While Christopher Reeve was not the first actor to play Clark Kent/Superman in a piece of live-action entertainment, nor was he the last, he arguably remains the definitive Superman actor, owing to how well he embodied the role. Of course, his physical presence lined up neatly with how the iconic superhero had often been portrayed before the 1970s, and thanks to playing him four times between 1978 and 1987, it’s pretty easy to picture Reeve when thinking of Superman. Of course, his film roles outside the superhero genre were also noteworthy, as was the work he did as a disability activist following a 1995 horse-riding accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down (much of that being covered in the 2024 documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story).
Reeve sadly passed away in 2004, but his legacy speaks for itself, owing to what he did as an actor and what he achieved as an activist. To focus on the role that made him a star, though – and, admittedly, the one he will always be best known for – here are his four Superman movies, assessed below and starting with the less-than-great before finishing with the greatest. Even if a couple of the films were lesser in quality, Reeve always embodied the role, and his work in the role contributed immensely to the promise made by the first Superman’s iconic tagline: “You’ll believe a man can fly.” When it comes to Reeve, people did, and still do.
4 ‘Superman IV: The Quest for Peace’ (1987)
Directed by Sidney J. Furie
Before getting too negative, Christopher Reeve wasn’t one of the things that made Superman IV: The Quest for Peace awful, and his acting career between this movie’s release and his accident did showcase his range. Plus, the movie was bad enough that it might’ve killed the career of a lesser actor, while Reeve shone playing roles in unexpected/very different movies, like 1992’s Noises Off and 1993’s The Remains of the Day. And hey, Gene Hackman’s career didn’t die after appearing in The Quest for Peace, so good for him, too (it came out just five years before he won an Oscar for Unforgiven).
Okay. Enough procrastinating on the truth-telling. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace feels offensively bad, in so many ways. It’s got the cheap feel of a B-movie without any of the charm, and fails to deliver anything by way of entertaining special effects, narrative beats, or action scenes. It’s a schlocky slog of a film, with pros like Reeve and Hackman only able to do so much with the woeful screenplay they’ve been provided. The Quest for Peace is on the nose in the worst of ways, trudging through the motions for what feels like a studio-mandated 90 minutes (it is exactly 90 minutes) before mercifully ending. The other three Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve all have, at the very least, redeeming qualities, while The Quest for Peace is best avoided, no matter how much you think you like The Man of Steel.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
The Man of Steel crusades for nuclear disarmament and meets Lex Luthor’s latest creation, Nuclear Man.
- Release Date
- July 24, 1987
- Director
- Sidney J. Furie
- Runtime
- 90 minutes
3 ‘Superman III’ (1983)
Directed by Richard Lester
Richard Lester directed two Superman movies, or it might be more accurate to say he directed one and a half (it’s complicated). Either way, the one that saw him with the most creative control was certainly Superman III, which has a broadly comedic tone throughout that scratches a similar itch to the sorts of anarchic comedies Lester directed with The Beatles (namely, A Hard Day’s Night and Help!). There was a certain amount of camp to be found in the two earlier Superman movies, but also, those prior movies didn’t have Pryor in them. Unsurprisingly, Richard Pryor is a big reason why Superman III is so broadly comedic.
His inclusion might be controversial, but having him there does create something of an interesting dynamic, making Superman III almost like an odd couple-style comedy, but with superpowers (and minus Gene Wilder, who Richard Pryor often collaborated with). Also, Superman goes evil at one point, owing to the strange plot here, and that stuff is genuinely quite entertaining, both for the spectacle it offers and for the very silly humor. Superman III does not take itself seriously at all, and those who feel it’s making fun of Superman as a character might well label it the worst of the Reeve-starring Superman movies. But, if you can get on board with something that’s more of a comedy than a straightforward action/adventure flick, there is a possibility of finding enjoyment in Superman III.
Superman III
- Release Date
- June 17, 1983
- Director
- Richard Lester
- Cast
- Christopher Reeve , Richard Pryor , Jackie Cooper , Marc McClure , Annette O’Toole , Annie Ross
- Runtime
- 125
2 ‘Superman II’ (1980)
Directed by Richard Lester
Nowadays, the most famous movie to have multiple cuts while also featuring Superman, as a character, is probably Justice League (2017)/Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), but about 40 years earlier, Superman II faced similar drama. Richard Donner was the director of Superman II at first, which made sense, considering the great job he did with the first movie, but he was replaced during the film’s production. Richard Lester, the aforementioned director of Superman III, stepped in, and is considered the director of the theatrical cut of Superman II… but there also exists a re-edit (again, Zack Snyder’s Justice League-style) that represents his vision more closely, released in 2006 and dubbed Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.
Regardless of which cut you pick, it’s better than Superman III and IV, but not as good as the first movie, though some will say the Donner version comes close. What should be emphasized is that, either way, Superman II is a very strong sequel that satisfies in a similar way to the first movie. There’s a bit more action and spectacle here, things get ever so slightly darker (certainly not overly so), and Terence Stamp certainly shines as General Zod, after appearing in the first movie but then inevitably making more of an impact here, with a beefed-up role. Superman II is a very good superhero movie that teeters on the brink of greatness. It might not exceed the first, but it doesn’t disappoint in comparison, either, and that’s got to count for something.
Superman II
- Director
- Richard Lester
- Runtime
- 127 Minutes
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1 ‘Superman’ (1978)
Directed by Richard Donner
Superman was obviously a star-making role for Christopher Reeve. He’d done some stage acting before 1978, and appeared in one other movie – called Gray Lady Down – that came out before Superman, but this was the film that made him a star. Of course, there were numerous other talented actors involved here, with Gene Hackman playing perhaps the best Lex Luthor to date, Margot Kidder being an excellent Lois Lane, and Marlon Brando proving to be a commanding presence, even with a fairly small role overall. Superman brought the titular hero to the big screen in style and then some, standing as an early superhero blockbuster that paved the way for countless others to follow – and succeed – in subsequent decades.
When watched now, Superman (1978) feels quaint and very simple, but not in a way that weighs the film down at all. If anything, it’s refreshing to watch nowadays and see a superhero movie that’s action-packed and exciting, but without many fight scenes. Superman, in this film, is a good-hearted hero, and most of the time, he’s focused on saving people and stopping evil schemes without resorting to beating people up constantly. It’s just an oddly wholesome movie, especially compared to some of the darker and grittier (albeit sometimes quite good) superhero films that have been more popular in recent decades. Superman is old-fashioned and charming in the best of ways, with a level of love for the titular hero that’s quite infectious. Oh, and iconic music, too, obviously. It’s a winner in every way, and certainly the best of all the Christopher Reeve-starring Superman films.
Superman
An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home’s first and greatest superhero.
- Release Date
- December 13, 1978
- Runtime
- 143 Minutes
