Honestly, who doesn’t love Spider-Man? Even when Spidey is at his worst, he’s great. The worst Spider-Man movie still has amazing moments that completely understand the character and find ways to satisfy fans in some way, shape, or form. Speaking of the fans, though, what do they really think of the Spider-Man movies? To get the fans and general audience’s opinions, the best place to look is the one and only Letterboxd.
As a social media app dedicated to logging films, keeping up with friends’ logs and ratings, and rating them yourself, Letterboxd finds itself being perfect for audience rankings for that exact reason. Will the notorious second Andrew Garfield movie find itself at the bottom? Where will Sam Raimi‘s sequel pop up? Only one way to find out.
10
‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ (2014)
3.1/5.0 (8.9k Fans)
Okay, so not many people will find themselves surprised to see The Amazing Spider-Man 2 at the bottom of fans’ favorite Spider-Man movies. This movie really struggled, and it’s no secret. Whether it be from the massive studio interference that ripped it apart in the editing room, the same studio interference that pretty much slapped Marc Webb and took his film, or… yeah, it’s pretty much the studio’s fault (which is no hot take).
However, Spidey fans have made it known in their Letterboxd reviews that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 really isn’t all that bad, at times. There are scenes in it that truly capture the heart and soul of the character. User mrbrand1 states in his review, “TASM has the best swinging, hands down,” and another user, noahdelva, claims, “…I feel like Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone carry the movie despite the mid writing. Every scene with them together really elevates it.” While it may not be perfect, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 still has a place in the heart of most who’ve watched it.
9
‘Spider-Man 3’ (2007)
3.2/5.0 (4.8k Fans)
Another one of Spider-Man’s lower moments in cinema is the notorious Spider-Man 3, which, surprisingly, is a trilogy-capper to some of the best superhero movies out there. Spider-Man 3 is also another example of studio interference muddying up a movie and giving it a bad reputation among fans. A rough result for Sam Raimi, who had little to do with what led to it (he didn’t want Venom (Topher Grace) in the movie in the first place).
However, the soul of Raimi is still found in the heart of Spider-Man 3, which saves the majority of the movie. The first two acts are done incredibly well, and it’s clear that Raimi still really tried to make something awesome, despite his circumstances. This review by Letterboxd user, Utmost, is a great example of this kind of opinion: “I actually came out of this viewing with more positive feelings than I had previously felt when watching this film in the past. The film is nothing stellar, but Raimi’s direction and shooting style still catches your eye at every turn, particularly in the fight scenes.”
8
‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ (2019)
3.4/5.0 (3.1k Fans)
Despite people mostly liking the Tom Holland and Jon Watts trilogy of Spider-Man films (with major excitement for the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, now helmed by Destin Daniel Cretton), it has a bit of a low moment when it comes to its second film, Spider-Man: Far From Home. Despite having one of the most badass Spider-Man villains in cinema, the second act of this movie is pretty rough, and it lacks any and all style that came from Watts in Spider-Man: Homecoming and the movie that would come after, Spider-Man: No Way Home. Not to mention, a character that was set up to have a great character arc with Peter in the first movie, Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), turns into an absolutely nothing character who is simply there for comedic relief and nothing else.
It feels very bland, basic, and studio-crafted most of the time. It serves more as a follow-up to Avengers: Endgame, rather than being an actual sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming. Letterboxd user, Emil, provides a joke that is a very accurate description of this opinion: “disney channel original movie.” Marvel Studios executives’ hands are felt all over the editing, direction, and writing of this film. Thankfully, the third act saves most negative thoughts on it, but it isn’t enough to save it as a whole.
7
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ (2017)
3.5/5.0 (4.2k Fans)
After Holland’s great introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War, people were pretty dang excited to see him step into his own solo film with Spider-Man: Homecoming. Initially, this movie got a lot of flak for making Spidey an “Iron Man Jr.”, thanks to his idolization of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) at the beginning of the movie. Josh Lewis on Letterboxd states it best in their review, “When I grew up reading Spider-Man comics I really related to the parts where Peter Parker got handed state-of-the-art tech to beat up working-class laborers that were screwed over by his billionaire mentor.” As the movie has grown older, though, many have come to realize that not a lot of people understood the message of the movie when it released in 2017.
While there is validity to reviews like these, the latter half of the movie is actually dedicated to Peter Parker defying, denying, and setting himself apart from Stark. He basically ignores all advice from Tony post-ferry incident (after getting over a little depressive episode), and, when offered everything he wanted at the beginning of his character arc—an Avengers membership—he denies the billionaire, deciding to be the hero who protects “the little guy”.
6
‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ (2012)
3.5/5.0 (19k Fans)
There’s a reason that Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man is widely considered the best, and a lot of those reasons are found in The Amazing Spider-Man. He’s funny, has the perfect lanky stature for the character, is emotionally compelling, and is an all-around phenomenal actor. No, The Amazing Spider-Man is not perfect, but it’s one of the better-written superhero origin movies when it comes to the origin half of the film.
A great representation of this fact is the presence of Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) in the movie. In the other Spider-Man origin film, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, people feel bad for Peter when Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) dies, but in The Amazing Spider-Man, audiences feel bad with Peter, as the screenplay is far more dedicated to spending more time with the uncle and building him into more of a layered character.
5
‘Spider-Man’ (2002)
3.8/5.0 (16k Fans)
The other Spider-Man origin project, Spider-Man, may not do the origin itself as well as The Amazing Spider-Man (it still executes it incredibly well, though), but the movie as a whole is definitely better for most people. Spider-Man is one of the movies that kicked off this era of superhero films and is massively responsible for where the genre is today. It can’t be forgotten, either, that Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), the Green Goblin, is one of the best Spider-Man movie villains.
Spider-Man is a comic book movie, through and through. It has the perfect balance of camp, emotion, and great storytelling to make it a project that’s yet to be forgotten 23 years later. Sipho, on Letterboxd, said this in his review: “Nothing beats the original, a phrase as old as time itself. There’s such a ‘lightning in a bottle’ magic to this first Spider-Man outing…” This is the best depiction of how special this first Spider-Man theatrical release is. It’s done so much for the genre and established tropes that have yet to disappear from superhero films.
4
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ (2021)
3.8/5.0 (26k Fans)
It’s not easy to balance multiverse cameos/inclusions from past franchises in a superhero film that doesn’t feel like cheap nostalgia bait. A movie that does this perfectly is Spider-Man: No Way Home. It includes almost every primary character from past Spider-Man films and incorporates them into the plot very well. With the multiversal villains being the main plot, with Peter trying to cure them and get them home, saving them, they, obviously, are important to the plot. A better example of how well it handles cameos is the third act of the film, where the other two Spider-Men from the past hop into Holland’s universe to help him out. They could have easily been cheap throwaway cameos, but Watts and the crew make sure to make them important to Peter’s character arc. Each Spidey helps complete Holland’s arc and makes it not possible without them.
Spider-Man: No Way Home does things no other Spider-Man movie has done before. It not only reveals Peter Parker’s arc to the entire world, but it kills his beloved Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). Alongside all of this, Holland’s acting is at its best here, with Letterboxd user, Ryncle, describing it excellently, “…Tom’s Peter was now able to access a level of grief that we’ve seen in other Spider-Man movies and Tom didn’t just nail it, he exceeded expectations and even brought tears to my eyes.”
3
‘Spider-Man 2’ (2004)
3.9/5.0 (28k Fans)
Spider-Man 2is considered many great things. It’s not only one of the best Spider-Man movies and superhero sequels, but one of the greatest superhero movies of all time, even considered so byRoger Ebert. The story told in Spider-Man 2 is beyond compelling and filled with some of the most thrilling action in a superhero film (who could forget that iconic train fight scene?) There are a plethora of things to love about Spider-Man 2 that have yet to be forgotten to this day, and will most likely not be for quite some time.
“A true hero story,” is what Letterboxd reviewer, irisoftheeye, wrote about Spider-Man 2, and there’s really no better way to put it. Sam Raimi told the story of what it means to be a true hero, one who is noble and responsible above even their own wants and needs. It tells the best Peter Parker story in cinema, and one will find that a very small number of people would disagree with that. It also features one of the best monologues in a superhero film by Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) in Act Two.
2
‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ (2023)
4.4/5.0 (81k Fans)
Another astounding superhero sequel from the 21st Century is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. After the gigantic success and impact that the first movie had in this series, there was a world of weight on the shoulders of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to be, at the very least, good. Even if it did end up just good, though, some could still have considered it a disappointment because of how genuinely amazing Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was. Thankfully for everyone, that was not the case—not in the slightest.
On the app, the reviewer named Younis put it simply but precisely, “How did they go back to back.” It needs to be studied how this movie managed to follow up something so genuinely awesome and culturally impactful. The way Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse executes its world-building and continues the character arcs from the first film, especially when it comes to Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), is superb.
1
‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018)
4.4/5.0 (101k Fans)
As already stated, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was extremely successful and culturally impactful when it came out in 2018. Aside from being an all-around iconic film, it redefined the animated film medium, changing it for the better. Its impact can be seen through studios deciding to take more chances and get more artistic with their art styles, straying a bit away from the typical Pixar style. This can be seen in other movies and shows that came after, like Arcane and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took the out-of-this-world concept of the multiverse, and somehow managed to tell one of the most grounded and intimate stories in a Spider-Man movie. There’s not much that can be said about this incredible movie that hasn’t been said not just on Letterboxd, but on the entire internet, already.
