Review of Spider-Man (1977) by Jim C — 10 Jul 2017

We movie-goers have now had a decade-long relationship with good'ole Spidey. We first met in cinemas ten years ago. The relationship was off to an "ok" start with the initial offering, but like most romances that are just not meant to be, some things didn't seem right. The first sequel gave us reasons to hope and the second shattered it to pieces. I am glad we had so many years off before trying it again... and it turns out, it was worth the wait.

There were three noticeable improvements. First, the cast. While the previous films have had a couple of great casting decisions (best example - Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus), they made a fatal mistake right from the start in casting Tobey Maguire for the lead role. Maguire never seemed a good fit for the web-slinging garb and the decision had put off a lot of die-hard fans (something you must NEVER do when making a comic-book adaptation!). This time around, they went with Andy Garfield. It was a gamble that paid off. Second, you'll definitely notice the improvements in special effects and CGI. The swinging between buildings and above the streets seemed real for the audience and more dangerous for Peter Parker.

And finally, the film just seemed to have more heart. The emotional connections between Parker and his family and with Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) seemed three dimensional. That was no accident. We have Director Marc Webb to thank for that. Remember his 2009 indie hit "(500) Days of Summer?" While his take on Spider-man might not be as superb as his break-out film, it was the best entry yet for what was only five years ago a very tired franchise.