Ranking All 7 Superman Films from Least to Most Impressive

      Here are the seven Superman films ranked as we look forward to the upcoming Superman movie featuring David Corenswet as the iconic hero and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and to see how it compares.

      A couple of notes: We are not including animated films or Justice League, which we will explain later.

      Now, here’s the ranking of all seven Superman films, from least to most favorable.

      Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

      Warner Bros. – Credit: Warner Bros.

      While Henry Cavill makes an excellent Superman, he was unfortunately let down by the screenplays of his films.

      By far, the weakest entry is Batman v Superman, a loud, chaotic, and overstuffed film that has him going up against Ben Affleck’s similarly underdeveloped Batman — both of whom get overshadowed by Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman.

      The lowest point for Cavill’s Superman was in Justice League, which included scenes where his face was digitally altered to remove the mustache he had for Mission: Impossible — Fallout, which was filming during the reshoots for Justice League.

      However, we are not including Justice League on this list due to Superman being deceased for a significant portion of the film.

      Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

      Warner Bros.

      No one is claiming that Superman IV is a good film — it was hindered by a slashed budget and a terrible antagonist, Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow), as well as a preachy narrative about nuclear weapons. The special effects were subpar at times, and the film's box office performance led to the decline of the Christopher Reeve-led Superman franchise.

      Nonetheless, Superman IV has its redeeming qualities. Reeve is, without a doubt, the best actor to have portrayed Superman thus far. We also get brief appearances from the late, great Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor and Margot Kidder as Lois Lane. It's also amusing to see Jon Cryer as Lex's nephew, Lenny Luthor.

      In an indirect way, this film helped Morgan Freeman gain fame. No, he doesn't appear in the movie, but Reeve agreed to do Superman IV in exchange for support on the serious drama Street Smart, where Freeman shone as a pimp in conflict with Reeve’s character, a reporter.

      Superman Returns (2006)

      Warner Bros.

      This reboot of the Superman franchise struggled due to two comparisons: First, while Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth were amiable as Superman and Lois, it's quite a challenge to follow Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder.

      Second, the film was released a year after Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale successfully rebooted Batman with Batman Begins, the first of their Dark Knight trilogy.

      That said, we appreciate Superman Returns. Kevin Spacey was a solid choice for Lex Luthor, and we enjoy that this film can be viewed as a direct sequel to Superman II — with different leads, naturally — disregarding Superman III and Superman IV.

      Man of Steel (2013)

      Warner Bros.

      Director Zack Snyder aimed to make Man of Steel as grand as possible (it was released a year after Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy concluded with The Dark Knight Rises and featured Nolan as a producer) and succeeded in many aspects.

      Henry Cavill was perfectly cast as Superman, and Amy Adams brought an excellent contemporary take on Lois Lane. The remarkable supporting cast included Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Clark’s earthly adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, along with Russell Crowe and Ayelet Zurer as Jor-El and Lara Lor-van, Superman's biological Kryptonian parents. The fathers had more substantial roles than the mothers.

      The film's main drawback was Snyder’s tendency to make things excessively dark and serious, highlighted by the controversial decision for Superman to kill Michael Shannon’s General Zod, which feels contrary to the hero's character.

      Superman III (1987)

      Warner Bros.

      This is Superman at his most humorous. He takes on the forgettable industrialist Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn), who hires the film’s true standout, Gus Gorman, a desperate yet brilliant computer programmer played by Richard Pryor.

      There’s an undeniable charm in watching the reserved Reeve share the screen with the unpredictable Pryor, one of the most impactful comedians in history. It’s also entertaining to see how a 1983 film portrayed Gus's computer savvy (his scheme was clever enough to be referenced in 1999’s Office Space). Additionally, we enjoy the quirky yet entertaining division of Superman into contrasting good and evil halves.

      The film loses points for the absence of Gene Hackman and the sidelining of Margot Kidder, who was displeased with producers Ilya and Alexander Salkind for replacing director Richard Donner on Superman II with Richard Lester. We prefer Superman films where Lois is prominently featured.

      Superman II (1980)

      Warner Bros.

      In terms of plot, this is the most engaging