In the past 20 years, there have been a total of three Spider-Men in live-action. Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland have embodied the role and taken it into new directions. Last year saw the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home which not only served as a conclusion to the trilogy started in Spider-Man: Homecoming but also served as a multiversal crossover where the three Spider-Men could finally meet.
Over on Letterboxd, Spider-Man and film fans have had a lot to say about the various Spider-Man films over the years. Letterboxd allows users to give a movie a rating out of five and the site delivers an average. This average offers users an interesting look at what cinephiles think are the best Spider-Man films.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) - 2.7
Andrew Garfield's second turn as Spider-Man came in the form of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. In this film, Peter's old friend Harry Osborne comes back after the death of Norman Osborne. Meanwhile, a new villain, Electro, begins to terrorize New York and Peter has to stop him all while figuring out what happened to his parents. All this leads to one of the saddest moments in the Amazing Spider-Man franchise.
This movie does have plenty of fans but the 2.7 score on Letterboxd represents the majority of people's feelings. Sadly, most felt the film was bloated and incoherent and oftentimes boring. Most criticism is lobbed at the scripting of the movie, as the two leads' chemistry is still worth a watch.
Spider-Man 3 (2007) - 2.9
Sam Raimi's final outing with the wall-crawler, Spider-Man 3 sees Peter Parker's life going pretty great. He's got the girl of his dreams, the city loves Spider-Man, so what could go wrong? Now that Harry Osborne knows the truth about Spider-Man's identity, he goes after him, along with Sandman and Venom. Together they tear down Peter emotionally and then physically.
Much like The Amazing Spider-Man 2, this film suffers from being a bloated version of what people enjoyed in the earlier versions. Many felt the film is long and paced poorly with Venom being the major detractor. Still, enough of Sam Raimi's charm works its way in the film for some to find it enjoyable. Sadly, Raimi never made a fourth Spider-Man movie.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) - 3.1
When Sam Raimi didn't return for a fourth Spider-Man movie, Sony rebooted the franchise with The Amazing Spider-Man. Andrew Garfield's first turn as the webhead sees a slightly more expanded origin for Peter, which includes Oscorp and his father. After he's bitten by a spider, he has to stop The Lizard from turning all of New York into lizard people.
This film fairs pretty well on Letterboxd, while it's not as believed as the other Spider-Man films, especially the ones before it, in recent years Andrew Garfield's take on the character has been getting a reevaluation. While some still consider this film to be pretty stupid, and the parents' subplot unnecessary, there was still plenty to enjoy in this take on Spider-Man.
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) - 3.5
The second MCU Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: Far From Home sees Peter and his classmates go on a trip to Europe. Peter wants to leave the Spider-Man stuff behind him for now but Nick Fury and Mysterio drag him in. Mysterio has been pretending to be a hero to get the sunglasses that Tony Stark has gifted Peter, and Peter has to stop him before he kills his friends with the help of his "Peter Tingle."
Spider-Man: Far From Home is a little divisive with fans on Letterboxd. Most of the good reviews talk about how the film is well cast, including Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio. The Peter and MJ romance work as well, but the film still gets bogged down with too much exposition.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) - 3.6
After the critical failure of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sony teamed up with Marvel Studios to make Spider-Man: Homecoming. Once again bringing Peter Parker back to high school, the film picks up a few months after Captain America: Civil War and Peter are getting restless for another mission. Peter stumbles onto a weapons deal where he gets involved in The Vulture's plans.
The decision to reboot Spider-Man so soon after the last time didn't seem like a great idea, but most of the initial Letterboxd reviews speak to how Spider-Man: Homecoming is a fresh take on the character and works as a solid reboot. Michael Keaton as the Vulture comes out the strongest as he's often labeled one of the best MCU villains of all time. More recent reviews do point to Tony Stark's influence as a crutch that keeps this film from going higher in the rankings.
Spider-Man (2002) - 3.7
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man introduced the world to Peter Parker, a down on his luck kid who gets bit by a spider and loses his uncle to a random mugging. When Peter goes to college he becomes Spider-Man. Lurking in the shadows, however, is the Green Goblin and the two have to battle it out before more people die.
This film is often considered a classic and most Letterboxd users would agree with that. These days, most of the recent reviews lament the look of the Green Goblin and talk about the dated effects. But it's hard to argue the impact this film had, and it's still one of the best examples of Spider-Man on screen.
Spider-Man 2 (2004) - 3.8
Hot off the success of Spider-Man, Sam Raimi and company returned for Spider-Man 2. Spider-Man 2 sees Alfred Molina become the villainous Doc Ock as he threatens to destroy half of New York with his experiment. Meanwhile, Peter is wrestling with balancing his life as Peter Parker and Spider-Man.
This film is often considered one of, if not, the best Spider-Man films. Molina shines as the villain Doc Ock, and everything that worked in the first film works better in this film. Letterboxd users still have a hard time finding anything bad to say about this film, even after all these years.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) - 4.2
Spider-Man: No Way Home finishes up the MCU trilogy of Spider-Man movies with a multiversal crossover of 20 years in the making. This film sees Peter trying to get his secret identity back by going to Doctor Strange. The spell goes wrong and the most formidable villains from the previous Spider-Man movies come to the MCU. Peter has to team up with his other selves to cure them and send them home.
Even though this film is filled with nostalgia for the previous Spider-Man movies, Letterboxd users appreciate how the film is still about MCU Peter Parker. Its runtime allows for most of the previous characters to have meaningful arcs and Andrew Garfield almost steals the show as the Amazing Spider-Man. This 4.2 rating isn't just for the nostalgia, it's for a mostly well-balanced film that delivers on almost every promise.