| Spider-Man (2002) | |
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Rating: 7.4/10 (874,704 votes) Director: Sam Raimi Writer: Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, David Koepp Stars: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe Runtime: 121 min Rated: PG-13 Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Released: 03 May 2002 |
| Plot: After being bitten by a genetically-modified spider, a shy teenager gains spider-like abilities that he uses to fight injustice as a masked superhero and face a vengeful enemy. | |
In the wake of the recently rebooted franchise, it is easy to approach Raimi’s first outing with rose-tinted glasses, and mock the mistakes of Amazing Spider-Man 2. But, take off those glasses for a moment and it becomes clear that Raimi’s first outing isn’t as good as we like to remember.
No doubt a few of you are already screaming abuse at you computer/phone/tablet, and wondering how I dare mock this film. After all, we all know it was the third Spider-Man film that was bad, and that wasn’t Raimi’s fault! How dare I cast stones at this glorious first outing? Well, let me clear something up – I’m not saying this is a bad film, and I genuinely do enjoy it, but it has many flaws to it which prevent it from being a great film. It’s also important to remember that the second outing was exponentially better, and is (perhaps) one of the finest comic book films of our era (whereas the second in the new franchise is forgettable fluff).
For those who have lived under a rock for the past decade and a bit, Spider-Man tells the story of young Peter Parker, school geek, and insecure boffin, who finds his whole life turned upside down (literally) when a bite from a super-spider changes him. Nope…he doesn’t grow 8 legs (that was the Peter Parker of Earth 666 for those who like to keep track of the Marvel Multi-verse numbering), but instead finds that he has the proportionate strength of a spider, the ability to cling to any surface, and a unique spider-sense. Also the ability to shoot webs from his wrist, in a liberty taking addition to his powers by Raimi.
At the same time, Norman Osborne is slowly turning mad, and becomes the Green Goblin, a flying maniac who throws explosive pumpkin-bombs around with manic glee. Throw in a love interest in the form of Mary Jane Watson, and you have classic comic book story telling.
So, what works? Well, the cast are well chosen. Tobey Maguire plays the classic book-nerd Parker of the early comics perfectly, being the butt of everyone’s jokes, and socially awkward. Willem Dafoe plays a smirking, overbearing Osborne with relish, and whilst he never seems as stoic and mysteriously sinister as his comic book counterpart (it is safe to say that Dafoe looks insane from the very first shot, whilst in the comics Osborne can be quite convincingly sane at times), he does play a movie villain role well. Not to forget JK Simmons as J Jonah Jameson, stealing scenes with aplomb. The only weak member of the cast is James Franco who plays Harry Osborne. He just seems lost and (literally) wasted in the part – a trick the actor would go on to use with more success in stoner comedies such as Pineapple Express or This Is The End.
The film is vibrant and energetic, with a colour palette ripped right from the pages of a comic book. The origin tale flows swiftly, never dragging, and it does a good job of introducing the character and support over the first half of the film. Throw in a catchy score by Danny Elfman, and the formula is there for a great film.
But there are issues, some of which became more apparent after the recent reboot. Whilst the character of Parker is right, the wit and banter of the alter-ego is lacking. Maybe when this film came out it didn’t matter so much that Spidey wasn’t as wisecracking as his comic book counterpart as we were just glad to see him in action on the big screen, but the recent reboot brought that element back and now it just seems wrong to not be there. Then there’s the matter of the effects, which haven’t aged well at all. In fact, even on release they were unconvincing at times, with some really ropey CGI work letting down the action. Whilst back then we could overlook the effect quality and just be caught up in the excitement and fluidity of the sequences, now it doesn’t endear as much. As for ‘that’ Goblin costume! Much was said on release of the film about the ‘Power Ranger’ nature of the Green Goblin, and even today it is hard to understand why Raimi chose such an approach over a rubberised mask, especially given how much of a classic villain fan Raimi is. If you compare the handling of Goblin with how Raimi handled the other classic villains, Sandman and Doc Ock, you get the feeling that either he went a little crazy, or someone in the head office had a bit too much of a say in the design (maybe wanting plastic masks to be a big seller on the shelves at Christmas). The costume also means that Dafoe is lost under the mask, which is a shame as his own features would have been perfectly goblinesque with only minor prosthetics. That said, the poor design of the goblin here is a damned sight better than the dreadful Rhino of recent years!
As a franchise starter, and an origin tale, Spider-Man does a decent enough job, and is a light easy watch (well, except when Macy Gray pops up in one of the most bizarre, unnecessary cameo moments of recent history). But, and I know I risk fan-boy rage at this point, I feel that the 2012 reboot did a better job of telling the same tale, albeit with Lizard instead of Goblin. Spider-Man is a decent film to re-watch, but has lost some of the magic over the years.
