7 best Superman movies, ranked
James Gunn's Superman is just the latest attempt to tell a story about this character, and not the first one to be a success. We've ranked the long history of Superman movies on screen, narrowing it down to his seven best live-action films:
7. Superman III
Look, Superman III is a pretty embarrassing movie, and I think most of the people involved would agree. It hails from an era in Hollywood filmmaking when movies were less about their characters and more about stars, which is why Richard Pryor is second billed here simply because he once said he liked Superman.
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The result is a deeply silly, pretty strange movie that wasn't very good when it came out and feels downright offensive to the sensibilities of audiences who have been trained on decades of careful IP management.
You can watch Superman III on HBO Max.
6. Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
This movie might be higher if it were more of a Superman movie. The character's return is key to the plotting of Justice League, but he arrives partway through the runtime of a movie more focused on Ben Affleck's Batman.
Still, Zack Snyder's Justice League is undeniably better than the version of this movie that made it to theaters and has moments of genuine surprise wrapped in it. Is there an hour of slow-motion footage? Yes, but you're either in on that or you're not. Justice League is one man's vision, unadorned, and that has to be admired.
You can watch Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max.
5. Superman II (1980)
After Reeves' first outing as Superman, the movies he starred in got progressively sillier and also worse. Superman II is the last one that's arguably good, although it's also a movie fundamentally compromised because parts of it were directed by Richard Donner and parts by Richard Lester.
The result is a movie with strange pacing, unusual plotting, and a performance by Terence Stamp that is so committed it will help you forget about some of those sins. Superman II is mostly just a lark, but one you probably won't regret watching.
You can watch Superman II on HBO Max.
4. Man of Steel (2013)
There are plenty of things to love in Man of Steel, but Zack Snyder's take on Superman is hugely flawed in part because it seems to spend much of its running time wishing its central character were Batman instead. 'What if Superman was dark and sad?' might be an interesting question in theory, but in practice, it washes away all of the elements that make Superman.
Even so, Henry Cavill does an excellent job with what he's given, and Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe are both excellent as Superman's two dads and two men who are in subtle conflict over who their son should be.
You can watch Man of Steel on HBO Max.
3. Superman Returns (2006)
Superman Returns is associated with several real-world villains, but the movie itself is better than you might have expected. Bryan Singer's whole objective in making Superman Returns was to make a movie that felt like the Reeve movies he grew up with, and he largely succeeded.
Thanks to better visual effects, though, Superman Returns feels a little less janky. The romance is all there, though, even if Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth can't quite live up to the chemistry of Reeve and Margot Kidder. It's far from a perfect movie, but one that gets fairly close to having an interesting, coherent take on the Man of Steel.
You can watch Superman Returns on HBO Max.
2. Superman: The Movie (1978)
Christopher Reeve's Superman remains the most iconic version of the character, and not just because he was the first actor to play him in a feature film. Richard Donner's Superman is a brilliant showcase for Reeves's take on the character, and in his hands, you actually believe that Clark and Superman could be two separate people.
The first 90 minutes of this movie are basically perfect. It's only when the movie remembers its plot that things fall apart just a little bit. The ending is undeniably silly, but that doesn't lessen the movie's remarkable power.
You can watch Superman on HBO Max.
1. Superman (2025)
This may seem like sacrilege, and it's possible that with time and distance, opinions will shift. Right now, though, James Gunn's Superman feels like the most fully realized version of the character. Here is a movie that has the effects and budget to make Superman's powers look cool but, more importantly, a perfect understanding of what makes the character so important.
David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult are all perfectly cast, and the movie's central anchor is a belief that what makes Superman important is not his power but his constant effort to do good. We simply don't get enough of people who are trying their best on screen.
You can watch Superman in theaters now.
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Hide our expert take Show our expert take Jason Cockerham/CNET Photo Gallery 1/7 Jason Cockerham/CNET $150 at Amazon Pros Fantastic hardware Swappable joystick caps Wide device compatibility Cons Not a very carry-friendly design, including joystick caps that can pop off in a backpack Expensive Photo Gallery 1/7 Jason Cockerham/CNET Razer Kishi V3 Pro Jason Cockerham/CNET Photo Gallery 1/7 Jason Cockerham/CNET $150 at Amazon The step-up V3 Pro has several upgrades over the base Kishi. First is size: It's not too much bigger than the other model, but is large enough to fit small tablets like the iPad Mini, Lenovo Legion Tab or RedMagic Astra. Another big difference is the face buttons. Instead of the "quiet tactile" buttons, the V3 Pro incorporates the same Mecha-Tactile buttons as the Wolverine V3 and V3 Pro. The feel might not work for everyone, but like Josh Goldman, who reviewed the Wolverine, I thoroughly enjoy them. They don't have as much travel as more traditional controller buttons and may take some getting used to, but they're ultimately a lot more responsive. The D-pad also gets a solid upgrade. This model has a floating eight-way D-pad that also uses the Mecha-Tactile switches. Again, not everyone will like the feel, but I do. It's a fair bit more sensitive than a standard D-pad, like the one on the entry Kishi -- that's not necessarily a bad thing, it just comes down to preference and the games you play. In a big upgrade over the Kishi Ultra, the joystick caps are swappable. Razer even includes two different cap sizes in the box. If you've never tried swapping joysticks or caps before, simply switching stick heights or from concave to convex can make a big difference in FPS games. The V3 Pro also gets two additional bumpers up top, again straight from the Wolverine V3. They're mainly intended for oddball claw grippers, but I found them useful when I didn't want to change my grip to hit the standard bumpers. The Pro's price jumps to $150, which is a lot for any controller, especially a mobile one. But it's actually $20 cheaper than the Backbone Pro, which makes it an even better option. Show our expert take Show our expert take Jason Cockerham/CNET Photo Gallery 1/4 Jason Cockerham/CNET $200 at Amazon Pros Fantastic hardware Swappable joystick caps Cons Huge Expensive Cumbersome for long sessions Photo Gallery 1/4 Jason Cockerham/CNET Razer Kishi V3 Pro XL Jason Cockerham/CNET Photo Gallery 1/4 Jason Cockerham/CNET $200 at Amazon Identical to the V3 Pro but in a supersized package, the V3 Pro XL is for hardcore tablet gamers. I've heard from some diehards who refuse to game on anything other than their M4 iPad Pro, and those people are Razer's target buyers for the XL. Also, if you're one, we need to talk. Collapsed, it's almost as wide as my 16-inch laptop. Fully extended, it can accommodate 10- to 13-inch tablets up to 11.1in/282 mm on their long edge, which includes the 13-inch iPad Pro. In fact, it's the only premium controller option big enough for that large a tablet. It also fits a range of larger Android tablets, including the 12.1-inch OnePlus Pad 2 (but probably not the newer 13.1-inch OnePlus Pad 3), according to Razer's specifications. The extra size will cost you though; the Pro XL is $200. But if you're buying this to game on your $1,200 iPad Pro, I doubt the price is much of a factor for you. Show our expert take Not very bag- or Android-friendly As much as I love the hardware on the Kishi controllers, they all miss in one big way: portability. Not only are they fairly big compared to other mobile controllers, but Razer doesn't bundle -- or even offer -- one at the moment. Moving these in and out of a bag is annoying, and the joystick caps constantly pop off the V3 Pro and Pro XL when I pull them out of my backpack. I haven't lost them yet, but it's only a matter of time. It may not be a deal-breaker for everyone, but this is a vital aspect of the design for a controller that's meant to be carried everywhere. The biggest disadvantage of the Kishi controllers, which isn't entirely Razer's fault, is the Android compatibility. On iOS, they all work natively with every controller-compatible game available on the app store, but Android is very much a mixed bag. Some games work fine, but others, like Call of Duty: Mobile, require you to use the touch remapping -- which I found very hit and miss. There was even some difference in compatibility between devices. On my OnePlus 13 the Pro XL worked better than on my RedMagic Astra tablet; the latter would disconnect or fail to register inputs during play, particularly with CODM. Other games worked OK, but were still inconsistent overall. Razer finishes first For mobile controllers, Razer is competing aggressively with the veteran Backbone One and new Backbone Pro, and Razer comes out ahead. The Kishi V3 is the same price as the Backbone One, while the V3 Pro is great plus $20 cheaper than the Backbone Pro: Razer takes the W, hands down. The Kishis' ergonomics are better, the hardware is better, and the software is better. The only thing Backbone has over the Kishi is a better design for carrying -- obviously quite important for a mobile controller -- but I still prefer the Kishi V3. If you're on Android, it's a little less clearcut, but again, that also depends somewhat on what games you play. For exclusive CODM gamers, Backbone has better native compatibility, but the virtual touch mapping on the Kishi works well, at least on most devices, if you don't mind taking the time to tweak the settings. Other games can be hit and miss with native compatibility. If you're exclusively an iOS gamer, then any of the Kishi V3 controllers are hands-down the best mobile controller you can get. Even on Android, it's still far and away my first choice.
