Since Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse came out on the 2nd, a lot of people and sites have posted their rankings of all the Spider-Man movies. I wouldn’t do one until I saw Variety butcher their order. That was the kick in the ass I needed so here we go. By the way, I am breaking the movies into tiers and including the Spider-Man adjacent movies (Morbius and Venom). These are just my opinion as well, if you disagree, that’s good! But it’d be even better if you agree 🙂
F Tier: I Refuse to Rewatch Tier
13. Morbius (2022): Yes, it’s Morbin’ time, but Morbin’ time is just that feeling you get when you realize you’ve wasted almost 2 hours of your time. There truly wasn’t anything interesting about this movie. As far as I know, Morbius is like a D-tier Spider-Man villain so why he needed a movie is beyond me. The tie into the MCU was absurdly bad and it’s a movie I will have great pleasure never thinking about again.
D Tier: It’s Fine But I’ll Leave it In the Past
12: Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021): The Venom movies have one major problem for me: they’re rated PG-13. Venom (and his villains) are brutal creatures that literally bite peoples’ heads off. It feels like they’re muzzling themselves not letting them get the R rating. Let There Be Carnage had some fun moments between Eddie and Venom, but they didn’t make up for they underutilized Carnage. While this might seem low, I gave this movie 2 1/2 stars which is perfectly average. I just needed to make Morbius its own, crappy tier.
11. Spider-Man 3 (2007): The nostalgia of the original trilogy has worn off well by this entry. As many people have said, this movie lacked direction and tried to do way too much. Whether it’s Harry’s amnesia or introducing Topher Grace as Venom, it just didn’t work. Also, at this point, I was not a fan of Peter and M.J.’s relationship and how she is once again the “damsel in distress”. We don’t need to get into the Emo Peter stuff either because yeesh.
10. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014): Again, another movie that just tried to do too much and failed. This pains me because the trio of Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and Sally Fields put in some great acting in this movie. What did it in was an inconsistent story and introducing characters we’re supposed to care about too late, just like Spider-Man 3. The only reason it’s a spot above is because Gwen’s death made me cry and the moments Garfield and Fields share are also pretty impactful.
C Tier: A Decent Watch at the Very Least
9: Venom (2018): Venom is a decently fun watch. I am a big Tom Hardy fan, and it was fun to see him interact with the symbiote. There are a lot of inconsistencies and plot holes along the way but there were also some pretty fun moments. Like I said earlier, I wish this was rated R, but the movie we got was at the very least enjoyable while being pretty messy.
8. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019): We get our first Tom Holland entry. Far From Home stands out to me by taking Spider-Man out of his natural environment. Instead of swinging around New York, he is in Europe and has to adapt in ways to not give up his identity. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Mysterio incredibly well and exposes Peter to force him to grow. Where this movie lacks is in its dependence on Iron Man. This is the first movie post Endgame and if you follow the podcast, you’d know that it’s my least favorite time of the MCU. The whole story is centered around Iron Man and who’s going to be the next Iron Man. I was sick of it. It’s like Mysterio is an Iron Man villain that just got caught up with Spider-Man. There are better ways they could have handled this and it gets docked for it.
B Tier: Now We’re Cooking
7. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012): Andrew Garfield is my favorite Spider-Man. Sally Fields is my favorite Aunt May and Emma Stone is my favorite love interest in Gwen Stacy. I think that Sony absolutely squandered this cast with bad writing. Stone and Garfield obviously had great chemistry but this movie is essentially the 2002 Spider-Man with better effects, some better acting, but a lot less charm. The Lizard looked very good and I can appreciate that his deal was he just wanted to turn all of New York into lizards. Ultimately, it’s a lot better than I think people give it credit for.
6. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021): If you listened to our MCU tier podcast, you’ll know that my hot take is that this movie is a little overrated. It’s a good movie, but I personally think that it thrived thanks to the cameos from Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Tobey McGuire, and Andrew Garfield. Make no mistake, it was sick to see them all in their costumes again but once that shock passed, it’s kind of an average movie. The ending makes up for it in my eyes as Spider-Man is now his own hero and can do his own thing, unencumbered by the Avengers. I am excited to see where he goes from there.
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017): Homecoming is my favorite of the MCU trilogy. The best way I’ve heard it described is it’s a coming-of-age story with Spider-Man as the lead. It was a very reasonable continuation of the character from Civil War and his declining to become an Avenger at the end was great. Michael Keaton’s Vulture was a great villain for Peter. The scene of him figuring out his identity in the car was so stressful without any action, it was great. With his other movies though, there is an over-reliance on someone else, whether it was Iron Man or Dr. Strange. But I don’t think it hampered the story as much as it did in Far From Home.
A Tier: The Best of the Live Action
4: Spider-Man (2002): The movie that started it all. When someone says “Spider-Man” my mind immediately comes here. I’ll leave my nostalgia at the door, but even with that, this is a great Spider-Man movie. Yes, the effects are wildly outdated, the acting doesn’t hold up, and the script is comically campy. This movie had so much heart it doesn’t matter. The theme of responsibility is so crucial to the character of Spider-Man and it takes life here. Tobey McGuire is the best Peter Parker, and we are also introduced to one of the greatest villains in comic book movies in Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin. The continued fights between absolute good and absolute evil truly resonate throughout the franchise. This is the movie that truly laid the foundation for superhero movies to come.
3: Spider-Man 2 (2004): Everything Spider-Man one did well, Spider-Man 2 did a little better. I’ve always loved the internal conflict that Peter faced in this movie. He is overwhelmed by balancing his responsibility as Spider-Man with his real-life crumbling around him. He has no M.J., no Harry, Aunt May is dealing with financial problems, and the guilt of causing Uncle Ben’s death makes his powers go away. While he is not Dafoe, Alfred Molina puts on a showcase as Doc Ock and gives the franchise some of its most memorable scenes. This movie is a lot of people’s favorite Spider-Man movie, and I can’t blame them.
S Tier: Spider-Verse
Now it’s unfair to compare a live-action movie with an animated one given the limitations that each of them has. That being said, both Across and Into the Spider-Verse are in my top 10 movies of all time so I have no problem putting them above all the live-action movies.
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: It is so hard to pick which of these movies I like more. You can read my review here but I’ll add some thoughts to it here. I walked into the theater amped up to see it and the second the soundtrack rang in my ear, I had goosebumps. The animation was somehow even better this time around and the soundtrack and score were filled with bangers. This movie gives a whole new context to all the Spider-Man movies and makes a rewatch of them even more fascinating.
While I did love the movie, there are two reasons why it is number 2. The first is while it had some deeply impactful moments and emotional scenes, nothing compared to the “Leap of Faith” from Into the Spider-Verse. Scored by What’s Up Danger, that might be my favorite scene in any movie ever. The second reason is because it is part one of a two-part story. As good as that story was, I have to wait until Beyond the Spider-Verse comes out to fully evaluate it. The story we got in Across was still great though, and it’s a movie I’ll be rewatching a ton until Beyond comes out.
1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: This is my 2nd favorite movie behind Good Will Hunting. I could write a thousand words on why I love it so much, but I’ll save you all the time. The animation style is nothing short of incredible. The story of Miles Morales learning how to be Spider-Man and learning to trust himself is just perfect. The casting of Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, and Jake Johnson as our main 3 Spider-Men was also perfect. The Leap of Faith again is my favorite scene ever and the emotional weight of Uncle Aaron being the Prowler and then dying was just too much for my heart to handle. Going back and watching this after Across the Spider-Verse adds so much weight to what seemed like the tiniest details, and I just can’t get over how good this movie made me feel.
That’s it, folks. Let me know where you agree or disagree in the comments or tweet at me here.
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