Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice Review
RATING: (2 STARS) Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is a film about and full of contradictions. It’s a sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel — also directed by Zack Snyder — yet this film relegates old Superman to a supporting role, instead focusing on that which drives the film’s other titular hero. Despite this […]
Ranking the Superman Movies
Superman’s film lineage is absolutely fascinating. Even when you remove the on-again-off-again projects during the lost years of the 1990s and early 2000s (not to mention the Richard Donner fiasco of 1980), the six films themselves are so different and so uniquely imperfect. Do we have a definitive Superman movie? Not a chance. I’ll get […]
Man of Steel Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Once more unto the breach, dear friends… When the public’s goodwill toward Superman turned sour following the abominable Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Krypton’s finest took a 19 year break from the big screen. Superman Returns was meant to be a triumphant return, and the film played that angle up, but […]
Superman Returns Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) It took 19 long years to get Superman back to the big screen after the epic awfulness that was Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Superman Returns, from director Bryan Singer, is the first in the series without Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder, and while it has a number of problems, the […]
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace Review
RATING: (0.5 STARS) It isn’t hard to see where Superman IV: The Quest for Peace goes wrong. Its awfulness hides in plain sight and renders the film as a whole nearly unwatchable. It’s a little like the sun—stare for too long, and you’ll feel physical pain. But then you start to feel a little bad […]
Superman III Review
RATING: (1.5 STARS) With the off-screen problems connected to Superman II out of the way, there was no reason Superman III couldn’t have been another thrilling adventure. Sure, Gene Hackman was out, furious at producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind over what happened with Superman director Richard Donner. But the Salkinds lured comedian Richard Pryor into […]
Superman II Review
RATING: (3 STARS) The behind-the-scenes story of Superman II is the stuff of legend, but one shouldn’t assume a project with such a messy history is itself a mess. On the contrary, Superman II (at least the theatrical version credited to director Richard Lester) is a slightly tighter, more suspenseful, and more entertaining film than […]
Superman Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Richard Donner’s Superman is very much a product of the Star Wars school of blockbuster filmmaking—big, ambitious themes masked in a familiar, satisfying story with sometimes spotty (by today’s standard), sometimes dazzling (by any standard) special effects that hide narrative deficiencies at every turn. The ink was hardly dry on the school’s […]
