Review of Spider-Man (2002) by Tim W — 24 Apr 2014

The year was 2002. Superhero movies were a dead medium outside of 2000's X Men, and here comes Sam Raimi, best known for horror films, to direct a blockbuster movie about a man who gains the powers of a spider. Fast forward to 2014 and we are a week away from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which is the second of four movies this year to feature superheroes. Although the original Spider-Man is not solely responsible for reviving the superhero movie, but a lion's share of the credit needs to be handed to it.

Before popping in my old DVD for Spider-Man, I really expected some of the nostalgia to rub off after some of the great special effects heavy superhero movies we have seen in the last few years. I am happy to say that I was wrong. I still had fun with this movie. Watching this as an adult, I can appreciate this movie for what it is.

At its heart, this is a movie about a guy and a girl. The guy is Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, the nerd-turned-superhero. Maguire has taken heat for his portrayal as Parker from my fellow nerds, but I believe that under Raimi's direction in Spider-Man, he portrays the Peter Parker written by Stan Lee back in the early days of the character. And the girl is Kirsten Dunst playing The Girl Next Door, Mary Jane Watson, who is written just like she was in the old comic books, as everyone's dream girlfriend except really, really shallow. But that doesn't matter, because Peter Parker is destined for greater things! After he is bitten by a genetically altered "Super Spider", Peter gains the powers of this super spider to become Spider-Man. But, look out! Norman Osborn, played by the great William Dafoe, is working on a super soldier serum to sell to the military. Testing it on himself, the experiment goes terribly wrong and he loses his mind, becoming our hero's frightening flying foe, The Green Goblin. Peter learns responsibility through tragedy, and so our hero must stand in the way of all who oppose justice. Excelsior!

But through the spine of this comic book story line was Peter Parker and Mary Jane. Mary Jane is not Peter's girlfriend. Mary Jane is dating Harry Osborn, son of Norman and best friend to Peter. But Mary Jane is not in love with Harry, she's in love with Spider-Man-- a love triangle with practically four people. In the end, Peter has to decide what his responsibility is as Spider-Man when it comes to Mary Jane-- does his close relationship to her put her in danger, or does he need to be close in order to protect her?

What made this movie stand out in 2002 was that it was a movie about people. Peter Parker felt like a real character. Up until that time, superhero movies had not done this too well. Anyone feel any connection to Bruce Wayne as played by Val Kilmer or George Clooney? I didn't think so. This was the first time a banner superhero was put into a realistic setting for general audiences to see, and it was a massive success. Sometimes I wonder if our superhero movies today have lost this simplicity.

I was surprised watching this movie how little CGI was used. There is hardly any at all, which you would rarely ever see in a superhero movie, or any action movie for that matter. Most of the effects in Spider-Man were practical, and most of them still looked good. Maybe this simplicity is part of the reason why the movie still holds up today. Everyone likes a love story. Everyone likes a coming-of-age story-- a story about being a better person. Does it tightrope on the line of corny? Of course, but that is all part of its charm. Spider-Man did not need amazing computer generated visuals to maintain itself, because it had real heart. And although it has dropped in the list of my favorite comic book movies, there will always be a place in my heart for Spider-Man.

EDIT: After publishing, I realized that I forgot to mention JK Simmons as J Jonah Jameson. I am ashamed of myself. Keeping it short, JK Simmons is Jameson. Jameson is JK. The man was perfect in the role.

Final Grade: B+.