Spider-Man Reviews: Our Verdict on Every Film

Cinvibe rates all 11 Spider-Man theatrical films, from Spider-Man (2002) to Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), using four verdict words: excellent, very good, good and mixed. Every verdict is opinion and spoiler-free, and each film links to its own page, where any spoiler discussion sits inside a flagged section.

Yes, Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, earns a very good verdict from Cinvibe. In my opinion it is the strongest outing for Tom Holland since Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). The story begins four years after Doctor Strange's spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home made the world forget Peter Parker, with Peter working alone on New York's street level crime and keeping Ned and MJ at a distance. That smaller scale suits him, and it is the grounded kind of storytelling the series has needed since Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).

The main weakness is its crowded cast. It runs from Sadie Sink as Jean Grey to Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk and Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova / Black Widow, with Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / Punisher among them, and it could be argued that a story about a lonely Peter has little room for so many guests. That being said, the 145 minute running time carries them better than most ensemble superhero films manage. The film grossed more than $2.5 billion worldwide on a $225 million budget, according to The Numbers, and its film page holds the flagged spoiler section.

Spider-Man 2 (2004), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) are excellent; Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) are very good; The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) are good; Spider-Man 3 (2007) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) are mixed.

Spider-Man films are easiest to judge against their own universe, so the reasoning follows by era. Sam Raimi directed the first three, and Spider-Man 2 is the high point: Alfred Molina's Doc Ock is a sympathetic villain, Peter's money and school troubles feel real, and the film won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects at the 77th Academy Awards. Spider-Man (2002) has Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin and opened to $114.8 million domestically, according to Box Office Mojo. Spider-Man 3 carries, in my opinion, one villain story too many, with Sandman, Venom and the New Goblin all competing across 139 minutes, although the Harry Osborn thread still lands.

Marc Webb directed the next two. In my opinion Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone share the best romantic chemistry of any Peter and Gwen pairing in The Amazing Spider-Man, even if Rhys Ifans's Lizard plot is thinner than it should be. In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Jamie Foxx's Electro, Dane DeHaan's Harry Osborn and Paul Giamatti's Aleksei Sytsevich all arrive in 141 minutes, and the Peter and Gwen scenes are left to hold the film together.

In my opinion the Marvel Cinematic Universe films are the most consistent group. Spider-Man: Homecoming, directed by Jon Watts, gives Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes a working class villain's understandable motives, and the film shot in Atlanta to stand in for New York. Spider-Man: Far From Home takes Jake Gyllenhaal's Quentin Beck on a Europe trip that brought the crew to Prague and Liberec, and it grossed more than $1.1 billion worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Spider-Man: No Way Home brings back villains and heroes from earlier film series, and since the surprises are the point, I will say nothing more. It grossed more than $1.9 billion worldwide.

The animated films are where the series takes its biggest creative risks. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman, runs 117 minutes on a $90 million budget, and Shameik Moore's Miles Morales is the heart of it. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, directed by Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson and Joaquim Dos Santos, is also excellent, and I rate it higher for ambition. Oscar Isaac voices Miguel O'Hara, Jason Schwartzman voices the Spot, and the Metro Boomin album gives it a different pulse. Sony has scheduled the next film, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, for June 18, 2027, so it has no review yet.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) is Cinvibe's lowest-rated Spider-Man film, with a mixed verdict shared with Spider-Man 3 (2007). In my opinion the film spends so much time setting up future villains and a parents mystery that its best idea, Peter keeping a promise to Gwen's late father, never gets room to breathe. It is also the lowest grossing live action Spider-Man film at about $710 million worldwide, on a $200 million budget, according to The Numbers. That does not make it a bad watch, because Garfield and Stone are still lovely together.

If you want a film that fails more interestingly, I would point you to Spider-Man 3. It grossed more than $887 million worldwide, the most of the Raimi trilogy, according to Box Office Mojo, so audiences clearly wanted it even if I do not rank it highly.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) are the easiest fit for a 10 year old, because both are rated PG in the US, the UK and Australia. The live action films are PG-13 in the US, 12A in the UK and M in Australia, according to TMDB. In my opinion Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man 2 are the gentlest live action choices, while Spider-Man 3 and No Way Home hit harder emotionally. Parents know their own child best, so a quick look at the film page before the first viewing is sensible.

Cinvibe's verdicts are the spoiler-free version, and the spoiler version lives on each film page. Every film page keeps its full plot, ending explanation and post credit scene discussion in sections flagged as spoilers, so you can read a verdict, watch the film and then return for the details.

Start with Spider-Man 2 (2004) for the best live action Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) for the newest, or Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) for younger viewers. If you still need a sequence, our guide to Spider-Man movies in order lays it out, and the Spider-Man movies ranked page places every film against the others.