Ranking All Of The Spider-Man Movies
With Spider-Man: Homecoming coming out on Friday, it is the perfect time to rank all of Spider-Man’s previous outings. As you guys know, I am a huge superhero fan and Spider-Man is my favorite fictional character of all-time. So it’s safe to say that I have an extreme passion for this character and these movies. Let’s begin the list.
6) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014): One thing that has become an issue in past Spider-Man movies has been having way too many story lines. This movie tries to set up the Sinister 6 for future movies, it shoehorns the Green Goblin into the last 3rd of the film, had a random side plot with Peter’s dead parents, and also rushes the death of Gwen Stacy storyline. Not to mention that the main villain (Jamie Foxx’s Electro) is way too corny for this serious tone the movie was going for. The only real positive I take from this movie was Gwen’s death scene. It was beautiful in execution and extremely emotional.
5) Spider-Man 3 (2007): Like ASM2, Spider-Man 3 also suffers from way too many story lines. In this case, the issue was too many villains. The beginning of the movie is the payoff from Harry Osborn’s turn into the Green Goblin, the middle touches on Spider-Man’s battle with the Sandman, and the finale shoehorns in Venom. The movie didn’t feel cohesive and it almost felt like I was watching 3 different movies. Not to mention that this movie got Gwen Stacy SOOOO wrong and Topher Grace as Eddie Brock (Venom) may have been one of the worst castings in superhero history. The only reason it isn’t the worst is because of the amazing action/visuals.
4) The Amazing Spider-Man (2012): While Spider-Man 3 made bank, it became hated by fans and Sony decided to reboot the series. Andrew Garfield took on the role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Emma Stone was cast as Gwen Stacy. While I thought Garfield and Stone were fine in their roles, I never actually saw them as their characters. It felt more of a cosplay to me, especially Garfield as Peter Parker. Andrew Garfield is a really good looking dude and I could never buy the fact he would be an outcast in high school. He nailed the humor of Spider-Man but not the insecurities of Peter. I also thought that there was a lot of potential with The Lizard as the villain but film wasn’t able to reach that potential with him. Dr. Curt Connors is a tragic figure and the movie didn’t execute that part of his story well.
3) Captain America: Civil War (2016): Similar to Spider-Man 3, ASM2 got major fan backlash and Sony once again faced a hard decision of continuing with the franchise. After months of speculation, it rumors finally came true as Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios came to a deal to have Spider-Man appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He made his debut in Civil War and will have his first title appearance in Homecoming tomorrow. Civil War is one of my favorite comic book movies of all-time and part of that reason is Tom Holland’s performance as Spider-Man. They finally casted a teenager to play Peter and it paid off big. After only appearing in the film for 15 minutes, Holland became universally loved and has major hype going into Homecoming and the future Avenger movies.
2) Spider-Man (2002): It’s 15 years old and it’s one of the best origin movies ever made. Tobey Maguire stars as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and nails it. Director Sam Rami perfectly told Peter’s famous origin story as you truly understand why “Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.” I also thought that Kirsten Dunst was very charming as the redheaded bombshell Mary Jane Watson. She nailed the “Girl Next Door” type and you get why Peter wants to impress her. But the standout by far was Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin. Defoe captured that duel personality that Norman Osborn suffers from and its terrifying at points. The only complaints that I have is that Maguire was a bit old for playing an 18 year old and that the Goblin’s costume looked too much like a Power Ranger. But considering that it helped start the comic book craze and being the 1st film to ever make $100 Million opening weekend, this film will have its place in history.
1) Spider-Man 2 (2004): Not only is Spider-Man 2 the best Spider-Man movie ever made, it’s one of the greatest comic book movies ever made. As I mentioned earlier, the reason that I and so many people relate to Peter Parker is because he’s a normal person with normal problems. In Spider-Man 2, everything that can go wrong did go wrong with Peter. He wants to be a good person, he wants to be a superhero; but life keeps beating him down and he gives up. You know why he gives up? Because he’s human. Peter doesn’t always do the right thing and that’s what makes him great. He’s not perfect, just like we are. Other than that, Alfred Molina is great as the villain Doctor Octopus. He’s one of the more sympathetic villains you’ll see in the movies, which made Doc Ock that much more intriguing. We also have to mention that epic train fight! It’s amazing really, this movie is 13 years old and that’s still one of the best action scenes ever seen in a superhero movie. Spider-Man 2 is the pinnacle of Spidey movies and if Spider-Man: Homecoming can match its level, then we are in for a good time.
Written By: Steven Santoro (SVS_1993)
