I Rewatched Every ‘Spider-Man’ Film In Theaters, Here’s How I Rank Them Now
I attended every “Spider Monday” for the past 8 weeks. Here is how I now rank every live-action film in the Spider-Man franchise.
8. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Ranking this movie the lowest probably isn’t much of a surprise to most fans. Unfortunately for this film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is probably the only one I would consider to be genuinely bad. This film’s inclusion of Harry Osborn comes off as incredibly tacked on and borderline illogical. I never believed for a second that this was supposed to be Peter’s childhood best friend. The only semi-redeeming quality this film has is the end when Gwen dies. Of course this is mostly due in part to their relationship having been developed in a good film.
7. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
The second film starring Tom Holland as the titular character is a mixed bag. On one hand, Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio is such an awesome interpretation of the classic character. All the illusions and stuff were lots of fun, and Holland is charming in the role. On the other hand, taking the Spider out of NYC almost seems to make the character lose some of his charm. It’s not impossible to get it right, but I feel they missed the mark here. This movie doesn’t nearly have enough friendly-neighborhood-ing, especially following the previous Avengers duology. The third act can also feel a bit tiring and… ugly, taking place inside and around a large gray cloud.
6. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
This was probably the one Spider-Man film I watched the most as a child. At times it can be an incoherent mess with too many underbaked plot lines. However, the crowd for this one probably had the best time. It isn’t entirely clear if people were laughing with or at it, but nonetheless, it made for a pretty enjoyable experience. While the film is far from perfect, it still has tons of heart and has some great emotional moments.
5. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Spider-Man: No Way Home unfortunately dropped the most on my list compared to how I used to rank these films. Seeing it in a less crowded theater after all the hype from 2021 has died down certainly makes you re-evaluate things. Watching Andrew Garfield stand there awkwardly as the movie holds for an extra few seconds for the crowd applause to die down was borderline embarrassing this go around. Nobody was clapping obviously, as everyone and their mother knows about the previous Spider-Men supporting roles.
My theater also showed the “More Fun Stuff” edition of the film which was my first time seeing it this way. I did not like this. All of the bits run on for far too long and wreck the pacing. Overall, this experience was pretty underwhelming compared to the last time I watched this film, and maybe I should’ve just kept this one in my memory. Pretty satisfying though to see the three together after 8 weeks of watching these.
4. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Probably one of the most underrated films for the character. The Amazing Spider-Man has many things to love about it, Garfield is great as Spider-Man (Maybe even the best one?) and Emma Stone is lovely as Gwen. The world of TASM also feels very 90s comics, which is very fun! Another fun thing is The Lizard (Rhys Infans), whose plan totally rocks. The guy just loves lizards. We can’t hate him. Great VFX in this one too!
3. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Easily the best of Tom Holland’s trilogy, Homecoming has an immaculate vibe. The John Hughes inspiration is pitch perfect for the character and Peter really does feel like a real teenager (in 2017). Michael Keaton as The Vulture is easily the best villain of the three films and provides the tensest scene in the live-action history of the character. Oftentimes, fans online will complain about Peter being Iron Man Jr., but I really think that is the whole point here! The film is about Peter finding his way without help from anyone else and gaining his own independence, something every teen yearns for.
2. Spider-Man (2002)
The OG. Nobody quite balances drama and action quite like Sam Raimi. Every character feels incredibly realistic and New York has never felt so alive on screen. Tobey Maguire is great as Peter Parker, as we all know, and exudes just the right amount of awkwardness. Willem Dafoe chews every bit of the scenery and dials himself up to 11. I don’t see how anyone could dislike this film.
1. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Without a doubt, Spider-Man 2 is the best entry in this franchise. Walking out of the theater, I was thinking to myself that if they just never made another comic book film again, that would have been fine. Raimi takes everything good about the previous one and just doubles the heart and the drama. The ending is genuinely so satisfying, and I was moved to tears once or twice during this. Spider-Man 2 is nearly a perfect film, and probably would rank up there as greatest superhero film of all time.
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