Every Theatrical Spider-Man Movie Ranked

 

   When it comes to stand alone Superhero’s, both Batman and Spider-Man have always stood out to me in semi-personal ways. Batman is the superhero of my adult-hood, as he’s the one who makes me feel grown up, mature and smarter. Spider-Man by contrast is the superhero of my child-hood, as he’s the hero who makes me feel young again, and he’s the optimistic fun loving, cool guy I always dreamed of being at a young age. The very first animated super-hero TV series I ever grew up with was the classic 90’s Spider-Man cartoon, which still holds up for nostalgic viewings. As for his theatrical outings, my feelings go through varying peaks and vales. Some rank among my all-time favorite comic-book adapted films, while others are fun but disposable. So, I thought it would be fun to rank each theatrical Spider-Man movie based on my own personal feelings to see how they stack-up.

 

#10 “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012) 

In general, there isn’t a Spider-Man movie I hate, and I certainly find this an entertaining film, with some real highlights spread throughout, but nothing comes off as particularly special either. It set-up a potential film series, which had no real conclusion, and it just makes this movie feel kind of pointless in the long run. The original 2002 “Spider-Man” by contrast can be looked back on as something special, a movie that got the ball rolling for further comic book adaptions, and has held up as something of a small classic in its own right. 2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” came, excited us for a little, but has no real staying power. Truthfully, this is my personal least favorite of all the Spider-Man movies. Yet, even with that said, it still has select details that are superior to the original, and I still enjoy watching it once in a while. It may be a little short of “amazing”, but it’s perfectly okay, and for a comic book fan like me ... I’ll take it.

#9 “Spider-Man 3” (2007) 

Despite being an underwhelming conclusion to the classic trilogy, I can at least enjoy “Spider-Man 3” on some level. It is very entertaining at times, and it at least feels like a conclusion to a set series of films. 

With that said, it’s still a disappointing film that should have been so much better. Putting aside all those stupid moments, “Spider-Man 3” really just needed to break away from the formulaic story telling of the previous films. It didn’t need any more forced relationship problems between Peter and Mary Jane. It didn’t need to give the Sandman a back story that was all set-up with no payoff. It didn’t need to bring in an iconic villain like Venom at last minute, just to kill him off after one fight. The film really needed to take more creative risks with its story, and do things we hadn’t seen before. Maybe Sony got too involved with the project, or maybe the filmmakers were too comfortable with its successful formula to break away. While “Spider-Man 3” is obviously a shallow conclusion to a great series of films, it at least felt like a complete ending to the trilogy, and could have also been so much worse. At least I was able to take some positive merits and entertainment value away from this film, which is more than I can say for other bad sequels that miss their mark altogether.

 

#8 “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (2014) 

Time for an unpopular opinion, as this sequel is often regarded as the worst of his films … but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some fondness reserved for it. Andrew Garfield still delivers one of Spider-Man’s best portrayals on film to date, and the whole cast in general makes this film worthwhile. Likewise, the battles are genuinely thrilling, the effects are top notch, and the films tragic finale still gives me chills whenever I watch it. Honestly, for all the films admitted faults, I think there’s far more good qualities to it then bad. Thanks to a stellar ending, and other merits throughout, this is still a favorable Spider-Man film. I completely understand why many fans didn’t like it, and it’s no surprise that the Amazing Spider-Man series was canceled afterwards. It’s all very average, but perfectly enjoyable ... cluttered and messy, but not without some high entertainment value. It may have killed “The Amazing Spider-Man”, rendering it pointless in the long run. On its own, it’s colorful, features menacing villains, high-stake action, and a delightful romance in the center.

 

#7 “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (2019) 

Following after the high mark of “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, it's sequel did everything right to move the story forward, develop relations further, and raise the stakes ... although it dose get bumped back for some forced hummer. Still, Tom Holland simply knocks it out of the park again with this film, and he’s still easily my favorite live-action portrayal of the character to date. In this adventure, it was simply refreshing to see our hero out of his element, swinging in different locations, and facing some deceptive new threats. Also, this series once again proves to have my favorite ensemble of supporting characters, and my favorite tone/feel of any live-action Spider-Man incarnation. Throw in a terrific villain, a nail-biting cliffhanger, and I I'm all kinds of excited for more. 

#6 “Spider-Man” (2002) 

Looking back, I think 2002’s “Spider-Man” has aged better than most older comic-book adapted films. That’s not to say it’s perfect, as it does have select problems, like Spider-Man letting his uncles killer fall to his death. Also, for as much as I’ve grown to like this film over the years, I still don’t “love” it. Honestly, I like this movie more for what it started, as I find it an average good film to watch. Having said that, there are still lots of things to admire from Sam Rami’s stylish direction, to memorable scenes, to the iconic cast. Plus, it’s very nice to look back at a superhero movie that’s very self-contained, and can be viewed as just a movie on its own. Seriously, it wasn’t mandatory for this film to have a sequel. You can watch “Spider-Man” by itself, and be perfectly satisfied, unlike everything else today that’s relying on the audience to watch every film in a series. Whether you like this movie or not, it’s undeniably earned the right to be called a classic for both the superhero and Sci-Fi genera.

 

#5 “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017) 

While this film doesn’t reach the same emotional highs, or even subtext present in other Spider-Man offerings, I still find it one of the most “joyful” of the web-heads movies to date. It’s colorful, funny, exciting, and effectively fits within Marvels Cinematic Universe, while never losing its identity as a standalone Spider-Man movie. I mentioned that Spider-Man was always the superhero of my childhood, and I don’t think any other Spider-Man movie has made me feel more like a kid again then this film. Despite being limited on memorable battle scenes, it’s still a lot of fun, and just a real delight to experience. The cast is great, the villain is memorable, and over time, it's become the starting point of my favorite of Spider-Man’s individual film series. Even though I like it a pinch less then it's two sequels, “Homecoming” is never the less a winning entry in this lone running franchise.

 

#4 “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (2023) 

All right, 2019's “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was big surprise, and one of my favorite Super-hero movies … which raises even higher expectations with its sequel. Thankfully, this film managed a brave, bold, and ambitious leap even further into greatness, in which it’s a visual marvel, not just in spectacle, but also in transcending emotions, and presenting something distinctly unique from other animated films. The action and thrills are all there … but like all the best superhero movies, it remembers to put complex themes, character emotions, and that extra touch of a human journey to go along with the insane adventure, outlandish comedy, and all-out imagination on display. While I like the first a little more for its tight three-act structure, this is still a top-tier middle instalment of what could well be one of cinemas new great movie trilogies.  

#3 “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021)

It's three home-runs in a row, as nothing else quiet stole the spot-light in 2021 like the epic conclusion of Tom Hollands Spider-Man: Home trilogy … and subsequently one of the web heads greatest films without question. More than just a conclusion, it was a live-action event crossing over with previous Spider-Man franchises, and with that, we get the novelty of seeing actors reprise their iconic roles, as well as interact with one another … and I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, because this was material, I never thought I’d see on screen. While unmistakably an outlandish comic book plot, it’s also sustained with the same beating heart and soul that’s made Spider-Man one of my favorite hero’s. It's got the spectacle, it’s got the nostalgia, it’s got the heart, it’s got the adrenaline, it’s got the emotional character ties, and it’s got satisfying closure for several character arcs across three different Spider-Man franchises. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” has a secure spot among my favorite comic-book movies, and it safely lands as one of the absolute best Spider-Man offerings.   

#2 “Spider-Man 2” (2004) 

Surprise, surprise … I think “Spider-Man 2” is the best live-action movie in the web-heads theatrical film series by far. Honestly, I’d go even further to call it one of the all-time greatest super hero movies. It’s one of those rare comic book adaptions that doesn’t feel like a typical superhero flick, in fact it actually feels like, well ... a real movie, one that just happens to have a superhero in it. Now of course “Spider-Man 2” still has cheesy moments to make fun of, and it’s admittedly not the most consistently entertaining superhero film, so you just have to be in the right mind set to appreciate it. If you look on any list of greatest movie sequels, you’ll commonly see “Spider-Man 2” among them, and rightfully so. It expands on the characters, deepens both the emotional and dramatic connections, and even explores the moral subtext of what it means to be a hero. On top of that, this film treats us to a top-tier villain, and thrills us with some of the web-heads greatest action sequences to date. After all these years, “Spider-Man 2” still stands as one of my all-time favorite comic book adaptations, as well as the template for how to make a near perfect Spider-Man movie.

 

#1 “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (2018) 

Even when Spider-Man movies were at their worst, I’ve always enjoyed them on some level. Yet, after all these years, none of them were able to match 2004’s “Spider-Man 2”, which for the longest time was my absolute favorite. 

Then completely out of the blue comes this animated Spider-Man movie, the first of its kind, a completely original experience with the web-swinger, and it gives my initial favorite some serious competition. It’s a film that combines bold, human storytelling, with striking animation, solid voice work, and an infectiously lovable cast of various Spider-Men (and woman), which all add up to a highly entertaining superhero venture. It’s a film that absolutely delivers all the heart, comedy, action, creativity, moral subtext, ambition, and a lot of imagination into a perfect whole. While we’ve had met-a comic book movies ranging from “Deadpool” to “The Lego Batman Movie”, this is the one that connected with me the most, and had the most unique voice. In short, this is now my new favorite Spider-Man movie, and it has a secure spot among my top five absolute favorite comic-book movies ever made. I can’t wait to see more from this series, and it gives me renewed hope for the comic book genera. Just when we thought we were getting desensitized … maybe superhero films still have more surprises in store for us then we think.

Thanks for reading my ranking of the “Spider-Man” movies … and continue to enjoy the movies you love.