I think Superman and Superman II are great films that kicked off the superhero movie trend and while they have their flaws and have not aged perfectly, I think they are still great Superman stories and good films that kicked off the big budget super hero movie.

Superman III and IV are universally seen as terrible. Superman Returns and Man of Steel are somewhat better received, but are still divisive. Superman Returns is one of the most disappointing films I have seen, the plane recuse scene is amazing, but it tries way too hard to be Donner films, Lex is still too campy, with a really stupid plan and Superman is a mopey loser who stalks Lois, its also super boring, with a really dull climax. Man of Steel is better, but Superman is still too mopey, Jonathan Kent became a jerk and the climax makes Superman look callous, fighting Zod in the middle of Metropolis and getting millions of people killed. I still like Man of Steel better, its more exciting, but still had flaws, Man of Steel could have a great intro Superman story with a little more work, with Superman being a rookie who still has stuff to learn, but that's thrown out the window with Batman v. Superman and any sort of progress Superman could have had is washed away.

Frankly I have liked some of the animated Superman movies better. Superman vs. The Elite was action packed and a good exploration of Superman's moral code, All Star Superman was a little too paired down from the comics, but still good, Superman Doomsday is fun, but a not great film, Superman Unbound is also fun, but not a truly great film.

Why has there not been a great live action Superman movie since 1980?