The Spider-Man movie ranking list is a way to gauge a person. It’s much like a star sign, or worldview; this is as important as an opinion as opinions get. So, without further ado, I’m throwing my hat into the ranking ring to celebrate the films returning to theatres this summer in sharing my own list. Let’s drop in.
10. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
I know this isn’t a popular placement, and I don’t dislike this film by any means, but in the same way that you wo
uldn’t rank a “greatest hits” album at the top of an artist’s discography, I can’t in good conscience put No Way Home anywhere but the bottom of this list. While it does deliver a boatload of shameless nostalgic fun, the narrative is pretty much entirely dependent on those feelings.
Everything with Dr. Strange and his portals feels out of place (especially Ned using them), and despite it being performed well, the Aunt May death scene is a haphazard rehash of the still unbeaten Uncle Ben speech in Spider-Man. It’s certainly the best of Jon Watts’ direction, and seeing all three Spider-Men swing into the moonlight together and land one after another in a frame that could sell the entire movie alone is always going to hit. No Way Home is one that Spider-Man fans have to appreciate, but taken alone, it’s far from (wink) perfect.
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Homecoming is one that, in light of other films aging well (we’ll get to that), has suffered the opposite effect. Again, this isn’t a bad film; I truly don’t believe there’s a bad film on this list, which is a miracle in its own right. Homecoming just feels awfully milquetoast, all things considered. Tom Holland is infectious from the beginning, with the film serving as confirmation following his brief appearance in Civil War that this was a superb casting, indeed. This whole film is cast extraordinarily well. Regardless of how you feel about certain adaptation concerns, Zendaya plays her role as MJ in this film very well, Jacob Batalon is reliable comic relief, and Michael Keaton is a blistering highlight as Vulture.
Still, it’s missing the spirit to me. The lack of unadulterated, extended swinging sequences and similar traditional Spider-Man archetypes (the replacement being Iron Man and the MCU ties) make it feel a little watered down. It doesn’t help that the CGI is half as good as the last Spider-Man movie before it and that Watts continues to rely on it anyway in broad daylight. Also, in retrospect, the love story here doesn’t work nearly as well as it did upon release; Peter and MJ were always going to be a thing, and now that the whole tale has been told, it’s hard to get invested in a relationship that begins and ends in this film alone. Homecoming was a good start for Holland and properly expanded on what Civil War promised with the character.
8. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Despite Sam Raimi’s patented sensibilities still shining through the studio-induced smog, Spider-Man 3 remains a muddled effort. I placed it above the previous two entries on this list perhaps only because of its undying dedication to the comic book camp that works so well throughout the entire Raimi trilogy, but as the discussion around this movie goes, there’s just too much going on here.
Much of what Raimi does with Sandman is solid, and even some of the Venom and Hobgoblin additions work to an extent, but cramming all three into the film makes it feel unfocused. It’s also difficult to pull for Peter here considering his symbiotic antics, but even still, Raimi recovers things in the final act and does quite a bit to redeem this one. It’s also a fan favourite for a reason; the dancing never gets old, the one-liners are at all time quotability, and all of the black suit sequences are aesthetic monsters. This is the sweet spot for Spider-Man 3 on this list.
7. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Far From Home is easily the most inspired and well realized of Holland/Watts’ three entries. Jake Gylenhaal is brilliant as Mysterio, and the tension and sense of scale that he brings to the role, and the film on the whole, immediately sets it a few notches higher than most. The film stuff suffers the expected MCU issues (overused humour, shoddy CGI) but Watts and company manage some real emotional depth throughout this thing, especially towards the end, that makes it feel extraordinarily complete.
Not to mention the “Night Monkey” suit, suit-building sequence, and Mysterio dream scenes. The visual concepts are on a much higher level here, along with just about everything else, helping make this the best Spidey MCU effort by a good margin.
6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
A few years ago, this would’ve been a much more controversial pick. Perhaps it still is to an extent, but this film’s reputation has begun to shift positively as Spider-Man fans have grown tired of the soulless regularity that has plagued his live-action appearances as of late. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 stands out in the opposite way as a brash, bold, wholly earnest adaptation that embraces scars in a way that only this character can.
That includes the bad stuff. When watching this film, you roll with the punches; Electro being a goofball and the last second Hobgoblin edition chief among them. But Marc Webb manages to squeeze some good stuff out of their appearances, and just about everything else beyond the villains works exceedingly well. The romance is great, Gwen’s death tragic, and the swinging scenes and action sequences arguably at their peak. It’s hard to beat these visuals even today, and all in all, TASM 2 is a Spider-Man movie that exhibits a deep love for the character first and foremost. It’s hard not to be convinced by that.
5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
Upon release, this would’ve been much higher on this list. I still think it’s a fantastic film; the 5-1 spots on this list are on an entirely different plane than the rest of the films. Across the Spider-Verse will always be emotionally poignant and visually stunning, but I can’t help but feel like it’s a little overlong in retrospect. If I had to nitpick, I’d also note that the fan service can be distracting, and that the “canon event” stuff gets a little tangled.
But there’s no reason to nitpick this film. It’s a great movie, and an even greater Spider-Man movie. It’s just that, after letting this one settle, I still find myself returning to the next four films before this one.
4. Spider-Man (2002)
The one that started it all. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man has certainly aged questionably in some respects, but the charm that sold it to audiences back in 2002 is certainly still alive now. Raimi’s taste for creative camera movements and emotional vulnerability, combined with a performance from Tobey Maguire that wonderfully exacerbates the latter quality, leads to a film that feels open and honest.
The film also features Willem Dafoe turning people into skeletons and dressing as an old woman in need to trick Spider-Man. How could you not love it?
3. The Amazing-Spider Man (2012)
This one should raise your eyebrows, if I haven’t managed to do that already. Marc Webb’s Spider-Man origin and debut moved me deeply the first time I saw it as a kid in 2012, and every time since then, I’ve only grown to love it more.
On top of the unbelievable chemistry between Andrew Garfield’s Peter and Emma Stone’s Gwen, Webb strings a wide web of believable relationships bolstered by raw, expert performances across the board. The film looks properly moody to match them too, with the $230 million budget being used to the fullest extent. As time goes on, I find it harder and harder to understand that this one was ever hated by anyone, and that it is still hated by some. As far as my eyes can see, it’s the most compelling live-action origin the character has seen on the big screen, and it deserved a lot more respect than it got when it was released.
2. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Into the Spider-Verse is still as much of an anomaly as it was when it came out. The superb character writing hits hard every single time, with Kingpin’s short, sour arc still standing as maybe the most memorable of it all. The experimental animation that has now become a semi-regularity in the genre is still at its best here; there’s such a confidence in the jagged lines and choppy frames that remains unreplicated in pretty much anything at all, let alone anything Spider-Man related.
What’s more, all the varied characters provide new lenses to look at familiar themes. The multiversal aspect is so easy to overdo, but here, directors Rodney Rothman and Peter Ramsey achieve a perfect balance. This could very well be the best film on any given list, but here, one reigns supreme…
1. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Raimi’s sophomore effort still sits at the top of my Spider-Mountain. There’s simply nothing else quite like this. Every arc exemplifies its respective character, with Maguire’s Peter undergoing what may very well be the best single-movie journey a figure in one of these films ever has. The choice between his normal and superhero life, the struggle being physicalised through his loss of power, the eventual return to action that leads to the train scene… it’s all so good.
Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane has the most to do here out of any of her appearances too, and the striking final shot focusing on her cements that ideal. Taking time to watch her suffer the consequences of Peter’s aforementioned struggle, which is juxtaposed with frantic frames of Spider-Man dodging bags of gold and saving countless citizens from the careless attacks of Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock hellbent on a saviour mission that nobody but himself needs. It’s a masterpiece in spades and clearly, to me, the best Spider-Man film.
That’s it for this list. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below, or head over to Heroes Unbound on social media and drop your own list! No matter what, we’ll all head to the theatre together the next time our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man graces the screen. If anything unites fans, it’s that.
