Part 1 (of 8) of my Spider-Man movie re-watch marathon in preparation for No Way Home. Because this is the first, in this post I'm going to include a bit more background. I saw the first two Sam Raimi Spider-Man films plenty of times growing up, as we owned them both on DVD. Plus they, along with X-Men, were the first big superhero films of my life time. The other six movies (Spider-Man 3, Amazing 1 & 2, Homecoming, Far from Home, and Into the Spiderverse) I've probably only seen once or twice. As such, I expected these first two to be the most nostalgic experiences, which certainly proved to be the case here. So.... how did it hold up?
Well, it was a mixed bag. Before I get into the details, I'll say that I'm not updating my score based on this viewing. When I first joined Trakt (or more accurately, IMDB) I gave all movies I had seen previously scores from memory, and for this movie that score was an 8/10. This movie is a product of its time and so even though I certainly don't think it's as good as a modern movie that I would score an 8, it still deserves a huge amount of credit and so I wouldn't feel right lowering its score. Now, for my brief takeaways.
THE BAD: Lots of cheese. Rapid pacing takes away from dramatic moments (i.e. flashbacks to scenes that happened less than five minutes ago). Love triangle and everything to do with MJ was kind of a mess. Tobey Maguire unfortunately has to do a lot of heavy lifting in the acting department, and for me not enough of it lands.
THE GOOD: Willem Dafoe absolutely kills it. His green goblin laugh is iconic. J.K. Simmons absolutely kills it. Everything he says is iconic. Surprisingly, some of the effects hold up well enough. There's some PlayStation 2 level graphics on display here or there, but once Spidey gets his proper suit, the webslinging and fight sequences look quite solid, even leaving me impressed in a couple of moments.
After the "No Way Home" Trailer I decided to rewatch this movie after a couple of years.
I grew up on Spider-Man. Mostly on the comics and the 90s animated series and he has always been my favorite superhero. When this movie premiered I was 11 years old and freaked out about it. I loved it! It was my favorite comic book hero coming to life. But well, time goes by, taste changes, different adaptations come along and you start to grow out of your nostalgia goggles.
I still have a soft spot for this film today, but I‘m also not a fan. I think part of my initial love (despite being 11 and having the taste of an 11 year old) was my excitement of seeing a live action version of Spider-Man, as well as this film and the first X-Men movie bringing back the superhero genre to the big screen after a serious drought through the 90s (do we still blame Batman & Robin?).
Taking a step back from nostalgia however the film itself is not that great. As an adaptation and a movie in general. Sure, in a way it’s innovative for the genre but should that get so much weight in retrospective?
As an origin story for the character it’s fine. You meet nerdy High School kid Peter Parker, the spider bite happens, "with great power comes great responsibility" and you know the drill. The pacing is mostly fine. It takes its time to establish world and characters and has enough action sequences to keep the audience entertained.
The look and general special effects have aged poorly, unfortunately. Well, Green Goblin never looked great to begin with. While this was 2002 (and I‘m sure budget played a role) it’s hilarious that the same year "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" released and made Gollum look as realistic as a real life person, we got Green Goblin looking like a Power Rangers reject. Or that some scenes look like a PS2 game (the parade you guys, the parade). It still doesn’t take the fun out of it though. If anything it adds that odd early 2000s charm to the movie.
My major issues actually come from two different areas: Casting and dialogue.
Tobey Maguire has never been my favorite Spider-Man and I stand by that. I never got the obsession with him in that role to be honest. He is a fine actor, who delivered some good performances (Pleasantville being a movie I absolutely love) but he never felt right in the role (the writing for the character is also to blame). He does a fine early Peter Parker, nerdy and awkward, though he never feels like the genius Peter is supposed to be. He also barely grows as a character. But his Peter is not the problem, though he sounds incredibly whiney sometimes. It’s his Spidey I can’t take seriously. The Spider-Man persona is supposed to be witty, sarcastic, an over confident jokester. He just comes off as awkward and trying too hard, the issue of terrible dialogue also comes in here.
James Franco feels weirdly out of place as Harry and acts like such a douche that it’s hard to believe Peter would even be friends with him and Kirsten Dunst is so bland as Mary Jane, she is sadly reduced to damsel in distress and McLoveInterest (gets kidnapped in every single movie). I also don’t see any chemistry between Maguire and Dunst. Yes, that one kiss scene is iconic, but it’s hardly a marker for actual chemistry.
Willem Dafoe is obviously perfect as Norman Osborne. I mean he is hilariously whacky and completely over the top, but he just goes with it. And how he goes with it. He makes weird faces, weird noises, does weird voices and embraces every part of his character with the most commitment one can ask for. He is also the only one seemingly aware how campy the movie is and therefore the only one not as dull as a brick wall.
The dialogue is probably the real issue here though. Look, I can take camp but it’s ridiculous. Maybe Raimi drank some of the George Lucas cool aid, but we were one “Sand Monologue" away from complete disaster. Or no, scratch that. "It’s You who is out Gobby, out of your mind" is equally as bad.
I probably sound like I’m hating the movie but I really don’t. I can appreciate it as a campy, over the top, melodramatic superhero soap opera. I enjoy watching it. I enjoy it for what it is. I also think it’s overhyped, because of its nostalgic value.
The Good:
The Bad:
Verdict:
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man began the new era of superhero movies, but nostalgia has made us forget about the dated action scenes, bland performances and simplistic storytelling.
I hadn't seen this is a very long time, and though I appreciated the memes it has spawned (it's actually what got me to run it back from my ancient Netflix watch progress point so I could watch Willem Dafoe say "You know, I'm something of a scientist myself") I actually ended up watching the whole thing to the end, from that point, laughing and feeling the whole time. It's one of those films that's a lot funnier in middle age, now that I can appreciate the postmodern, flawed-hero goofiness fully. The maniacal glee this film takes is a welcome cold bucket of water, and Dafoe and Simmons fully earn their place in the sparse pantheon of great antagonists. There were several points where both the script, and Dafoe's performance, just sent my sides into orbit—moments that most films of the superhero genre would expect you to take completely seriously (including the MCU proper, which jams its perfunctory jokes ill-fittingly into scenes, while also expecting you to take them seriously) but this film doesn't make jokes. It has humor; and that makes all the difference. I couldn't properly appreciate it as a kid when the films came out, but now I love the self-aware, intentional tonal dissonance; it's playing to two types of audience at once, and is fully aware of what it is, and how ridiculous it is.
There are some awkward edits that I can see what Raimi was going for, but that didn't quite work, but those are mere blemishes, and only last a second or two, but the narrative remains compelling until the end, and makes sure to pull out a left hook just when you were thinking that the story would reach a lull. Great fun, and the touching moments (with May, Ben, and tortured weeb princess Mary Jane) still got to me despite the general bombastic looney tunes nature of the plot. There's also some biting bits of real life dysfunction and hardship (mainly with MJ) and some painfully realistic and relatable situations and scenes with Parker and his gameless dweeb self. Though the film didn't exactly make it as much about Mary Jane as it did Peter, it still went a ways into humanizing and taking the "prettiest girl in school" off of the pedestal and showing that she's just a person, too—with problems, family issues, and insecurities. Not bad for a film with a cackling, glider-riding mad man that throws incinerating pumpkin bombs and terrorizes old ladies in the midst of their nighttime prays.
"FINISH IT!!"
I grew up watching this movie, it is very nostalgic. I was afraid that I might not enjoy this one so much now, but it still remains a great film. Glad it did!
I really like Tobey, he might not bring to table the most talkative Spidey, but he certainly portrait his essence and Peter’s as well so good. Many people aren’t much into Kirsten Dunst in these movies, I’m not biggest fan too either, but she's decent. Willem Dafoe does a tremendous job, he is scary and put some psychopath facial expressions — and I like his Power Rangers’ villain outfit no matter what everyone says although his helmet doesn’t allow facial expressions. Cliff Robertson does not have a huge time on screen, he brings a great presence though, so wise and nice. “With great power comes great responsibility” are such powerful words.
Uncle Ben’s death is very sad, I could not contain my tears. You can really tell that with this moment and Uncle Ben’s words are what defines and creates Spider-Man and serves as a guideline through his whole career. This movie presents this defining moment in Peter's life in a perfect way.
I liked the action scenes. The CGI is a little bit dated, but is super acceptable. The crew did a great job with Spider-Man suit (amazing) and his stunts and acrobatic moves. Watching him web-swinging through New York is awesome.
The film has a great pacing. Danny Elfman is responsible for the soundtrack, which is simply amazing!
Also, J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson is absolutely gold.
The webslinger's first foray onto the big screen, and in many ways the grandfather of the big Marvel juggernaut that's been chewing up the box office for the last decade. Sam Raimi's vision of Spidey and his pals is true to the essence of the character, with a vibe that's often reminiscent of his '60s debut, while still feeling modern and serious when needed.
It boasts an extremely effective cast, despite selecting a few actors I don't usually enjoy. Tobey Maguire makes an appropriately awkward, plucky Peter Parker. Kirsten Dunst is sweet and charming as his lifelong next-door crush. James Franco shows range as the troubled best friend. J.K. Simmons was positively born for his bit role as the hot-headed J. Jonah Jameson. And, of course, Willem Dafoe brings a fantastically expressive act in the villainous role of Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin (though he's often, sadly, relegated to mere voice work behind a stiff, metal mask).
It has spirit and humor and character, but it also has a habit of over-reaching and a wince-worthy tendency for ridiculously awful dialog. Even in print, it can be tough to keep this character from sounding corny and stilted, and in live action that's doubly difficult. The script constantly trips and stumbles over itself, trying and failing to seem cute and off-the-cuff, and Raimi's direction (itself known to lean on the cheesy side) always has the actors winking at the camera while their puns are falling flat.
The plot is solid, planting handfuls of seeds for future storylines while effectively setting up the current conflict, though it does have a nasty habit of over-indulgence. A double backflip during a schoolyard fistfight, for example, when the leap alone would've been enough. That kind of exaggeration is all over the place, and not only isn't it necessary, it actively ruins the immersion. I remembered really enjoying this upon its release, and it's still entertaining viewing, but much of it hasn't aged well, particularly in light of its modern counterparts.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-11-17T05:17:54Z
[6.0/10] There’s time when Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films feel like the closest thing we’ll ever get to a fully live action Looney Tunes adaptation. And in a weird way, that makes the director a good fit for comic book movies. The four-color adventures found in the comics pages were often larger than life, particularly in the era of stories 2002’s Spider-Man is drawing from. Raimi’s able to capture that in his translation of the web-head to the big screen, with exaggerated figures, wild action, and a big toy box sensibility to the whole project.
But as a consequence, the whole movie feels, well, pretty cartoony. That’s not a bad thing, necessarily. There’s room in the superhero cinematic diet for camp, and wackiness, and colorful set pieces hither and yon. The problem is that Raimi and company also want to make an emotional film, where we’re moved by the loss of Peter’s Uncle, Ben; invested in his crush on his nextdoor neighbor and childhood dream girl, Mary Jane, and compelled by the complicated paternal relationships of Norman Osborn. Spider-Man tries to have it both ways and fails.
I think that’s why I struggled to connect with this movie as a kid, despite being right in the target audience for it. There’s a ton to like here in terms of style and visuals. Some of the CGI hasn’t aged especially well, but it wowed at the time, and still retains its charms today. Raimi still has an eye for movement in particular, so there’s a fun campiness to Spidey doing parkour off of parade balloons, a cool factor to him dodging blades like he’s in The Matrix, and panache when goes hand-to-hand with the Green Goblin.
At times, the green screening stands out, but in an age of more practical effects, Peter saving M.J.’s lunch or flipping through a fight with Flash or going toe-to-toe with a pro wrestler has more immediacy to it. Raimi and his team know how to stage and cut these scenes for maximum impact, to where you can see the traces of his Army of Darkness-esque splatterfests even in a squarely mainstream release. They’re far and away the highlight of the film.
The other side of the coin is that this level of exaggeration extends to the characters and the dialogue and everything else that’s supposed to make you feel something amid these heightened reality adventures. The characters are oversimplified. The performances are unconvincing. And the stories are done in such a cheesy manner that they have next to no force.
The prime offender here is Tobey Maguire as Spidey himself. It’s funny, I remember liking his performance in Spider-Man 2 and even Spider-Man 3, but he’s downright terrible here. His Peter just has this strange, flat affect through everything, and his line-reads make it sound like he has the same tone of mild surprise in each delivery. Maguire’s trying to play younger and awkward, but the results just land on off-putting or unconvincing. There’s no charm to his Spider-Man, and no believability in his attempts to play a dorky eighteen-year-old kid. Maguire has some chops -- he ugly cries well in one of the few genuinely affecting scenes here -- but when he’s called upon to say dialogue or react like a human being to the moment, he falls woefully short.
His opposite, and the real saving grace of the film, is Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. Make no mistake, he is absolutely chewing the scenery at every turn. But Dafoe is one of the few performers able to modulate his performance with the movie, channeling that exaggeration to different modes to where he seems genuinely menacing, pathetic, insane, and reprehensible depending on which guise he’s in. (The other, of course, is J.K. Simmons’ brilliant take on J. Jonah Jameson.) Dafeo throws himself into an oversized role with gusto, and it makes him the most memorable part of this thing.
Even then, there’s an undercurrent of unrelenting cheese that runs through Spider-Man. Green Goblin isn’t a human being losing his grip on reality as the urge for revenge and thirst for power consumes him. He’s just a cackling baddie who causes mischief and mayhem for mayhem’s sake. The movie wants to have it both ways, but can’t deliver on the solid idea at the core of the character, instead losing him in a wash of cartoonish evil and maniacal laughter.
Then again, maybe it’s not Raimi’s fault. Maybe it was just the style at the time. One of the most striking things of revisiting this movie so many years later is how utterly disconnected it feels from the post-Batman Begins lean towards realism in superhero cinema. Instead, it’s indebted to Tim Burton’s Batman ‘89 and its progeny, with a version of New York City that feels like a giant playset, a sense of being a throwback despite a nominal present day setting, and in the tradition of Jack Nicholson as The Joker, a celebrity villain there to go full ham at every turn. It’s easy to forget the strain of comic movie Hollywood was chasing before grittier films changed the game, but Spider-Man scans as a very of a piece with Burton’s batty blockbusters.
But while the early Batman films could be messy, they’re not as disjointed as this first Spider-Man film. Raimi’s 2002 release is basically two movies in one: (1.) Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man and (2.) Spider-Man fights the Green Goblin. The two parts of the plot don’t really have much to do with one another. Peter’s loss of his uncle and the fable that teaches him to follow Ben’s principles are all but disconnected from his later skirmishes with the film’s villain.
Screenwriter David Koepp tries to thread in Peter’s relationships with Mary Jane and Harry Osborn to connect the two halves. But the truth is that Spidey’s arc is basically over at the halfway point of the movie. Everything that comes after is basically a separate adventure. The best you can say for the structure is that it’s a way to capture the episodic nature of the original comic books in miniature.
The only connection between the two is a thematic one. As the film’s voiceover practically beats the audience over the head regarding, the message of Spider-Man is that with great power, comes great responsibility. Peter thinks his enhanced abilities are a way to feather his own nest: earn money for cool cars and fancy dates to impress the girl of his dreams. But he sees that when treating bad deeds as “not my problem,” people get hurt, and his burden as a hero is to see to it that no one else has to suffer the same sort of loss. He’s humbled, rather than arrogant, when he levels up.
That contrasts him with Green Goblin, who sees power as something that confers privilege and right, rather than responsibility. Norman’s a good foe for Peter given their contrasts. Rich versus poor. Confident vs. hesitant. But most importantly, someone who sees special abilities as a reason to dominate others versus someone who sees them as a way to help them.
The closest thing to a major throughline between the two parts of the story comes in Peter rejecting Norman as a devilish father figure, because he’s already embracing the angelic one who’s no longer with him. There’s meat in that idea. It’s fueled Spidey stories across mediums for decades. Sadly, though, Spider-Man only grazes its potential, rather than fully capitalizes on it.
The other major problem is that the movie is, apart from its broader machinations, a love story that doesn’t really work. The film wants the viewers to invest in Peter’s romance with Mary Jane, without really doing the work to have it make any sense. We never really understand why Peter likes M.J., beyond the fact that she’s the pretty girl at school who’s nice to him every now and again. It’s more clear why M.J. would like Peter -- he does the nice guy shtick and cares about her goals and interests. But while Kirsten Dunst does a solid job in the role, the chemistry between them isn’t particularly strong, and Maguire’s stilted performances submerges all boats.
Worse yet, Mary Jane seems...not great as a potential romantic partner? Her two competing love interests here are the one-dimensional jerky jock, Flash Thompson, and Harry Osborn, who’s mostly reduced to being a mumbling douchebag who treats her like a trophy. (Not for nothing, rather than being Peter’s loyal best friend, Harry seems like a prick who steals his good pal’s crush and then hides it.) If you squint, you can read some subtext about the fact that her dad is also an asshole, and like Peter, she comes from a poor family, so there’s psychological reasons why she might gravitate toward wealthy jerks. In the text though, there's not much of a conflict since she seems attracted to self-evidently terrible dudes.
More to the point, she’s a pretty awful girlfriend. While she’s dating (and seemingly committed to) Harry, she flirts with Peter and practically dares him to steal her away, and later makes out with Spider-Man. (Granted, that’s just one guy, but she doesn’t know that.) We’re supposed to think Peter and Mary Jane are destined to be, because that’s the canonical pairing from the comics and dear Aunt May practically decrees it so. But there’s very little in what we see to suggest this would be a healthy or successful relationship. That isn’t the worst thing in the world. Plenty of movies have unconvincing romances. Except that Spider-Man hinges a solid portion of the movie on this one.
Still, it gets credit for not going all the way with it. The deftest choice the film makes is to have Peter get the thing he wants, M.J.’s affections, only to decide, in the end, that he can’t accept them, because after what happened to her and his aunt and uncle, he can’t let anyone get close to him lest they become hurt. It speaks to a central truth of the Spider-Man character -- that even when he wins, he loses, to where even good deeds and triumphs end in sacrifices and personal tragedies. Raimi and company get the spirit of the character right, even if the execution on a scene to scene basis is variable at best.
Much of that comes from the fact that Spider-Man is downright hokey most of the time. There’s little in the way of lived-in humanity. Instead, everything from costume-building montages to screeches of The Lord’s Prayer to doofy visions of Goblin’s chortling visage trends toward the cornball. The movie succeeds in encompassing the outlandish possibilities of its genre, but very little of it is grounded enough to move you.
And yet, there’s exceptions, little moments that show glimpses of a film more rooted in real emotions and experiences despite the grand ambit of superhero tales. The heartbreaking last exchange between Peter and Uncle Ben, the police officer who tells Spidey to “just go” when he’s supposed to arrest the wall-crawler but sees the good he could do, even Norman’s simple “Oh” before he’s impaled by his glider reflect small injections of humanity in this otherwise up-to-eleven project. Too often, Spider-Man goes for big emotions and stumbles amid the melodrama, but has greater success when it aims for smaller moments like these.
The best you can say is that the 2002 Spider-Man film is true to the tone of its source material. Most modern day superhero movies are adaptations, efforts that attempt to take a fresh look at these old stories and reshape them to fit modern sensibilities of storytelling and presentation. Raimi, on the other hand, offers more of a translation, something faithful to the big bold conventions and stylistic choices of the comics from which Spidey sprang. The approaches that worked in 1962 don’t necessarily succeed forty years later, let alone sixty. But successful or not, you have to admire the devotion in the attempt, even when the results are more attuned to ink and paint than flesh and blood.