Blog: Ranking all the Spider-Man films since 2002!

Spider-Man: Far From Home is nearly here, so I thought for a bit of fun I would rank all of the Spider-Man films (including Venom) we’ve had since 2002, this is just my humble opinion. If you disagree, let me know your rankings, I’d be interested to hear what you have to say!

8. Venom (2018)

The first film I ever reviewed, you can check it out here! I’ve only really included Venom due to the fact that he’s an iconic character in the franchise, but the lack of Spider-Man and a messy, poor screenplay and plot means that this film comes last. It was fun and entertaining, but in a “this is so utterly terrible it’s kind of good” way. Will we see improvements in the sequel? Who knows.

7. Spider-Man 3 (2007)

The Raimi trilogy ended on quite a low note. The plot was poor, it was over-crowded with too many villains and it had moments like this. Sadly, the third Spider-Man film couldn’t live up to the high standard of it’s predecessors, to the point that the fourth film was shelved and we never saw Tobey Maguire don the suit again!

6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

This sequel had so much going for it… Sadly, Sony got involved. This film got so bogged down in trying to establish a wider universe that it forgot to tell a good story. Much like Spider-Man 3 before it, it became over-crowded and the film is filled with side-plots that are uninteresting and go nowhere. It’s a shame, because there were some great moments here and Andrew Garfield is a fantastic Spidey, but the overall result is a mess and I still struggle to watch this without getting angry. Oh, what could have been… Instead, we never saw Garfield as Spider-Man again and the character made his way back to the MCU!

5. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

When I first saw this reboot of the franchise, I absolutely adored it. However, hindsight is a beautiful thing and I’ve since realised it’s not perfect, trying to do the same origin story but make it different doesn’t land all the time, but I still really enjoy this film and Andrew Garfield’s debut is great fun. It’s such a shame that the series couldn’t maintain this momentum, although I’m glad to see Spidey back in the MCU, I think Garfield was stitched up big time. His performance is the best part about this film, and it’s the first Spider-Man film in this that I’d happily go back and rewatch.

4. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Spidey finally made his return to the MCU with a fantastic cameo role in Captain America: Civil War, and his first full film doesn’t disappoint. Tom Holland is the perfect Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and after many years it’s great to see him actually comic-book accurate in terms of age. Homecoming isn’t perfect and it’s definitely very different tonally to all the Spider-Man films that came before it, but it’s really good fun and a great debut for the web-slinger in this wider universe, Michael Keaton is amazing as Vulture and one of my favourite MCU villains. I can’t wait to see Holland continue and grow in this role, if rumours are to be believed, then Far From Home is only going to be the beginning, it looks like we’ve got a long time with this version of the character and I can’t wait to see what happens with him in the MCU.

3. Spider-Man (2002)

The first live-action Spider-Man film is still one of my favourites. Is part of that nostalgia? Perhaps. But 17 years on and this film still holds up incredibly well, and it still remains one of my favourite super-hero origin films. I personally liked Tobey Maguire as Spidey, but for me the star of this film is Willem Dafoe, who is mesmerising as the Green Goblin. Of course, we can’t forget J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, which still remains as perhaps the most perfect casting of all time. Get him in the MCU, now! Spider-Man is a blast, and I still find myself watching it from time to time, after all these years.

2. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Not only my favourite live-action Spider-Man film, but I genuinely believe this is one of the best super-hero films of all time, and it’s influence on the genre as a whole shouldn’t be underestimated. Spider-Man 2 improves on it’s predecessor in almost every way. The story is absolutely fantastic and the action is insanely good, the train sequence is still one of my favourite moments in any super-hero film and Alfred Molina was so perfect as Dr Octopus that I can’t imagine how the MCU could possibly cast someone anywhere near as good, if they ever decide to use him. I absolutely adore Spider-Man 2, in fact, just writing about this is giving me a massive urge to pop the DVD into my PlayStation and watch it again. Sure, the trilogy ended on a sour note, but I’m so grateful that this film exists, and I consider it Sam Raimi’s best work.

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Probably not very surprising to anyone that knows me. But it was only ever going to be Spider-Verse, this film had no right to be as good as it was, yet it absolutely blew my mind when I watched it. It achieves things that no live-action film could possibly do and it captures the essence of it’s characters to perfection. The animation is incredibly unique and it is absolutely gorgeous, the closest thing you could see to a comic book coming to life. The story is fantastic, extremely clever and a joy to behold. I can’t say enough good things about this film, you can read my full review of it here, but I must emphasise this; if you’ve never seen Spider-Verse, you need to. Trust me, you won’t regret it, there’s a reason why it tops my list.

So, they are my rankings for the Spider-Man films! Do you agree with me? Do you completely disagree? I’d love to hear your thoughts and what your rankings would be!

I’ll be going away on holiday after seeing Far From Home, so the review for that and the updated rankings may be a week late, depending on if I get the time or the desire to write it up while I’m away.

Until the next time!

Jake.