Another Spider-Man entry is upon us, this time seeing Tom Holland’s wall crawler sharing the screen with the likes of The Punisher, The Hulk, and a litany of other villains in Spider-man: Brand New Day (check out our review HERE). With this marking Holland’s fourth film as the character (and seventh appearance in the MCU overall), it’s time to look back at the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield eras, and see where they stack up. Because everyone has their preferences. Do they want the campier tone of the Raimi trilogy or the Indie Music-fueled Garfield entries? What about the more MCU-heavy Holland iterations?
So let’s Rank the Live Action Spider-man films.
9. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
I’m such a Spider-Man fan that I actually enjoyed this movie when it first came out. I couldn’t see past the incredible suit and the fact that we were finally getting the “Death of Gwen Stacy” storyline. Then I rewatched it. And every time I did, I noticed a new element that annoyed me. From the dubstep to the one-liners to some of the strangest, angstiest performances you could imagine, I’m finally at a place where I tend to just ignore its existence. Andrew Garfield is a great Spider-Man, but his Peter Parker is way too cool for school.
8. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
I first saw this movie at just 16 years old, and I couldn’t quite grasp the disappointment at the time. Venom was my all-time favorite Spider-Man villain, so to see him diminished to such a pathetic state was devastating. And as much as I hear, “Raimi never wanted to include Venom in the first place,” as an excuse, that ignores the Sandman plot, which is also poorly handled. This feels like it was made by a completely different creative team than the first two movies, with even the action feeling “floatier” and less creative. Emo Peter has given this one some meme-worthy moments, but it never gets beyond “so bad it’s good” territory.
7. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
There’s a lot to like about Andrew Garfield’s first outing as the wall-crawler. His chemistry with Emma Stone finally gave us the pairing of Peter and Gwen. But doing another origin story just a decade after Raimi had already given us one made the whole thing feel like a retread. It doesn’t help that they took the iconic Lizard design and made him look like a Goomba from the Super Mario Bros. movie.
6. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
This is arguably the most MCU the series ever gets, and it makes the massive mistake of taking Spider-Man out of New York. Unless you’re taking him to space, Spidey belongs in New York and feels strange anywhere else. That being said, Peter and Ned are firing on all cylinders, and they finally give Zendaya’s MJ something meaningful to do. Jake Gyllenhaal is wonderfully conniving as Mysterio, bonding with Peter only to reveal himself as a narcissistic prick who takes advantage of Peter’s good nature. The Mysterio nightmare sequence is more than worth the price of admission.
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
I like seeing Spider-Man as a more street-level hero, dealing with petty robberies and hoping he’ll eventually be called up to the big leagues. I’ve never had an issue with Tony Stark being Peter’s mentor, as their MCU versions are so similar in many ways that it makes sense. Tom Holland is incredibly charming as both Spider-Man and Peter Parker, finally giving us a version that excels at both sides of the character. And I’ll never complain about Michael Keaton showing up in a comic book movie. The man is a sign of quality. This was the perfect way to portray a high school Peter, even if I think they should have stayed in this period of his life a little longer.
4. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
In terms of the first viewing experience, No Way Home probably tops this list, as the spectacle of seeing Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, and Tom Holland together is genuinely mind-blowing. But it can be a little too reliant on nostalgia and overly expository in its dialogue. Even so, it’s hard to deny the goosebumps it delivers when our different Peter Parkers finally meet. Everyone has their favorite, and the movie treats all three with genuine respect.
3. Spider-Man (2002)
Many different films can be credited with launching the modern superhero movie era, whether it’s Superman (1978), Batman (1989), or even X-Men (2000) (am I going to have to start putting the year on that one too?). But I’ve always pointed to Spidey’s first live-action adventure. Sam Raimi taught audiences that we didn’t have to be afraid of bright colors, spandex, and a slightly hokey tone. Is there a more iconic kiss in modern cinema than Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst’s upside-down smooch? We were given not only the definitive J. Jonah Jameson, thanks to J.K. Simmons, but also the definitive Norman Osborn, with Willem Dafoe delivering a performance that transcended memes and became legendary enough for him to reprise the role as a major villain years later.
2. Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
I know this one still has that new-car smell, and maybe it’s the initial excitement that’s pushing it this high on the list, but I think it’s earned its place. I’ve been reading Spider-Man comics since I was a little kid and have watched every live-action and animated version of the character. Unlike No Way Home, which lost a little luster with each subsequent viewing, Brand New Day feels like a film that will only get better the more times you watch it. These aren’t world-ending stakes; this is simply a chapter in Peter Parker’s life as he tries to put himself back together after tragedy. It also fully takes advantage of the chemistry between Tom Holland and Zendaya, whose scenes together are among the film’s best. And it’s too bad they’re being so secretive about Sadie Sink, because her performance deserves to be talked about.
1. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Widely considered one of the greatest comic book movies of all time, it’s hard to deny the impact of Sam Raimi’s 2004 sequel. It manages to win over both general audiences and comic book fans despite featuring a Doctor Octopus who differs significantly from his comic-book counterpart. That’s because Alfred Molina is simply that good in the role, and his emotional arc works beautifully.
What’s your ranking of the Spider-Man franchise?
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