100 Greatest Comic Book Movies Of All Time
8. Spider-Man 2
There are a number of milestones from the pre-MCU, pre-Dark Knight comic book movie renaissance of the early 00s, including the all-important X-Men, X2, and Spider-Man (and a shoutout to the 1997's ahead-of-its-time Blade, too). But none of them were Spider-Man 2.
This is the movie that really showed what a superhero movie could and indeed should be. Sam Raimi did a good job on the first one, but his work here - and that of everyone around him - is on a completely new level.
The action scenes, whether it's Spidey swinging around New York, the train sequence, or anything involving Doc Ock (given a multi-faceted spin by Alfred Molina that elevates him to the upper echelons of superhero movie bad guys), are masterfully done. The colours pop in a way that feels reminiscent of what a Marvel Comics movie should look like, without trading on the emotion of the film. It finds a perfect balance in the tug-of-war between the lives of Peter Parker and Spider-Man, crafting a superhero story that feels completely human. And it has the greatest face anyone has pulled in the genre's storied history (pictured above).
14 years, four movies, and two more Spider-Man later, this is still the best the web slinger's ever been on the big screen.
[JH]