With Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in theaters now, I figured it's about time that I share my controversial ranking of Spider-Man movies with the world. The franchise has seen many ups and downs, from the first film and its sequels to the reboot and its sequel, not to mention the MCU reboot with its regular sequel and its multiverse-related crossover sequel, and of course the entirely separate multiverse-themed reboot and its sequel (which, like all sequels, originally had "PART ONE" in its title before they changed it). I think the absolute headache of how this franchise (or rather this collection of different franchises built around the same character) works is best described by the iconic tweet by @horsedivorce: "Do I have to have watched Spiderman 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 1 and 2 to understand what's going on in Spiderman 3?". (The answer, by the way, is somehow both 'yes' and 'no').
Anyways, here's my ranking.
10. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
I consider the entire original Spider-Man trilogy by Sam Raimi to be a tad overrated, which means that each of its three films is a bit lower in my ranking than they would be in the rankings of many other fans. While the films do many things right, I always found their legacy to be too colored with nostalgia, as people seem to overlook the fact that due to the films being from before the time when Hollywood took its superhero films somewhat seriously, elements like pacing and dialogue have more than a bit of cruddiness to them.
The first and second films are still very, very decent despite having some flaws to them - but the third film is where things just fall apart. It tries to be multiple films at once, and while sometimes this trope works, here it does not - Raimi tries to fill too many storylines and villain archs into the film without giving any of them enough depth and breathing room, therefore making it feel downright aggressive how superficially and quickly everything goes down. He tries to give a gripping character arch to three different villains, and due to the limited runtime, these archs take place across just a few scenes and feel laughably forced. The end result is, quite simply, a mess.
9. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
There are some select positives to this overall negatively received sequel to Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man - Andrew Garfield continues to dazzle as Peter Parker, the plot takes some ballsy moves towards the end, and I just love that the director's name in this Spider-Man film is Marc Webb.
And, well, that's about it for the positives. There's some potential for the villain Electro (Jamie Foxx) but his arch feels rushed, not to mention the completely generic and unnecessary-feeling side villain, the poor man's Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan). And while I'm a huge fan of Andrew Garfield in the main role, the script really keeps getting in the way of how good he could've been, with Peter inconsistently switching between random asshole moments and cliché heroics throughout the film.
8. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The first Amazing Spider-Man is more or less what you'd expect from a reboot of a popular franchise - it doesn't re-invent the wheel or blow one's mind, but it does enough things differently to justify its existence in contrast to Raimi's Spider-Man films, while still feeling like Spider-Man at heart. It's not as good as the first of the original films, the first MCU Spider-Man film or the first of the animated Spider-Verse films, but it's still a decent and entertaining flick.
Now that I think about it, there are quite a few negatives to the film - The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) may not be a downright bad villain but he's not especially good either, with the cliché origin story and uninteresting motives, and the same could be said for Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) as a love interest - not especially bad, but fairly generic. So when analyzing why I still like the film quite a bit, I arrive at the conclusion that The Amazing Spider-Man is more or less carried by Andrew Garfield, who plays the role of Peter Parker with lots of heart and personality.
7. Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)
I'm a pretty big fan of the MCU take on Spider-Man; with absolutely no disrespect to Maguire or Garfield, my personal favorite Spider-Man will always be Tom Holland. So, even the least good out of the three Spider-Man adventures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is placed semi-well in my ranking; it has its flaws, but a multitude of the trilogy's overall great elements make it into an overall decent flick worth watching and re-watching.
The flaws are quite minor, such as the occasional collision between the film's identity as a Spider-Man flick and as a part of the larger MCU, with the high-stakes cataclysmic action sequences across Europe not feeling all that "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man". But, as mentioned, the elements that make the Homecoming - Far from Home - No Way Home trilogy into an overall fantastic collection, are quite strong and pronounced in the second instalment. Chief among them is the love story between Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and MJ (Zendaya), which across these three films makes for the best romantic arch in superhero cinema, and honestly one of my favorite romances in cinema. And many of the greatest moments in this heart-pounding love story can be found from this film.
Then there's the overall signature humor, character growth and lovable nature of Holland's Peter Parker, as well as a thoroughly decent villain in Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). So, while the film may pale in comparison to its predecessor and successor, it still does many things right and deserves to be ranked ahead of quite a few lesser Spidey flicks.
6. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
I wasn't quite as blown away by the first of the animated Spider-Verse films as many others - between its Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and IMDB rating higher than any live-action Spider-Man flicks, this film sure got its share of acclaim. And deservedly so - while I don't personally see it as quite the masterpiece that people make it out to be, it still is a technically marvelous and creatively wild film that does many things right.
The film's characteristic animation style deserves all the praise it has gotten, as does the overall vibe that comes from the funky editing choices, comic-book style visual touches and the constant, smooth background soundtrack. Shameik Moore provides one banger of a lead performance as the voice of Miles Morales / Spider-Man, not to mention the raw emotion of Mahershala Ali as Uncle Aaron. Into the Spider-Verse leaves a lot to be explored (and a bit, although not terribly much, to be improved upon) in the sequels, but manages to stand on its own as a cool and fresh addition to Spider-Man's cinematic legacy.
5. Spider-Man (2002)
So, here's the thing. Is the original Spider-Man movie, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire, a massively important film in comic book movie history, and a nostalgic experience for my generation? Absolutely yes. Is the original Spider-Man movie overrated, with people turning a blind eye to the same critical thinking that they used to put down the Amazing Spider-Man films and the MCU Spider-Man films because their judgement is clouded by nostalgia? Also yes.
The film does many things right, but it never was the flawless classic that people make it out to be. This was a time before the people making comic book films put the same amount of thought into the end product as they do nowadays, and this can be seen - the plot is semi-generic and predictable, the dialogue can be a bit painful at times, and the chemistry between Maguire and Kirsten Dunst is on par with Anakin and Padme in the Star Wars prequels (this is a big example of why I slightly prefer the MCU Spidey flicks - a big part of the runtime in nearly all Spider-Man films is devoted to the love story, and the toxic, generic and forced romance between Peter and Mary Jane is cringe-worthy when compared to the authentic and well-written story of Peter and MJ in the Tom Holland films).
That being said; Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin is an iconic villain, the hero's origin story with Uncle Ben's (Cliff Robertson) death and the "great power, great responsiblity" speech is in its purest form, and the film had a lot influence in the shaping of modern superhero movies. So, it's a pretty awesome superhero flick in its own right, even if I am a bit pissed about the multitudes of fans who put these films on a pedestal above questioning, while picking apart every detail of newer Spidey films with merciless judgement.
4. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
When thinking of the fairly rare yet quite prononunced archetype of "sequel slightly better than the original", a formula including classics from Terminator II: Judgement Day (1991) to The Dark Knight (2008), one of the purest examples is Spider-Man 2. Many fans would rank this films higher, as quite a few people have it as their #1 favorite Spidey film, but with that I disagree - while it is a step up from the original, a lot of the flaws from the Sam Raimi trilogy are still there, from the slightly clunky and cheesy feel of pre-2008 superhero cinema to the absolutely woeful nature of the Peter & Mary Jane scenes.
Other than, it's an excellent middle instalment for the trilogy - the themes of the first film are continued and built upon, other storylines are built up towards the third instalment (heh, what could go wrong?), and the pacing is sublime. Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus is definitely among the very best Spider-Man villains on the big screen, and the train fight sequence, with its expert stunt coordination and beautifully flowing action exhilaration, is one for the ages.
3. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
After the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of Peter Parker, played by the wonderful Tom Holland, was introduced in Captain America: Civil War (2016), expectations were high for his first solo film. People were concerned about there being too many Spider-Man films out there - we've seen so many versions, that will it be boring to see the same origin story and same iconic villains re-hashed once again?
The answer was a very likely yes, which is why the people behind Spider-Man: Homecoming did the smart thing and went for something totally different.
No origin story needed; Peter Parker is Spider-Man and that's it. No attempts to re-create the millionth on-screen versions of the Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus - here we have Michael Keaton playing the Vulture, a delightfully different villain. Not too much superhero clichés either, as Homecoming is just as much a coming-of-age high school comedy as it is a MCU blockbuster. The shot of unrealistically bright-blue and fresh New York water in the film's poster is the perfect mood-setter for the chill atmosphere that this trilogy-opener went for.
Oh, and then there's the beginning of superhero cinema's greatest love story. When watching the film for the first time, I was completely in love with side character Michelle (Zendaya), and thus very frustrated that Peter Parker's romantic arch focused on the much more generic love interest character Liz (Laura Harrier). And then, at the end, it hit me - Liz was just a side plot for this film, and as Michelle reveals her last name to be Jones ("Friends call me MJ"), I realized that they were just building anticipation for the real love story to be built in the upcoming films, which was quite the genius piece of build-up from the writers. Big stuff.
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
My friend Jaakko and I went to see this new Spider-Verse sequel in the cinema last week. He was blown away even more than I was, claiming that it probably makes it into his top 3 movies of all time - no, not top 3 Marvel movies or top 3 superhero movies - just movies. While my reaction to the film wasn't quite on that level, I do see where he's coming from - Across the Spider-Verse exceeded every expectation, leaving audiences speechless all over the world. It's a damn fine film, and the feeling I had once the credits started to roll was not unlike the feeling after seeing Avengers: Infinity War (2018) in the cinema.
The film's style is similar to the first but even more of an expertly created, downright physical experience: the way the soundtrack weaves into the background while the visuals make the film feel like a comic book coming to life, the film taking place across six dimensions (with 240 characters in the story and over 1000 animators working on the end product) truly feels large in scope. But not for a second does the film take itself too seriously, with just so much authentic humor and fun easter eggs sprinkled between all of the fantastic storytelling. I can't really discuss the film's plot and pace too much without going into spoiler territory, but damn - the out-of-the-box nature of the whole story arch and especially the note the film is left on are just something else.
Go see this in the cinema (and watch Into the Spider-Verse first, if you haven't already). It'll be worth it.
1. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
I'm guessing that quite a few people will end up placing Across the Spider-Verse as their #1, just like a lot people are of the opinion that Spider-Man 2 is the invincible one that will always be #1. But for me, there's just no beating No Way Home. This emotionally charged extravaganza just worked so well as a part of the MCU, as a conclusion to the trilogy of this particular Spider-Man, and as a climax to decades of storytelling in the larger Spider-Man multiverse.
As a part of the MCU, the film changes the timeline in a major way that went on to have an effect in multiple other films. The presence of characters like Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) adds a lot to the story, and dammit if that portal-fight sequence isn't one of the coolest and trippiest action set-pieces in the Marvel universe.
As a conclusion to this particular trilogy? Oh, man. Tom Holland and his version of Peter Parker had grown so much - in Homecoming he was an insecure and squeaky teenage boy, struggling to find out what it means to be a hero in the shadow of Iron Man, and in this film, he feels like the realistically same character yet has grown into a major force to be reckoned with, a mature leader and fierce warrior in his own right. And Tom Holland's acting performance here is one of the very best roles seen in superhero cinema, while the remarkably powerful love story between him and MJ reaches its bittersweet conclusion.
And then there's the whole multiverse thing - I won't spoil too much to those who haven't seen the film, but man, this film has some stuff that Spider-Man fans had thought they'd never see. The amount of authentic fan service and epic payoffs is off the charts, with so many moments where fans of comic book movies are bound to pump their fists as the cool shit just keeps on happening.
My only critique of No Way Home is that I found the very ending to be a bit too harsh for the type of movies that these are, but even there I understand the reasoning of the writers and do admit that the ending can't be all bad based on how deeply emotional my reaction to it was. I won't go into that further due to spoilers, but it's safe to say that this minor critique doesn't keep the film from being in the #1 spot, because this emotional roller coaster of zany comic-book fun and heart-wrenching emotion is easily the most memorable and powerful Spider-Man instalment I've seen, and one that only improves upon being re-watched and analyzed further.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for a post recommended by my Uncle Dan - my ranking of the 10 Arabic numerals. No, really. Worth checking out.
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