Spider-Man

Spider-Man came out at the perfect time and made great strides for the comic book adaptation. Around this time, comic book movies were still ridiculed by many and those who led films based on their content rarely tried to bring something interesting, unique, or even intelligent to the table, resulting in a ton of forgettable, poorly handled comic book movies from both Marvel and DC. While the 90s took the brunt of the assault, little glimmers started to come through near the end of the century that showed the capacity of what could be done with a comic book film, with the three in question being the 1998 film Steve Norrington film, Blade, the Bryan Singer X-Men film released in the year 2000, and the Sam Raimi Spider-Man film released in 2002. While none of these films were flawless, they were the bricks that laid out the groundwork for the superhero revolution that would come later down the line, and Spider-Man was the one that most people held in the highest regard. Mild-mannered and incredibly nerdy high school student Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire) finds his mediocre life suddenly uplifted when he gets bitten by a genetically enhanced spider, gifting him with the abilities of a spider, like climbing on walls, fast reflexes and senses, and the ability to shoot webs from his hands. He is forced to accept the weight and responsibilities of his powers after his Uncle Ben (played by Cliff Robertson) is killed after a carjacking, which leads him to become New York’s resident hero. As this is going on, scientist and founder of Oscorp, Norman Osborn (played by Willem Dafoe) tests out a new performance-enhancing chemical on himself which accidentally gifts him with a split personality, which eventually drives him insane and turns him into the Green Goblin. Now creating havoc across the city and taking pleasure in tormenting Spider-Man specifically after he learns of his true identity, Peter takes on the duty of city defender and is forced to confront The Green Goblin in order to protect those that he loves, including his Aunt May (played by Rosemary Harris) and his love interest, Mary Jane Watson (played by Kirsten Dunst). Becoming the most popular Superhero movie at the time, Spider-Man won over critics and audiences very quickly and gave the general public a glimpse into the comic book world that was corny, but handled with a modicum of respect so that it didn’t feel completely mindless. It became a treasured memory for those that grew up with it and eventually led to various other iterations of the titular web crawler along with many other so-to-be popular faces. With that said, how much of this film has held up once the nostalgia googles are removed?

Since the genre of comic books was still viewed under this lens of goofiness, choosing to portray a Spider-Man story at this time had amazing promise and could fit within the tone while also expanding beyond it; since it balances the fun energetic passion of being an everyday superhero while also mixing it with the harsher more depressing truths of what the costs are when partaking in that kind of crime-fighting, The original comics created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko were able to create a timeless character that could simultaneously act as a comforting fun superhero for many to look up to, while also making him a figure that feels akin to something out of a Greek tragedy; someone who can never be truly happy and is constantly being pushed further and further, but continues moving forward for the good of others. With this in mind, the plot for this film is pretty straightforward, but is fused with that simple yet memorable personality that makes it a pretty effective origin story, incorporating elements of both sides into the film decently enough that it acts as a nice starting point to develop and mature from afterwards. While there are scenes that do slow the pacing of the film and often divert the message away from its original purpose, those select scenes that further the basic premise and key theology of what Spider-Man is are easy to grasp and unforgettable because of it. The goofier cheesy tone of the film is one that can be a bit mixed in terms of how people can perceive it; on the one hand, the writing of the film done by David Koepp is laughably bad for a general superhero movie, with romantic lines feeling like pre-school level banter, quips and jabs that are unbelievably stupid and annoying (which is unfortunate for a character that is known for his pretty good one-liners), and an awkward tone to the dialogue that would make someone like George Lucas embarrassed. While Spider-Man can be goofy, this pushes it to an extreme degree and ironically feels like a side-effect of Raimi’s direction, who is able to comprehend the seriousness of specific factions of the story and treat them with enough respect to make them iconic but can’t help himself in regards to his zany presentation and makes everything else feel a little unnatural, and not all of it works out. But on the other hand, the writing and directing does fit with how the story has laid itself out, so it never feels out of place or ruins the mood; it’s a strange mix where the writing is perfect for the awkward tone the film created, but not necessarily for the essence of the character. The only moment of the film that really steps down in terms of its story is the last act, where it recaptures a famous scene from the comics with no build-up or suspense, offers nothing impactful or memorable outside of referencing a big scene, and is only used not for thematic purposes, but rather to mirror an iconic spider-man moment.

With a character as infamous as Spider-Man, the choice for the role is a pretty huge task to not only put on the actor in question, but the overall film as the movie will revolve around how well the actor chosen can work off of everything. The eventual choice, Tobey Maguire, did an adequate enough job as half of the role. What that means is he is able to capture the dorky anti-social side of Peter Parker rather perfectly, even being able to incorporate some of his monotone delivery and horrible lines into the performance and make it work fair enough. As Spider-Man, he doesn’t work quite as well largely due to the poor writing and the confident jokey side of the character being largely non-existent, leaving the role feeling slightly off and not fully perfected. The villain is also a very mixed bag in terms of handling; as the character is given practically no connection with the hero, sports a pretty stupid looking outfit and Norman Osborn is not given any sympathy because the character was never shown outside of a one- dimensional jerk. With that said, Willem Dafoe as the Goblin is a pure joy to witness; even if it’s over the top and incredibly silly, the excitement and entertainment he delivers while on-screen is unparalleled, he’s like the Wicked Witch of the West with how silly he can be, he’s a really delight to watch. Other side actors like Rosemary Harris, Cliff Robertson and especially J.K. Simmons are also very well acted and add nice touches of character to the overall movie despite their limited roles. Mary Jane in this movie is not a character, she is a plot device (only a character’s girlfriend). She does not have an inch of character despite the comics eventually giving her a fun spitfire, hyper energized persona, her writing is horribly bland, she does not do anything outside of play with other guys non-stop and she only exists in the movie for Spider-Man to save her. Kirsten Dunst is a great choice for the role and has proven to be a great actress in other material but can’t do much to save what is a complete failure of a character.

Mixing the introduction of bringing back comic book movies with this new and foreign technology known as CGI at the time was something that sounded good on paper, but like most movies of the time, could also as easily backfire. While in Blade and X-Men, they used the effects okay, here these were bad even for the time period, with CG models that made characters look like Woody the Cowboy and city backdrops that while cool in principle have not aged well at all. While some elements are fun like the spider-sense and it does at least have an awkward charm to its outdatedness that it doesn’t feel cynical, the films would thankfully get better with effects from here on. The action is also an element that could have been improved on a lot more; with a lot of the instances having great locations for fights but provide stunts and performers that look like something out of Power Rangers rather than a Superhero film. The only two that felt up to quality were an early wrestling match, which used the camera angles to create a fun fast action set piece, and the final brawl in the ruins of a building which had a nice set and felt like a real fight. Getting someone like Sam Raimi to do this movie does allow for a lot of creative and fun camera tricks filled with cool angles, fun if cheesy transitions and a noticeable style that would not be forgotten, and while he would be able to get some creepier elements and angles into later films, this one feels like its specifically made for the kids and utilizes bright and happy shots and angles. The music by Danny Elfman is also very iconic and delivers a very iconic theme that feels grand in scale, but also clearly a tune that fits within the superhero universe through its theatrical strings and rhythm.

The bottom line is that even with all the other versions that have come and gone, been rebooted, and readjusted to fit different styles, tones and directions, people do still seem to hold the Raimi franchise in a positive light.  Not for how much it challenged the comic book norm or rewrote the way they can be viewed in a cinematic light, but that they were fluffy enjoyable stories that while silly, knew how to connect to both adults and kids, and that is how this movie has changed for the better over the years. This movie is not a Dark Knight or a Superman or any of the greats, but it understands that and just enjoys being its own cheesy thing, and that commitment is surprisingly admirable. Even with the film’s flaws, it does give a nice opener for a lot of amazing films later on and does contain enough positives to balance out the more glaring negatives, it may surprise you with what it can offer. Probably best to start with the far superior sequel, but as a film goes without the mindset of wanting something brave and daring, this is a fun movie that will offer you exactly what you want. Not perfect, but practically none of them are (apart from Spider-verse), Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man makes just that right amount of Spider-sense.