+3
Spielberg is among my most favorite directors. Many of his best films either had a lot of heart or had a lot of craft put into it (Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, E.T, Lincoln, The Color Purple, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Minority Report, Jaws).
Sometimes he seems to be an easy target these days because many of those films are blockbusters, and it upsets those who feel he lacks and artistic integrity simply because he makes a lot of money off of them. As if you can’t do both.
It’s much the same with superhero movies, although with the caveat that outside a few, most wouldn’t be on The same level simply due to opinion. I’m slightly tougher on them.
Superman is one of the best films of the 70’s, for example, and both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were also great films from the aughts. If I were to ever do personal top 100’s of each of the respective decades, they’d find a place in there.