Spider-Man (2002)

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Thanks to Josh Noonan for requesting this review! Recently, we were gifted with Spider-Man: No Way Home, an excellent blast from the past which exceeded everyone's expectations. Winding the clock back to 2002, however, and all we have is the film that skyrocketed Spider-Man to fame. Directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, and J.K. Simmons, I must admit I have a huge soft spot for this film. I grew up watching it and I even saw Spider-Man 3 (2007) in theaters as a child. I definitely think that Tobey Maguire is the best Spider-Man of all time!

The film opens with the familiar superhero-style opening credits of the early 2000s. The type that are excellently made and visually satisfying. We are introduced to Peter Parker (Maguire), via his voice narrating the beginning and end of the film, an awkward, nerdy, outcast in high school who is the butt of every joke by everyone in school. With the exception of two people; his best friend, Harry Osborne (Franco, RIP his career) and Mary Jane Watson (Dunst), his next door neighbor whom he has been in love with since he was young. Harry is not particularly well liked either, despite having an extremely wealthy father, Norman (Dafoe), owner and CEO of a defense contractor, OSCORP. Norman is a mild-mannered and friendly, yet work-driven, man who is quite fond of Peter, much to the chagrin of the neglected Harry.

Here's where there are some problems. While I thoroughly enjoy the acting of Maguire and Franco, they are very obviously too old to be playing high school kids. They look like they could have wives and children at home. Dunst kind of passes for a high schooler, however, considering she was far younger than the other two.

You all know the story: on a class trip, Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider and develops powers from there. He goes home to his Aunt May (Harris) and Uncle Ben (Robertson), whom he lives with, who or where his parents are is never explained, and collapses in his bedroom. At around the same time that Parker sleeps, Norman, in danger of losing funding from the U.S. Military, experiments a super soldier formula on himself. It works, but it creates a devastating side effect: an insane split personality known as "The Goblin." Norman kills a fellow scientist and steals a glider and goblin suit. The next morning, Peter wakes up to discover that he no longer needs glasses, is significantly more in shape, has superhuman senses and strength, can climb walls, and can shoot webs. Norman, meanwhile, wakes up at home with only a vague memory of what happened. A deviation from the original comic book is Spider-Man shooting webs from his...wrists? In the comics, he created a web shooter. Not a big deal, but something to think about. Peter quickly embraces his powers and uses them to have fun.

The CGI in the film is obviously not as excellent today as it used to be, but is still good. The special effects throughout the film, while sometimes corny, are pretty kickass. The film is highly entertaining and has excellent acting from Dafoe, who is good in anything he does. The film is structured differently than comic book movies today but still keeps you engaged.

Peter experiences a life-changing event shortly after getting his powers. He decides to enter a pro-wrestling competition for money in order to buy a car to impress Mary-Jane. Ben drops him off at a library, where he thinks that is where Peter will be, gives him excellent advice: "With great power comes great responsibility," and leaves after Peter is rude to him. Peter goes to the event with red clothes on with a spider symbol in the front. The wrestling scenes are amazing, even more so now. In bit roles, we are given Octavia Spencer before she was famous, Bruce Campbell, a friend of Raimi's, as the ring announcer, and the wrestler that Peter wrestles, Bone Saw McGraw, is none other than legendary pro wrestler Macho Man Randy Savage. I didn't know who he was when I first saw the film and didn't even realize it later. I can't recognize him without his signature flashy clothes, hat, and sunglasses! If you hear his voice, you'll know it's him. Spider-Man defeats McGraw, but is cheated out of almost all the money by the promoter. After leaving, a criminal enters the office and robs the promoter. Peter allows him to escape with the money. Here's what I love about the film, there are so many excellent quips and one-liners by both Peter and the Goblin. Peter repeating the line "I missed the part where that's my problem" to the promoter will never get old

After leaving the building, Peter discovers that Ben has been shot and killed while waiting for him. He dons his spider suit again to track down the killer, who stole Ben's car. Peter derails the murderer's escape plans and corners him in an abandoned building where he brutally beats him before discovering that the killer is none other than the man who he let get away with the money. Something I loved about the flashback scene to the fugitive escaping is that in the original scene, the criminal thanks Peter as the door closes. In the flashback, the criminal is able to flash a smile and watch Peter for what seems like a longer time. One might consider it a mistake, but not I. I believe that it shows the audience that through one's grief, they misremember small details about memories impacted by that grief. Peter vengefully allows the man to fall to his death before fleeing.

After this event, Peter graduates high school, moves into an apartment with Harry, and dons a new spider suit, where he decides to become a crime-fighting vigilante, to mixed reactions from the public, but becoming a celebrity nonetheless. J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), a newspaper editor from The Daily Bugle, is by far the biggest critic of Spider-Man, believing that he is a menace. I've got to say that J.K. Simmons' performance is easily one of the best in this film and the following films. He has an excellent voice and look of a loudmouth blowhard. His cigar chomping character never gets old.

Meanwhile, the Goblin continues to stir up trouble by getting fatal revenge on people that have wronged Norman in some way while Norman himself struggles with his dual personality. Spider-Man earns the wrath of the Goblin when he repeatedly foils his plans and refuses to join forces with him. Norman eventually finds out the true identity of Spider-Man, putting him and his loved ones at risk.

Overall, I love this film. It's very nostalgic for me and it's very well written and acted. Unfortunately, some parts of this haven't aged well at all. A blink and you miss it moment has the World Trade Center reflected in Spider-Man's eye, less than a year AFTER the attacks. It's not an oversight, either. An early trailer had the towers prominently portrayed as well as an early poster that was recalled. Not very good. Also, while all superhero films typically have some humor in it, some of this humor is unintentionally funny or shouldn't be. Examples include Aunt May saying the Lord's prayer in her house when the Goblin attacks and has her finish the prayer, or Norman somehow finding the time to say "Oh" right before being impaled. It's corny moments like these that shouldn't be in the film. The end of the end credits also shouldn't have the old Spider-Man TV show theme, regardless of your intentions. An interesting fact about the climax is that the captain of the barge ship that saves the citizens and Mary Jane at the end is Robert Kerman...a famous ex-porn star who also starred in the highly controversial Cannibal Holocaust (1980).

All in all, as I said above, I have a big soft spot for this film. I enjoyed it recently as I have in the past. It has aged excellently for the most part and, despite its flaws, is a spectacular film that will always keep you engages. I rate the film GREAT on the scale.