Superman III

Play trailer

3:13

Superman III

PG

1983

2h 5m

Adventure

Sci-Fi

Action

Fantasy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

David Denby

New York Magazine/Vulture

Jul 8

Tedious, labored, and feeble beyond belief.

Go to Full Review

Anna Maria Dell'oso

Sydney Morning Herald

Jul 8

A witty refreshing escape of a movie.

Go to Full Review

Harper Barnes

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Jul 8

Mainly, it is pretty much what you would expect from a Superman movie starring Richard Pryor: moderately entertaining and totally predictable.

Go to Full Review

Brad Cook

Flickering Myth

Jul 10

2/5

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.

Go to Full Review

Michael D. Reid

Victoria Times Colonist (B.C., Canada)

Jul 8

Attempting to endow Superman with human weakness drains the inherent magic.

Go to Full Review

David Wilson

Tulsa World

Jul 8

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.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Albert W

Dec 21

So nowhere near the quality of the first 2 but still has Reeve as Superman and still enjoyable if you like silly fun.

See more

Farah R

@Farah Dec 20

I heard about how terrible Superman III was but I didn’t expect it to be that bad. The entire film is a soulless rehash of the first two movies with more slapstick and silly gags. It’s a shame Christopher Reeve, the best actor to portray Superman on screen, was stuck with these movies.

See more

Brent A

@BrentAprill Dec 2

10% rating ... This film was awful. The acting and the plot are mind-numbingly bad. This has turned into an awful film franchise 3 films in.

See more

Rafael S

Oct 29

Boring and uninteresting film, it began the downfall of Superman in live action

See more

Pablo D. M

@saicomoviefan Oct 21

Very disappointing excuse in wasting the talents involve of their time.

See more

Zayden C

@ZaydenCruzJace Aug 25

Worst mistake of their lives was firing donner away.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Richard Lester

Director

Christopher Reeve

Clark Kent

Richard Pryor

Gus Gorman

Robert Vaughn

Ross Webster

Jackie Cooper

Perry White

Margot Kidder

Lois Lane

Superman II

88%

76%

Superman II

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Superman II

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

16%

16%

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

83%

94%

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

Superman: The Movie

88%

86%

Superman: The Movie

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Superman: The Movie

Howard the Duck

13%

38%

Howard the Duck

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Character Face-Off: The Best Version of 15 Mega Popular Movie and TV Characters

The 20 Best Superhero Movie Villains

Rank Every DC Superhero Movie!

Superman III: Trailer 1

3:13

View more videos

View more photos

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

Most Popular at Home Now