If you ask someone who the greatest live-action Superman actor is, there’s a pretty good chance they’regoing to sayChristopher Reeve, and that’s understandable. But if you asked those same people who the runner-up to Reeve would be, then Henry Cavill’s a likely response. He might not have been in as many greatSupermanmovies as Reeve was (seeing as 1978’sSupermanand, to a slightly lesser extent,Superman II, are great), but Cavill was always good as Clark Kent/Superman. He made an impact, put his own spin on the character, and did well enough that it’s understandable why some are saddened by the notion that his time as the character has come to an end.
Between 2013 and 2022, Cavill was Superman, but 2025 is seeing the release of a newSupermanfilm, directed byJames Gunn, and starringDavid Corenswetin the title role. The era ofSupermanmovies defined by Cavill and directorZack Snydermight well be in the past, but some of those entries still hold up pretty well, and even the lesser ones are interesting. Of Cavill’s fiveSupermanmovies (all ranked below),one just gave him a cameo appearance, and two are drastically different versions of what’s ostensibly the same basic story. What’s not counted here isThe Flash, a movie in which Cavill’s likeness appeared briefly, buthis actual cameo ended up being cut.
5’Black Adam' (2022)
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
It would take a while to dive fully into the mess that wasBlack Adam, and since Henry Cavill is barely featured in this one, it’s best to keep things brief. Essentially, it was made while the DC Extended Universe was on its very last legs, seemingly coming about becauseDwayne Johnson, not just contentto be in “Red” moviesor show up as (kind of)part of the family inFast and Furious, wanted to play a superhero. He plays the titular Black Adam, who was imbued with powers thousands of years ago and held prisoner, breaking free to enact justice all this time later in the modern world.
It’s familiar stuff, as far as superhero movies go, even with the main character being, on the surface, a little more morally complex than most main characters in superhero movies. Anyway, the film’s a bit of a bore, and maybe things come to life a little when Superman is teased at the very end,possibly as someone who Black Adam could fight or team up with… maybe both? Or neither, because this tease came to nothing, andBlack Adamstands to date as the final time Henry Cavill made an appearance in a movie as Superman (again, excluding his likeness being glimpsed inThe Flash).
Black Adam
4’Justice League' (2017)
Directed by Zack Snyder, Joss Whedon
Trouble with the DCEU started long before the messiness and undelivered promises ofBlack Adam, with 2017’sJustice Leaguehaving a notoriously strained production for many reasons, all of which are hard to get into in-depth. Perhaps the biggest issue was that this superhero team-up movie came together a little haphazardly, seemingly wanting to scratch the same itch that 2012’sThe Avengersdid. That film was, in hindsight, built to quite effectively, making it function as a satisfying and well-balanced team-up movie, whereasJustice Leaguebrought together some characters who’d had proper introductions, and others who were kind of messily introduced – at least to those who don’t read comic books – within this film.
The 2017 version ofJustice Leagueis bad, with the original director, Zack Snyder,having to step down from making it (andseemingly disowning the whole thing), and Joss Whedon brought in at what felt like the last minute to rework the entire thing. Whether Whedon’s to blame, or the executives are (someone, for some ungodly reason, insisted this huge movie couldn’t exceed two hours in length),Justice Leaguejust doesn’t work. Snyder’s vision was restored some years later in a far superior cut, meaning that even if you’re a big fan of Cavill’s Superman, it’s really not worth slogging through the messier parts of thisJustice Leagueto see him in action.
Justice League
3’Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' (2016)
Directed by Zack Snyder
Appropriately right in the middle of things, as far as Henry CavillSupermanmovies go,Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceiskind of an overstuffed mess, but within that mess are some compelling scenes, interesting ideas, and moments of undeniable spectacle. It’s a large-scale superhero romp that sets out to do what its lofty title suggests: initially, the titular Batman and Superman do indeed clash, owing to their ideological differences and the fact that the former was impacted by destruction caused by the latter. Then, a greater threat emerges, and viewers see the dawn of (the) Justice (League).
It didn’t seamlessly set up the actualJustice Leaguemovie, which came out a year later, but neither did it do a terrible job.Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicedoes find interesting things for Henry Cavill’s Superman to deal with, especially on the heels of what happened in his previous movie, and Cavill himself is up to the task of being part of this moral conflict. It’s all the other directions thatBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justicedashes around in which hurt the overall film, as though some parts of it are good,thetone’s kind of all over the place, some of it’s too obvious, and the action does, at a point, get a bit exhausting.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
2’Man of Steel' (2013)
Man of Steelisn’t the bestSupermanmovie by any means, but it’s also far from the worst, and proved to be a solid jumping-off point for this iteration of the character; one who didn’t really get the sorts of opportunities he deserved, following this 2013 film. The story here is familiar ground for anyone who knows much about the origin of Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman, detailing how he was sent from his planet to Earth, and raised there among other human beings, all the while being very aware that he was no ordinary person.
The quieter and more contemplative moments ofMan of Steelare probably the best ones, because Zack Snyder might end up overdoing it a little when it comes to the action. Make no mistake, it’s all spectacular for a while, but the final act is numbing, at a certain point,with a handful of super-powered beings who just won’t quit tossing each other around for what feels like forever. But this is still a film with more good than bad. The origin story is well-told,the casting is pretty spot on, and the way the tone noticeably differs from theSupermanmovies that Christopher Reeve starred inis also generally a good thing.
Man of Steel
1’Zack Snyder’s Justice League' (2021)
There was nowhere to go but up forZack Snyder’s Justice League, which stands as one ofthe longest American movies of all time, doubling the length of 2017’sJustice League. It’s more than twice as good as that film, too, with the length helping things breathe a little more, sure, but the visuals prove more striking here. There is still some goofy humor, but not an overabundance of it, as was the case in the theatrical cut ofJustice League.Zack Snyder’s Justice Leagueis honestly pretty well-balanced tonally, and it also works well in giving ample screen time to all the heroes of the titular squad.
Some might findthis epic superhero moviejust a bit too long, with the last half-hour or so feeling quite awkward, given much of that run of the film is dedicated to setting up sequels and other movies that will probably never happen. But, then again, to have more than three hours of a four-hour movie be more than pretty good overall is something worth celebrating. It’s a little sad that the Snyder and Cavill run of Superman movies effectively ended here (unless something earth-shattering ends up being announced at some point; who knows?), butif you’ve got to take a bow, you may as well make it epic.
