A quick note: We are only including standalone Spider-Mantheatrical films, so we will not include Captain America: Civil War, the Avengers pictures nor the 1977 Amazing Spider-Man television series. Also out of contention are Spider-Man’s several appearances in a long-running skit on children’s educational TV program The Electric Company from 1974-1977, though we do recommend you look those up on YouTube. To say they’re entertaining would be an understatement! In ascending order, here is our ranking of all nine standalone Spider-Manfilms, including No Way Home:
Spider-Man movies ranked
9. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
First, let’s start with the good: Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are splendid here. In a movie in which Jamie Foxx plays Electro, a super-villain who is literally made out of electricity, the biggest sparks on screen are between the movie’s romantic leads, who have formidable chemistry and endless charm. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was intended to set up several sequels, and therefore runs 142 minutes, much of which is exposition that is challenging to keep up with. Something must also be said of the tone of this film, which is frankly all over the map. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 runs the gamut from wacky slapstick comedy to tragic death with something less than pure cinematic grace. Also, this film also has three super-villains. Three. A few superhero movies have balanced several baddies fairly well— the Dark Knight films of Christopher Nolan certainly come to mind, as does Tim Burton’s Batman Returns (1992)—but it’s safe to assume that too many bad guys means they won’t get enough screen time to leave much of an impression. The most memorable villains in these films (think the Jokers of Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger, Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock) had a movie all to themselves, plenty of time and space to build a contentious relationship with our heroes. One would think The Amazing Spider-Man 2 might have been more careful about this, as it was released just a few years after…
8. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Let it be known throughout the land: Three super-villains is too much for one movie. Following the runaway critical and commercial successes of the previous installments, audiences flocked to Spider-Man 3 in droves, and it became the most successful entry in the series with a global take of $890.9 million. But the lingering consensus among moviegoers was not positive, and the film is widely criticized for being over-stuffed and at times baffling—notably a quasi-musical interlude featuring a mop-topped, guyliner-sporting “Emo” Peter Parker. The movie is still filled with strong performances, some eye-popping visuals, and in a genre that also includes Catwoman (2004) and Batman & Robin (1997), Emo Peter ultimately is just a minor transgression. Amidst the clutter, there is quality here.
7. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Much credit to No Way Home for the shot in the arm to movie theaters; it’s easy to see why the megahit is such a crowd-pleaser. No Way Home is an event film in the purest sense: big happenings and appearances rumored for months, even years, transpire. It’s the kind of thing designed above all else to make an audience cheer with excitement. But is there much more than that? If there’s one film that aligns with the controversial auteur assessment that superhero films are more amusement park ride than cinema; it’s this one. Flawlessly produced and well-acted, No Way Home is so meta it’s hard to feel much real emotion. Say what you will about Emo Peter and past stuff like that in the franchise regarded as misfires; at least there was tons of personality in it. The best part of No Way Home is some shining performances. Foremost, there’s Holland, who delivers his strongest turn yet as Peter. Also outstanding are Willem Dafoe’s deliciously demonic Green Goblin—and a warm, funny Zendaya.
6. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
By 2012, Spider-Man’s public image was in need of a makeover. Spider-Man 3 was unloved by fans and critics, and the 2011 Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was repeatedly making international headlines, and not for the right reasons. The most expensive production in Broadway history, the show became a pop culture touchstone because of technical difficulties and serious injuries during its unprecedented 7-month, 182 performance preview period. After years of back-and-forth regarding a potential Spider-Man4, Sony ultimately made the decision to reboot the franchise a mere 10 years after the first film. The film mostly succeeds, largely due to Garfield and Stone, who have the kind of chemistry you can’t put a price tag on. Tone is an issue in this film just as it was in its sequel. The Amazing Spider-Man was touted as a darker, grittier, more down-to-earth incarnation of Spidey. That’s all fine and good in theory, but it clashes with a plot about a giant lizard.
5. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Holland is still aces as the web-slinger–the best Peter Parker ever, in fact, but Far From Home falls short of a home run. It isn’t really a spoiler to say a plot twist around the halfway mark provides an opportunity for some genuine surrealism and inventive, fresh action sequences. And Jake Gyllenhaal is characteristically tremendous and malleable as Mysterio. This is the stuff that really works. However, supporting characters we loved in Homecoming are sidelined with uninteresting, halfhearted subplots. The script leans heavily on a romance that isn’t all that engaging, and the most exciting plot element is introduced after the end credits. Far From Home is mostly passable summer fun, but it doesn’t match the soaring heights of Spidey at his best.
4. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
As entertainment, Spider-Man:Homecoming is a blast. As a love letter to this character and his fans, it’s even better. Nimble and vivacious Tom Holland is perfect, and he’s backed by a uniformly excellent and high-energy supporting cast including Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, Jon Favreau, Donald Glover and Michael Keaton. Special recognition must also go to relative newcomer Jacob Batalon as Peter’s best friend Ned, whose comic timing and line delivery will drop your jaw in addition to making you laugh yourself silly. The funniest film in this series, Homecoming throws jokes at you non-stop and dares you to keep up. The jokes land, too. This is a genuinely clever movie, and it’s all the more surprising how fresh and fun this feels as it is the second reboot of a franchise in five years. Co-writer and director Jon Watts—who had previously only directed low-budget thrillers Clown (2014) and Cop Car (2015), as well as episodes of the satiric Onion News Network—has made an astonishingly successful transition into mega-budgeted blockbuster entertainment. Did we ever need a dark and brooding Spider-Man? The tone here is light, perky and irresistible. It will leave you giddy and ready for more.
3. Spider-Man (2002)
Sam Raimi’s original blockbuster is more than just wonderful entertainment with great characters and inspired, spirited storytelling; it’s just the movie we needed in the spring of 2002. Following the devastation of 9/11, America was in need of bold optimism and a cinematic hero to look up to. Prior to the release of Spider-Man, no film in history had ever come close to a $100 million North American opening weekend. When Raimi’s film opened to $114.8 million, it sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry and executives scrambled to green-light as many superhero films as they could. Though Bryan Singer’s X-Men in 2000 was a success, this is really when the phenomenon started, and superhero films rapidly became the most fashionable genre around. Sony Pictures Spider-Man holds up quite well 15 years later, thanks to great performances and a character-driven script by David Koepp (Jurassic Park). One of the biggest reasons for this trilogy’s record-setting box office success is the romance between Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) and Mary Jane Watson (KirstenDunst). You’d be hard-pressed to find a sweeter, more relatable love story in most Oscar-winning dramas. If anything, the film works best when Spidey is out of costume. In 2002, the visual effects weren’t completely polished, and the action sequences—while often a great deal of fun—left something to be desired.
2. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
A stunning, hilarious and heartfelt work of dizzying invention, Into the Spider-Verse is Spidey’s first entirely animated theatrical outing. With a texture that’s something wholly its own, like a living painting, Spider-Verse cleaned house during awards season. It all culminated in a much-deserved Oscar win for Best Animated Feature. Nothing less than one of the most idiosyncratic, confidently original movies to hit the multiplexes–from any genre–in years, Spidey’s critically acclaimed spin through the multiverse opened up this character’s already formidable big-screen legacy to limitless possibilities.
1. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Most great films start with a great screenplay. Alvin Sargent, the two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter of World War II drama Julia (1977) and Robert Redford’s Ordinary People (1980) might have seemed an unusual choice at the time to pen a Spidey screenplay, but the result is a focused, self-contained and downright exhilarating narrative. At its heart, Spider-Man 2 is all about identity and making the tough choices in life. The Oscar-winning special effects still look great today, and in an age when you can do virtually anything with CGI, these visuals have distinction and can fill you with wonder. The sinister, slithering and possessive tentacles of Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) have more personality than any character in the DC Extended Universe before things started looking up with Wonder Woman. Sony The runaway train battle remains one of the great set pieces in any Marvel film. It’s kinetic and awe-inspiring, ending with a truly touching moment where a crowd of New Yorkers find out Spider-Man’s identity and vow to keep it a secret. Superhero films frequently end with a prolonged battle sequence of some kind; it’s pretty much just something we expect at this point. The climax of Spider-Man 2 is actually something of a subdued affair, and it’s a stronger film for that. It’s all about these people and the decisions they make. Don’t let the spandex fool you; this is high drama. If the 2002 Raimi film was the point when Hollywood realized this genre could be a box office goldmine, Spider-Man 2 is when we officially had proof that a superhero movie could be a work of art. What do you think of our ranking of the Spider-Man films? Let us know in the comments! SaveSave
