superman: The Movie - 8/10
3. Superman II (The Richard Donner Cut) - 8/10
4. Superman II - 7/10
5. Superman Returns - 6/10
6. Superman III - 3/10
7. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - 2/10

 

[The_Manhunter]

I've only seen 3, but here's how I'd rank em:

1. Man of Steel (10/10)





















2. Superman II (7/10)
3. Superman the Movie (6/10)

 

[Boy Scout]

I haven't seen SIII or SIV in years, so I don't know where I'd put them.

1) SII. 8.5/10
2) STM. 8/10
3) SR. 7/10
4) MOS. 6/10

That said, the best Superman movie of the bunch is probably STM. SII is the better movie overall, but I think STM does a better job of capturing the spirit of the character.

 

[STARMAN]

I think Superman IV had some potential if they had a real budget and eliminated the Lacy Warfield character.

 

[AnneFan]

My top three:

Superman: The Movie
Superman II
Man of Steel

 

[TeeKay]

Superman: The Movie
Superman II
Superman Returns/Man of Steel

 

[Ragnaroknroll]

Superman: The Movie
Superman II
..
Superman Returns
..
Man of Steel
..
..
Superman IV
Superman III

 

[Vulture]

This is kind of not fair because Superman The Movie paved the way. Superhero films are a normal thing now. The 70's were before many of the current fans were born, and some of the Luthor and Otis stuff seems camp now a days.

I agree. I look at him and i can see Superman.

 

[Captain Tired]

Superman: The Movie
Superman II: Donner Cut
Man of Steel
Superman II
Superman Returns
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Superman III

 

[rogbngp]

Man of Steel - 9.5
Superman: The Movie - 9.0
Superman Returns - 7.0
Superman and the Mole Men - 4.7
Superman II - 4.5 (Donner Cut can't save this thing)
Superman III - 2.0
Superman IV - 1.0

 

[8ulk]

Man Of Steel = 9/10 (best by far)
Superman II = 7,7/10 (good for its time)
Superman I = 7,5/10 (good for its time)
Superman Returns = 7/10 (barely good)
Superman III = 4/10 (very bad)
Superman IV = 1/10 (a crime of a movie very awful)

Christopher Reeve = 8,5/10 (best portrayal of Supes/Clark)
Henry Cavill = 8/10 (almost as good as Reeve , has potential)
Brandon Routh = 7/10 (nice try but not enough)

 

[lordofthenerds]

Wonder if MOS would still be winning if this poll was created today...

 

[Mandon Knight]

1) Superman : The Movie (1978) favourite CBM of all, not just of the Superman films

2) Man of Steel

3) Superman II - Donner Cut

4) Superman II - Theatrical Release

5) Superman Returns

6) Superman III

7) Superman IV : Quest for Peace

If we are including BvS & JL then the ranking would be :

1) Superman : The Movie

2) Man of Steel

3) Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice - Ultimate Edition

4) Superman II - Donner Cut

5) Superman II - Theatrical Release

6) Superman Returns

7) Justice League

8) Superman III

9) Superman IV : Quest for Peace

 

[BigThor]

A tie between Superman The Movie and Man of Steel, but personally I prefer to see Superman be a little gritty.