Ranking Live-Action Spider-Man Films

Within the Marvel realm, Spider-Man is hands down my favorite superhero. I can't pinpoint precisely when I chose him as my favorite, but that's unimportant. We've been fortunate enough to have several different iterations of Spider-Man at our disposal over the years, predating the MCU. We've also gotten some spin-offs to help expand the Spider-verse further. 

I watched every live-action Spider-Man or Spider-Man-adjacent film beginning with the 2002 film with Tobey Maguire as the lead. "Live-action" is an essential distinction because that eliminates the two animated films that Sony has produced. They'd be near the top of the list if they were included. 

I rated all 11 films in four categories:

1. The performance of the lead- The lead must perform well as both the person and the hero. 

2. The villain- Good villains in superhero movies are just as important as good heroes. 

3. The story- I know we all want to see epic collisions, but a good story is needed too. 

4. The action- Seeing the good and bad guys beat each other up is fun. 

The final ranking is based on their accumulated score out of 100. 

11. Morbius (2022)

The cardinal sin of entertainment is making something boring. In almost every respect, this is the weakest film of the group. I have nothing against anyone involved with this film, but it's terrible. The two things I dislike the most are the character designs of Jared Leto and Matt Smith when they become vampires and all of the unneeded lines around them whenever they use their senses. Both become incredibly distracting as you try to enjoy the film. I never felt invested in any of the characters, making their eventual fight at the end uninteresting. Have I mentioned that I hate the design of the vampire's face? They're so bad. Sony dropped the ball big time here. Having to delay the release due to the pandemic isn't a strong enough excuse for why this stinks. 

10. Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Is this movie really as bad as we remember it being? No, not really. Then, why do I have it ranked as the 2nd-worst Spider-Man movie? I have problems with the overall plot and the villains. I'm not a fan of amnesia resetting the story in any film, but here especially. It feels like lazy writing to milk the runtime instead of finding more creative ways to distract Harry Osborn. I should also state that I've never been the biggest fan of Kirsten Dunst as Mary-Jane. I don't hate emo Peter Parker, but he is the worst version of the character as portrayed by Tobey Maguire. The most talked about issue with the film is the villains, particularly the butchering of Venom, played by Topher Grace. He's a great actor, but Grace isn't intimidating enough to be Venom. The creative direction with Sandman was also weird. It's a comedy of issues, leading to a stinker of a film, thus ending Maguire's run as Spider-Man. 

9. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

I tried to re-watch this movie with an open mind and tried to find some solid positive points. In its defense, it's not the worst Spider-Man film ever made. There are plenty of redeeming qualities. Andrew Garfield is solid in his second turn as Spider-Man. I really like Max Dillon as a character and how he's portrayed by Jamie Foxx before his transformation. Gwen Stacy's death is still one of the most brutal scenes for me. However, the plot is a mess and sometimes focuses more on Harry Osborn than Peter Parker. Dane DeHaan as Harry is another weird casting choice. Perhaps more egregious than anything, Electro's design is terrible, as is Harry's once he becomes Green Goblin. They might be two of the worst designs ever. I'm grateful we saw a different look for Electro in No Way Home. Most of this film's charming points come at the beginning. The entire ending, minus Gwen's death, felt disappointing. I'm not surprised they never made a third one. 

8. Venom (2017)

A decade after Spider-Man 3 hurt Venom's reputation, Sony decided to give it a go by giving him his own film. There are plenty of good things about this film. Tom Hardy was an excellent choice to play Venom, far better than Topher Grace. He fits more of the build that I'd look for in Venom. He also has some funny moments playing off his symbiotic counterpart. Now, there are some issues too. It takes a long time for Eddie Brock and Venom to come together, which is what we all wanted from the jump. I also didn't love the casting choice for Carlton Drake. Riz Ahmed is incredibly talented and shows excellent flashes, but he's not remotely intimidating enough, the same complaint I had with Grace. The ending fight between Venom and Riot wasn't that great, either. Because I didn't love Drake, I didn't really care about his fate in the end. Venom is alright, but there's some lost potential with the version we got. 

7. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

The films led by Andrew Garfield brought a tonal shift for Spider-Man. Where Maguire was a great Peter Parker, Garfield stood out as a great Spider-Man. There was a five-year gap between the final Maguire film and Garfield's first turn. Garfield's energy was different, and I liked it. I appreciate that this film turned a character we'd seen three times in the Maguire trilogy and finally turned him into the villain we'd been waiting to see. Unfortunately, the design of the Lizard was underwhelming. I also don't like the added wrinkle with Peter's parents and having to add their past into consideration. I understand it being canon. It's unnecessary. The original trilogy didn't need them. The one big thing this film did better than Spider-Man was handling Ben Parker's death. Peter's grieving period was better fleshed out and organic than the original. 

6. Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

Along with Morbius, I've never watched this before making this list. Despite ranking it lower on the list, I have fond memories of the original because of where I was when I saw it for the first time. This was a good sequel. You rarely can go wrong when you have Woody Harrelson in your movie, and he made for a strong Cletus Kassidy. I also like Naomie Harris as an actress, so her addition as the second part of this dynamic duo was fun. I didn't feel as strongly about Tom Hardy this time around. He's good, but the dynamic between Eddie and Venom wasn't a strong point, even if it was a central part of the story. Their bickering is fun until it isn't. That's my biggest complaint. The climax is a good time with a stronger fight than the original. I also appreciate the complexity in dealing with the dynamic of Shriek being a detriment to Carnage. It makes her useless in the end, which isn't fun, but I like that the movie doesn't gloss over that point for the fight's sake. I don't know their direction with the third film, but I'm invested. 

5. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

One significant advantage the MCU films have over the others is that Spider-Man is already an established character by the time Homecoming rolls around. While Civil War doesn't do a deep dive into his character before being recruited by Iron Man, we don't need it now. We've already seen it two other times. This time, we can jump right into the story of Peter being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Tom Holland plays both sides of the character well. He's believable as both a nerd and a superhero. Michael Keaton is also phenomenal. The scene where Peter discovers that Vulture is Liz's father still gives me chills. The entire car scene is a masterpiece. Keaton is just intimidating enough without taking it too far. I also don't hate that Iron Man plays a decent-sized role. Having Robert Downey Jr. is never a bad thing. Plus, it makes sense for plot purposes. My only nitpick is with the action scenes. The ferry scene is good. The rest of the fights, especially the final battle, leave a little to be desired. Otherwise, I don't have any significant issues. Holland's first solo venture is a successful one. 

4. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Having this be the first film post-Endgame to round out the Infinity Saga was the right call. Spider-Man was the perfect character to have a film focusing on the death of Tony Stark since he felt like an Uncle Ben surrogate for Peter. The film looks at how life was affected after The Blip but doesn't do it in a way that is too serious. In many ways, this film mirrored the concerns we all had following the death of Iron Man in Endgame. We wanted to know who would be the next Iron Man. Far From Home told us there likely won't be a "next" Iron Man, but that's what I wanted. No one could live up to the legacy that Robert Downey Jr. left in that role. Peter Parker just needs to be Spider-Man. If there's ever an actor I'd trust to play an unhinged sociopath out for revenge, it's Jake Gyllenhaal. He was perfect for this role and is one of my favorite characters in the film. The final battle is excellent, and the result is satisfying. I didn't like Nick Fury and Maria Hill being Skrulls, but the revelation that J.K. Simmons plays J. Jonah Jameson in this universe was incredible. Having Jameson break the news of Spider-Man's identity was the right choice. The last big thing I'll credit the film for is the slow burn to finally having Peter and MJ become official. It doesn't feel forced, and I appreciate that. 

3. Spider-Man (2002)

Going back to where it all began, the original film set a high bar for every subsequent movie to match. Willem Dafoe is a big part of that. His portrayal as Green Goblin is iconic and will be one of the best supervillain portrayals ever, even with that terrible mask. While things took a minute to get going, I don't think there are many dead spots in the runtime. The action keeps going, and there is little breathing room. Tobey Maguire fits into the role of Peter Parker nicely, though I don't think he quite reaches his pinnacle as Spider-Man. As I've already mentioned, I've never been the biggest fan of Kirsten Dunst. I also am 50/50 on James Franco as Harry Osborn. While he's fan superior to Dane DeHaan in the role, he has moments where I find him irritating. The film's portrayal of Uncle Ben's death is also a staple. Even with it being about Spider-Man, Dafoe controls every scene he's in. He's worth the price of admission all by himself. His death is iconic and helps to kickstart the rest of the franchise. Getting to see him for brief scenes in the other two films was fun, but his triumphant return in No Way Home cemented his status as a legend. 

2. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Every great thing the original film did, the sequel expanded upon and improved. When re-watching everything, I graded this film as having the best story and lead performance. I also gave it the 2nd-best grade in the villain category, with Alfred Molina playing Dr. Otto Octavius. Molina was so much fun to watch as he slowly became more unhinged. The scene where his tentacles become sentient and attack the entire operating room staff scarred me the first time I watched it. The film's heart is Peter's identity crisis, making for a great story. His inability to balance being a hero and functioning in society likely hits close to home for many. There are so many iconic moments. Octavius throwing the car through the window looked really cool. Peter's face while saving the train made for good memes. All of the fight scenes between Peter and Octavius were fun to watch. Again, the side characters were okay. The film does play it loose with Peter's identity, and while it doesn't hurt the overall product, it did stand out a little. Still, this is an excellent experience and would be #1 if not for the nostalgia trip we got during the pandemic. 

1. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

This almost feels like cheating. The fact that this movie exists is a miracle. While it is housed within the MCU and Tom Holland is the lead Spider-Man, this is a joint film between all three Spider-Men, and I won't be told otherwise. I've never avoided spoilers for a movie more than this one because I didn't want to know whether Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would show up before I saw it in theaters. The only problem I have with the film is some of its choices for the villains it brought back. Willem Dafoe was magnificent, and Alfred Molina tore it up too. They finally did Jamie Foxx justice by not turning him blue and actually giving him something interesting to do. Then there's Lizard and Sand Man. They left Connors in a truck forever, and Sand Man turns bad again out of nowhere. The only solace I take is that they couldn't bring back another else from The Amazing Spider-Man, and Sand Man was a better choice than Topher Grace's Venom. Otherwise, I love this film. Aunt May's death hit hard. Seeing Maguire, Garfield, and Holland fighting together kept a smile on my face the entire time. I was satisfied with the ending as everyone forgot that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. It sets up many exciting possibilities within the MCU with Holland and outside it, with possible sequels for Maguire and Garfield. The future is looking bright for Spider-Man.