Aiming to defeat the Man of Steel, wealthy executive Ross Webster hires bumbling but brilliant Gus Gorman to develop synthetic kryptonite, which yields some unexpected psychological effects in the third installment of the 1980s Superman franchise. Between rekindling romance with his high school sweetheart and saving himself, Superman must contend with a powerful supercomputer.
Anyone who has been following the Superman saga will find this installment enjoyable enough, but some of the magic is missing.
– Janet Maslin,
New York Times,
30 Aug 2004
rotten:
It's a cinematic comic book, shallow, silly, filled with stunts and action, without much human interest.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
23 Oct 2004
fresh:
Enjoyable, nevertheless.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
rotten:
Putting its emphasis on broad comedy at the expense of ingenious plotting and technical wizardry, it has virtually none of the mythic or cosmic sensibility that marked its predecessors.