Ranking the Series: The Spider-Man Franchise

Jake Peffer ranks the Spider-Man movies…The Amazing Spider-Man 2 hit theaters a few weeks ago and now that we’ve seen all five of the Spider-Man films I thought it’d be the perfect time to rank them from worst to best. Out of the five there’s a very clear winner for the best and a clear winner for worst too in my opinion. This is one of the few series where my rankings are not interchangeable in any way, unlike my previous ranking of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Take a look at how the Spider-Man movies stack up for me and let us know in the comments if you agree or disagree and what your own rankings would be…. 5. Spider-Man 3 (2007)The final film in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man series ended on a rather lackluster note. While I don’t outright hate it like a lot of fans, there are definitely many flaws and it’s easily the weakest of the five films. For starters there’s just a little too much packed into the story and it doesn’t help that there are so many things here that feel completely forced. Adding in Gwen Stacy is not needed except to make Mary Jane jealous, Eddie Brock a.k.a. Venom is utterly pointless and Topher Grace gives one of the worst performances in a superhero film. Then they also change Uncle Ben’s killer just to have a link between the Sandman and Spider-Man. Tobey Maguire is still good as Peter Parker and the special effects are some of the best in the series but with so many unnecessary subplots and nonsense throughout this one have more to groan at than enjoy. 4. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)Just like with Spider-Man 3 this is another film that suffers from having too much going on. Again there are three villains, one is only there to set things up for the next film, and not enough time is given to them to make them really matter. Harry Osborn gets a little more to do than Electro but neither Dane DeHaan nor Jamie Foxx give particularly good performances. There are some things to enjoy that mostly come from the human side of Spider-Man. His relationship with Gwen is a strength just like the first film because Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone have great chemistry together. One thing that’s present here which isn’t in most superhero films is real emotion. Certain moments pack a real punch while others are a swing and a miss. Sally Field is another positive, as are the special effects, but this one falls short of its predecessor. 3. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)A reboot to the Spider-Man franchise was really not needed. That being said this proved to be a decent film despite falling short of the original Spider-Man. Andrew Garfield steps into the role and proves to be a much better Spider-Man but I feel that Maguire plays a better Peter Parker. The relationship between Peter and Gwen is a highlight here as is Peter’s relationship with his Aunt and Uncle. My biggest problem here comes from the villain which is The Lizard. Rhys Ifans is fine in his role and they actually give him a nice back story but once he turns into The Lizard everything goes downhill as the special effects don’t do the character any justice. Aside from that and a few too many moments that hit the same notes as the original film, there is some fun to be had here. 2. Spider-Man (2002)This is the film that kicked off Spider-Man on the big screen and it did so in great fashion. It is a lot of fun to watch the origin of Spider-Man play out as he gains his powers and we see him transition from nerdy high schooler to superhero. Maguire plays Peter Parker very well and he is a good Spider-Man, although I like Garfield’s portrayal of Spider-Man better. Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin is great and one of the better villains from this series. The action sequences are well done and the special effects look great. There are a couple things that don’t work such as the wrestling match with Macho Man, and Kirsten Dunst isn’t great as Mary Jane. Despite some flaws here and there it is an extremely fun film and one of the pioneers of the comic book movie genre. 1. Spider-Man 2 (2004)Part two of the Raimi series is easily the best of the bunch. Pitting Spider-Man up against one of his best villains, Doctor Octopus, makes for a great threat to him and all of New York. Everything that worked in the first film is done better here and turned up a notch. Alfred Molina steps into the role of Doc Ock and does a fine job proving to be one of the best villains in any Marvel film thus far. This film is a prime example of having a lot of plot points and being able to handle them well. As we see Peter struggle with school, his living situation, his relationship with Mary Jane, his relationship with Harry, his Aunt May and deal with Doc Ock there’s never a point where any plot doesn’t get the right amount of time, which is rare in a superhero film. Not only is this the best Spider-Man film but it is one of the best Marvel-based films to have come out so far.Jake Peffer