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

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

07/08/2025

Tedious, labored, and feeble beyond belief.

Go to Full Review

Anna Maria Dell'oso

Sydney Morning Herald

07/08/2025

A witty refreshing escape of a movie.

Go to Full Review

Harper Barnes

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

07/08/2025

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

Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 12

The "Superman" saga seems to be running out of fresh ideas, smack into premature middle age.

Go to Full Review

Brad Cook

Flickering Myth

07/10/2025

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)

07/08/2025

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

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Thomas F

@RT70557918 Jul 17

Annette O’Toole was a lovely addition to the franchise, but the plot remained unbelievably messy. It was enjoyable for me, but that’s probably just because I love Superman.

See more

diogo13 T

@Tua_mera Jul 10

Este filme é tão mau que escolhi ver alguém reagindo no Youtube. Além de tudo o nome deviria ser "Richard Pryor e o figurante Superman"

See more

Dan K

@RT05142617 Jun 28

This movie gets beat up badly, but there are some fun moments that i still enjoy. While at times leaning to heavily on the slapstick comedy side, there are some fun action scenes with Superman. The evil/jerk Superman angle was fun and the junkyard scene with Clark and evil/jerk Superman was awesome.

See more

Daniel H.

@RT68448000 Jun 25

This movie gets dunked on a lot, but I liked it when I was nine years old and I still like it today. It tries to be a little campy, but not in a way that ruins the film. I actually liked Richard Pryor in it. Plus, the fight between immoral Superman and Clark is still fun to watch. This film's not as good as Superman I or II, obviously, but it's still one of my guilty little pleasures...

See more

Jason R

@JasonR1489 Jun 23

Sadly not as great as Superman: The Movie and Superman II but it does have a few good moments, I feel a lot of people don't see that fight was a fight within for control.

See more

Shea C

@SheaRants Apr 21

Well this is a movie that has superman. it has none of the charm of the previous 2 but its so hilariously bad that you have to love it

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

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

17%

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

87%

86%

Superman: The Movie

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Superman: The Movie

Howard the Duck

14%

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