Ranking the 4 Major Theatrical Supermans/Movies

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Spider….err…..ahhh..I mean Superman! Welcome folks. In today’s analyses I shall be discussing and ranking the live-action theatrical Superman portrayals as well as the films themselves. Now, listen here, I’m only doing the single full-length films so the 1948 film won’t count because it’s a cereal with 15 parts. With that said, let’s leap over the tallest building and get into it.

We begin with Christopher Reeves. Alrighty. How this usually works is I work my way down the notes that I’ve made but I always try to make the paragraph sound organic. I take notes as I watch the film from start to finish and the first note I made was about Marlon Brando as Jor-El. Good performance from him, you can really feel the love and the emotion as he said goodbye to Kal. I’d actually never seen Brando outside the Godfather, he really is versatile. Superman 1978 is the archetypal Superman film. THE classic Superman film. Glenn Ford makes for a very inspiring Jonathan Kent as opposed to the downbeat sourpuss Kevin Costner’s version. This is pretty much where my pros end my friend, oh and I guess the earthquake scene and and the concept of him giving up his powers to be with Lois because he loves her (despite the fact they only spent like 2 days together). Although it’s ridiculous even by comic book standards, him turning back time by reversing Earth’s rotation was pretty cool. Okay, now for the cons. There was only a few times where Clark wasn’t around when Lois was with Superman and in each of those scenarios it was acceptable that Clark wasn’t present such as when Lois was saved from the helicopter, when her and Supes had their little flying date, and after she was saved by Superman after the earthquake in California and yet she assumes that Clark and Superman must be one and the same. Is she a private investigator or something? That’s some real logical assuming there. By today’s standards, the film doesn’t truly hold up in my opinion. It’s hopeful, too hopeful and not realistic. People would be skeptical of Superman and mistrustful. We’ll talk about more about that when we get to Cavill. The movies are very corny and I understand that Reeves is easily the most likeable Superman by far and very endearing and the generation that grew with him will always defend him but it may be time for those to fans to admit that he’s dated. It’s time to get to get with the times now. Things aren’t black and white as they used to be and as stories evolve. The films, and I’m only talking about 1 and 2 because 3 and 4 were retroactively ignored when Superman Returns released, are quite-by-the-numbers and it’s a stretch to say the 78’ Superman is the best superhero film of all time. Maybe harsh but that’s my opinion. That being said, there is no denying that Reeves MAY be the best Clark Kent and Superman but we have yet to determine that.

Next we have Brandon Routh in 2006. He’s just a continuation of Reeves’ version since it follows after Superman 2. Plays it very safe. It’s just a modern looking version of Reeves portrayal so it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. It does the job for modern audiences- he looks good in the role but is he the definitive? Hardly. Not even for his generation at the same time as Tobey and Bale. The movie is dull and it’s got cheesiness abound. The plot is dull and bland. It’s boring. Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane is meh. The best part is Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor but he’s way too intense for the movie. The action scenes are pretty mild as well but the piano scene when pushed and Superman lifting the kryptonite island are cool but nothing I’m dying to re-watch. To the film’s credit, it’s not so bad that it’s fallen into the black void of forgotten, unspoken films but when it comes to Superman movies, even Corenswet’s version will most likely be preferred. Just watch Routh in the Rookie, a lot more entertaining in that show. EDIT: I may have spoken too soon when I said Corenswet will be preferred over Routh.

7 years later we got a reboot of Superman, the first actual reboot of the Man of Steel which was called, yes, Man of Steel. I wasn’t able to watch this one in theatres because I was away for 2 years in Australia on a mission but it was on a list of movies I wanted to see when I returned. After getting to know Superman a bit more, I can see now why the true Superman fans weren’t happy. It was quite an interesting direction Snyder decided to diverge to but it opened up a venue nobody had seen before. Come on purists, you gotta shake things up a little sometimes. Cavill’s Superman is definitely the most raw. Is it cheating if I include Batman vs Superman? I mean, I guess I didn’t say I would keep it exclusive to the Superman-only films. Since BVS is about Batman vs Superman, it’s an extension of Cavill’s portrayal and a Superman film. Yeah, I think that if I were a Superman fan I’d probably be upset too but would I really??? I’m an open-minded individual and if the deviance isn’t that far off from the main core of the character, I can live with that. Minor significant changes. It’s not like they completely changed Superman’s character. He’s easily the coolest Superman by far. Does what needs to be done. He’s a nice guy but not afraid to be mean. He’s got style, looks, swag, he broods, he gets angry, he’s relatable for crying out loud! A Marvel Superman, but shhhhh, don’t let the diehards hear me saying that. All the rest are boy scouts. Cavill is a different Superman. You can see his rage and his dark side. It gives him more depth and character. He’s not a one-note Boy Scout. On a last note Man of Steel is emotional because it’s about Clark finding himself- it’s a story about identity crisis and discovering identity as well as showing Clark’s history. The Lois-Superman love story that film is pretty crap though, I will say, and not convincing at all. The typical movie spend-time-for-one-or-two-days trope and they’re suddenly a serious couple. Up to this point, not Margot Kidder, Kate Bosworth, or Amy Adams played a convincing Lois. That would change though. As I said in Reeves’ paragraph, Cavill showed the realism of mistrust towards a superpowered alien and that not everybody would be behind him. There would be skepticism and mistrust for sure. I mean sure, Lex showed that in 78’ but it wouldn’t be just him albeit they probably wouldn’t be as extreme. To be fair, it’s an unfair judgment towards Reeves because it was the late 70s and movies were still on their way to becoming more gritty and darker, not that there weren’t gritty movies already. It was the first Superman film in color to come out in theatres and he is a hopeful character. It’s what people wanted to see. I have the advantage of time and societal progress. Maybe an unfair critique, maybe not. What do you think?

Okaaaaayy. 12 years later and here we go again. Warner Bros has flushed Snyder’s DCEU down the toilet and begun anew with James Gunn’s DCU. As a regular film, it’s meh. As a Superman film, it’s Supermeh. I still stand by that Returns is the most boring but 2025 is goofy as all hell. It’s goofier than anything Marvel Studios has done, including Guardians of the Galaxy and Ragnarok. At least Marvel knows how to balance the humour and seriousness most of the time except for you Love and Thunder. 2025 was just an inconsistent mess. There’d be times of seriousness that would be absolutely killed off by a silly moment immediately after. Man of Steel is a drama. Returns is a romance. 78 is a sci-fi fantasy. 2025 is a comedy. Honestly I think this Superman turns me off the most. I can’t take Corenswet seriously. You know how when you watch a movie more than once, you notice flaws? Definitely happened to me the 2nd time. I don’t know whether it’s sucky or just meh. Mediocre I guess is the best word. On first viewing I was nicer I suppose because I went in with neutral expectations, not that I was aiming to critique it on the 2nd watch. My opinion just changed. Plain and simple. Corenwset is the youngest, hippest, Superman to date and he seems the most relaxed of all the Clark Kents. He doesn’t seem like an outcast. He’s not awkward. He doesn’t feel Clark-y if you know what I’m saying if he shows Clark at all. He’s more Superman from what I remember. More like Super Guy. He doesn’t embody Superman in my eyes. Just a guy playing dress up as Superman with the same powers who gets his ass kicked the entire film. Bro really can’t take on Ultraman who responds by verbal input? What was the idea with that anyway? Having to waste your breath to command a dude to beat up another dude. Seems redundant. It was like a videogame and Lex was just a child having fun. The movie is for kids. Make no mistake. Superman for kids while Man of Steel is for the adults. You can make a general audience film and that’s what Returns and 78 are but 2025 is too kiddish. The appearance of the Justice Gang was random as hell and of course Gunn inserted his weird gross humour of going for eyeballs. I’m surprised there’s no genitalia jokes in there. Rachel Brosnahan is easily the best Lois though. Sexy and confident. Not a plain jane as all the others have been. She’s fierce as well. The stylization of the fight and flight scenes was odd in my opinion. The close-ups and then how they changed angles. Lots of forced humour in this film. I’m not saying Marvel is innocent but this was jarring. Couldn’t keep one single serious moment long enough without a comedic scene following in the next few seconds or minute. Lastly, this Superman was definitely pulling his punches. Either that or he’s a pansy. Cavill would’ve wrecked them all- Ultraman, The Engineer and Lex.

Alrighty folks. Time to bring the results in. I’m going to try to be as objective as I can in my subjectivism. Perhaps tied for 1st place are actually Cavill and Reeves. Reeves is a great Superman and Clark Kent that people find charming and look up to. Cavill is the best realistic Superman. Now that I’m typing this, I realize it may be my bias that wants to say Cavill is the best one but all around I think it truly is Reeves because he embodies both Clark/Superman. Cavill is really just Superman, not so much Clark. Routh is the same taste as Reeves but different variety but more or less the same and like I said, boring. As I already said, Corenswet is last for me so it goes Reeves, Cavill, Routh, then Corenswet. My favourite will always be Cavill though. Merry Halloween guys.