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Superman III

Play trailer 3:13 Poster for Superman III PG 1983 2h 5m Adventure Sci-Fi Action Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
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31% Tomatometer 103 Reviews 23% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Computer programmer Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) is hired by financial tycoon Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn) to seize control of a weather satellite and annihilate Colombia's coffee crop. When Superman (Christopher Reeve) manages to thwart the plan, Webster commands Gorman to use the satellite to locate kryptonite, the Man of Steel's mortal weakness. But a missing unknown element in the kryptonite -- replaced by Gorman with tar -- causes an unintended side effect when presented to Superman.
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Superman III

Superman III

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Critics Consensus

When not overusing sight gags, slapstick, and Richard Pryor, Superman III resorts to plot points rehashed from the previous Superman flicks.

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Critics Reviews

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David Denby New York Magazine/Vulture Tedious, labored, and feeble beyond belief. Jul 8, 2025 Full Review Anna Maria Dell'oso Sydney Morning Herald A witty refreshing escape of a movie. Jul 8, 2025 Full Review Harper Barnes St. Louis Post-Dispatch Mainly, it is pretty much what you would expect from a Superman movie starring Richard Pryor: moderately entertaining and totally predictable. Jul 8, 2025 Full Review Brad Cook Flickering Myth Lester apparently encouraged Pryor to do a lot of the shtick he was famous for at the time, which made the movie more campy than it should have been. Rated: 2/5 Jul 10, 2025 Full Review Michael D. Reid Victoria Times Colonist (B.C., Canada) Attempting to endow Superman with human weakness drains the inherent magic. Jul 8, 2025 Full Review David Wilson Tulsa World It's neither bird nor plane, nor super sequel. It's Superman III, and it flies the lowest of three films featuring the strong-but sensitive stud. Jul 8, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Joshua H This movie is a massive drop in quality compared to the other ones. The intro made me realse right of the bet that this film wasn't going to be great. The silly goofiness that was in the 2nd film a little nit is cramped up to 11. The villain feels that couldn't get Gene Hackman back so they made a knock-off Lex Luthor instead. Also having Superman in the movie to sacrifice a relationship with the love of his life just to fall in love with someone else doesn't really make sense to me. The double Superman fight was interesting but I don't think the thing they really trying to explore with that story was just rushed so It didn't work for me. However inspite even in not a great film Christopher Reeve is still fantastic in the role wich makes it watchable and there some action set pieces that are decent. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/21/25 Full Review Gareth J Always had a soft spot for this film from when I was a kid. Objectively, the story doesn't make sense, the effects are weaker and the villain is a poor Lex Luther rip off but I still enjoy it. Fan of Pryor who does a good job bringing the comedy without overloading the film and Christopher reeve seems to have a ball playing bad superman. The scrap yard fight is still a highlight for me. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/12/25 Full Review BRENDEN J Superman 3 was not the best sequel out there, but it is my least favorite. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/10/25 Full Review Laurian D Terribly underrated movie, which is understandable, considering the pacing of the superhero movies that came out in the 21st century. Yet, it has its unforgettable moments, like the junkyard battle and evil Supes running havoc. Also, there are many charming moments involving Clark and Lana. The movie suffers a lot from Richard Pryor getting way too much screen time. Cut about 20 minutes of that nonsense and you actually get a decent Superman film. Oh, and it probably features some of the best take-offs in the Reeve series. Great potential partially wasted, but the movie still has more charm than the modern takes, at least until the 2025 one for sure. Definitely worth a watch, although you'll surely watch some particular scenes quite a few times. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/10/25 Full Review Pedro Henrique C The first 30 minutes of Superman III are quite boring to watch, honestly the first two were well done and developed, this one is real crap that doesn't even help the cast. 2h 4m out of pure boredom. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/09/25 Full Review David C Los efectos especiales se ven bastante mal en esta película de 1983, han envejecido muy mal con el tiempo. A Lois Lane le dieron muy poco tiempo en pantalla, lo cual se siente como una gran pérdida para el desarrollo de la historia. Además, Superman se muestra lento en esta tercera entrega, perdiendo parte de la fuerza y carisma que tenía en las anteriores Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/06/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Superman III

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Movie Info

Synopsis Computer programmer Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) is hired by financial tycoon Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn) to seize control of a weather satellite and annihilate Colombia's coffee crop. When Superman (Christopher Reeve) manages to thwart the plan, Webster commands Gorman to use the satellite to locate kryptonite, the Man of Steel's mortal weakness. But a missing unknown element in the kryptonite -- replaced by Gorman with tar -- causes an unintended side effect when presented to Superman.
Director
Richard Lester
Producer
Pierre Spengler
Screenwriter
David Newman, Leslie Newman
Production Co
Cantharus Productions, Major Studio Partners, Dovemead Films
Rating
PG
Genre
Adventure, Sci-Fi, Action, Fantasy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 15, 2008
Runtime
2h 5m
Sound Mix
Surround
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