Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Homecoming is finally with us. You might have heard of it, thanks to the massive marketing campaign that has been badgering us with tons of trailers, commercials and interviews in the past months. Well, now that it’s in theatres worldwide, yours truly decided to go against the flow this time, and saw it yesterday... like the second day it was on. So not only did we decide to tell you if it’s any good, but we also thought it would be a worthwhile waste of time to rank the Spidey movies appeared so far.
As far as we know, there are now six Spider-Man films out there; however, we believe the role of our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in Civil War was so prominent but mostly so cool that we have decided to include it in our list.
So, without further ado, let’s start our list, from the very worst Spidey movie to the one that made us fall in love again (and again) with our wallcrawler.
7# The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Vinny: OMG. What a trainwreck. Seriously, I hardly know what to say about this film. It doesn’t capture the spirit of the comic, it doesn’t tell a good story and it’s just....boring. What a mess. Also, is that really the fracking Green Goblin?! It looks more like my cousin Calogero when he's sick.
Fred: I couldn’t agree more. The flashy bluish Electro is horrible. His traditional five-pointed masked costume would have been more credible. I remember one of the few things I used to like in the ASM films was the relationship between Peter and Gwen, but this film basically takes that chemistry, adds a silly plot and savagely throws it out of the window with THAT DEATH SCENE. No mercy for messing with Gwen Stacy and the Green Goblin.
6# Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Fred: I admit to my memories of this film being blurry, but maybe that’s already proof that this flick wasn’t memorable for anything at all. The black costume/Venom saga is one of the most sacred arcs in Spider-Man’s history. This movie definitely did not handle it well, totally miscasting Eddie Brock with Topher Grace, and having lousy action scenes. Still, I’d rather rewatch it over ASM 2. It must count for something.
Vinny: I really can’t help mentioning the sequences with ‘emo’ Peter...not only it doesn’t make much sense (you are possessed by an alien symbiote and you start acting like a freak?) but it looks REALLY SILLY. However, for me that is not the real deal-breaker; what I can’t stand is how it throws at the audience so many events, characters and story arcs in just one film. We have the previously mentioned black costume saga and Venom, Sand-Man (bring me a dream….) and Harry Osborn becoming the second Green Goblin! More focus on just one villain would have improved this film greatly.
5# The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Fred: Internet wiseacres have said that Andrew Garfield wasn’t a good casting choice for the leading role. I respectfully disagree, as I think he did a pretty good job in this film. Setting the needless origin story aside, Garfield is credible as the young boy coming to terms with his powers. His almost childish romance with Gwen is probably the freshest thing about this film. Also, Lizard’s choice as the main villain proved new enough, with a credible yet not memorable performance. All in all this film, while entertaining, fails to excite as one would expect from a wallcrawler movie. It just isn’t that colourful nor funny.
4# Captain America: Civil War [The Spidery Bits] (2016)
Fred: When I first heard there was going to be a NEW Spider-Man in CW I was scared that they would screw up. After the pain of ASM 2, my philo-arachnid heart would not have sustained another shock. However, Marvel Studios got him right. Of course, the length of his appearance on screen cannot justify considering it as a single film, however what I saw was very entertaining. Everything feels fresh about him. The facts that Tony Stark himself visits him at home to recruit him, and that aunt May is played by a young (and hot) (and half-Tuscan) Marisa Tomei are just the icing on the cake.
Vinny: So far, Civil War is one of the most entertaining products of Marvel Studios and this is also thanks to the amazing (pun intended) inclusion of Spider-Man. It could have been a disaster to re-reboot the franchise so soon, but this time our dear filmmakers did their job right and went for something ‘revolutionary’, bringing to the silver screen a teenager Peter Parker full of wit and nerdiness. Also, the moves of our beloved web-head during the battle royale at the airport are sweeeeeet: they get your blood pumping and it really looks like Spidey is finally there, going head to head with all the other, less cool Marvel heroes. Yes, I am a Spidey fanboy. Got a problem with that?
WARNING: Vinny and Fred cannot agree on number 3# and 2#, so they will now each explain their picks for these positions. They both have strong motivations for their opinions, though in the end they’ll just decide with head or tails. Or rock-paper-scissors.
Vinny: #3 Spider-Man (2002)
#2 Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Usually I’m the kind of guy that prefers the ‘classics’, but this time I have to admit that the third cinematographic incarnation of Spider-Man is superior to its first. Nowadays cinemas are flooded with superhero movies and it is getting harder and harder to create something new and fresh. When in 2002 our dear Sam Raimi decided to temporarily abandon horror film and make a superhero film the genre was still in its early stages, and the film was a brand new product which made thousands of fans of the wallcrawler happy, myself included.
Well, Homecoming succeeded in something even harder than that: it has made fans happy again after decades! I want to make clear that I think Spider-Man is a great film, but I believe Homecoming is a better film: it is faithful to the comics, while at the same time updating them and placing them in our current time period. The old film is in some moments a bit too cartoonish, sometimes even ‘camp’, and this may distract the viewer and take the epicness out of the film. Homecoming is, despite being a superhero film, grounded in the real world and manages to tell a somewhat plausible story of a kid dealing with amazing powers. Ok, uncle Ben is not there to make us cry, but I feel this time his death would have been redundant and heavy-handed. Homecoming is telling a different story of a different Peter, which will probably resonate more with the younger generations, at the same time bringing back bittersweet memories to those who wish they were still teenagers.
On a less apologetic note, the action sequences are almost perfect: while the plane sequence may be a bit chaotic, the others are among the best you could find in any superhero film. Last, but definitely not least, the writing is finally really good, especially during the ‘dad talk’ before Peter goes to the school party. Maybe screenwriters are realising that the viewers have a brain?
Fred: #3 Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
#2 Spider-Man (2002)
After long pondering, I pick the first Spider-Man film over the latest one. Of course I really enjoyed Homecoming, with its new take on a younger Peter Parker learning the ropes of the superhero business, and other new paths the film explores. However, to me it just doesn’t have the flavour of the first of the Raimi films. I’m aware that it might have to do with the nostalgic awe of watching my favourite Marvel hero brought faithfully to the silver screen fifteen years ago, but I still think that film captured the cartoonish gist of the hero better.
Although Tom Holland is more believable as a high-schooler in Homecoming, Tobey Maguire is totally credible as the teenager Parker struggling to make sense of his identity. Also, the origin story feels quite in place. It adds a touch of sentiment and guilt to the character, which is a fundamental trait in the comics, but lacks in the 2017 version. Yes, I know that Homecoming couldn’t feature uncle Ben and the origin story, and rightly so, but still I feel that the hero’s pain in Spider-Man is more prominent.
Also, the film directed by Raimi, though flawed, better captures the cartoonish nature of the character, with a lot of jokes (which appear in Homecoming too, to be fair) and just a good bit of camp colourfulness and exaggeration in the action. I still remember the actions scenes from Spider-Man, especially in the last fight with the Green Goblin, which owes a lot to the “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” story arc. The action scenes in Homecoming feel a bit all over the place and confused towards the end. I’m not sure I can be at peace with that. In conclusion, both films are really enjoyable, and do different things with the character, both succeeding albeit with ups and downs. Spider-Man is a memorable first film, and Homecoming does a great job in adapting the wallcrawler’s world to the current scene. However, Spider-Man still comes more strongly to mind, and heart, when thinking about which film is more faithful.
#1 Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Vinny: When I think about the perfect superhero film, I cannot help thinking about SM2.
Fred: When I think about Spider-Man 2, I think about the perfect superhero film.
Vinny and Fred: So say we all.
Vostri,
Fred and Vinny
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