Warner Bros.With a new Superman movie swooping into cinemas courtesy of writer-director James Gunn, here’s how all the 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
Warner Bros.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 (2025): 83% (at time of writing)
- Superman Returns: 73%
- Man of Steel: 57%
- Superman III: 29%
- Batman v Superman – Dawn of Justice: 28%
- Superman IV – The Quest For Peace: 14%
This doesn’t include 2017’s Justice League (39%), nor does it include Zack Snyder’s Justice League (71%), as those are team-up movies with a broader focus beyond Superman himself.
Our own Superman 2025 review is live, where we wrote that: “This is a Superman movie unlike any you’ve seen before; for (mostly) better and (barely) worse. It’s epic, emotional, and proof that the Man of Steel isn’t boring; by the end, you’ll believe that James Gunn’s DCU can fly. Look up, and look forward to what’s next.
While here’s what the critics have been posting on social media:
One 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.”
Superman soars from July 11, 2025. Before then, check out how Star Wars and Game of Thrones influenced the film, plus details of a scene that was removed, and you can keep tabs on the year’s releases with our 2025 movie calendar.
