Spider-Man (2002) Review

In anticipation for the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming I've decided to re-watch and (hopefully) review all of the previous Spider-Man films...

     Spider-Man is directed by Sam Raimi and stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, William Dafoe, and James Franco. I won't bore you with the plot details as most of you are probably familiar with Spider-Man's origin story.

     I have a somewhat weird relationship with this movie. I did not see it in theaters in its original theatrical run though I was about the right age for it (nine years old). It wasn't until many years later when I started to become interested in superheroes that I finally saw it. I really liked it on my first viewing. even more then its more highly acclaimed sequel in fact. As time went on, however, I became disenchanted with it, partly because of my changing perception of the character via my exposure to him in comics (Brian Micheal Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man), television shows (The Spectacular Spider-Man), and other film adaptions (Marc Webb's contentious Amazing Spider-Man) and partly because I saw it as being dated in comparison to more mature superhero fare like Bryan Singer's X-Men films or Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. More recently I have become more familiar with classic Spider-Man comics and with Sam Raimi's filmography, and have begun to tire of the many gritty reboots of older properties represented by the likes of the DC Extended Universe and the aforementioned Marc Webb Spider-Man films. Coming back to Spider-Man with this mindset gave me a new appreciation for the film.

     David Koepp's screenplay does a good job getting into the psychology of the character. Peter Parker is a kid who's been marginalized and overlooked for most of his life. On suddenly attaining great power Peter at first tries to use it for his own self-aggrandizement but when this leads to a terrible loss, the death of his Uncle Ben, he realizes too late the importance of his uncle's words, "with great power, comes great responsibility." He also seems, at times, to desire a parent who can relate to him more. He clearly loves Uncle Ben and Aunt May but in some ways he associates there old fashion sensibilities with his own social awkwardness. In Norman Osborn he sees a potential father figure who is good at science, is financially successful, and who has shown him care and respect. Throughout the film Norman offers Peter a different path, both by offering him a job as Norman Osborn and by asking Spider-Man to join him as the Green Goblin. Peter continually turns him down choosing instead to honor the memory of his real father figure, Uncle Ben.

     The romance between Peter and May Jane, an often derided aspect of this film, works much better then I remember. Some point out that MJ seems kind of like a gold digger, moving from the school football star to a rich heir, to a superhero throughout the course of the film (and then an astronaut in Spider-Man 2). In many ways I think that's because this is an image projected onto her by others. Her father believes she'll turn out the same way as the mother who abandoned her. Flash Thompson basically treats her like a trophy girlfriend, the homecoming queen who every guy wants to be with. Harry treats her with more respect but seems to hold her to impossibly high standards, and she feels the need to cover up her crummy job to him. Meanwhile his father, whose wife is also absent for reasons unexplained, thinks that she is only dating Harry for his money. She ultimately breaks up with him becomes he refuses to stick up for her in front of his father. The reason she is attracted to Spider-Man initially is because he seems to go out of his way to try and protect her. Similarly, she ultimately falls in love with Peter because he is the only one who supports her and loves her for who she is. Peter idolizes Mary Jane, which is believable for a sociably awkward teenager, but slowly gets to know her better through the course of the film, seeing that she has her own flaws and failings, and this only makes him love her more. He ultimately rejects her love, sacrificing his happiness in order to protect her, reinforcing the film's theme of responsibility. This could be problematic, robbing Mary Jane of her own self determination, but this film is ultimately about Peter and is told from his perspective. The sequel will tackle this issue head on.

     Sam Raimi is easily one of the most unique director to helm a superhero film and it's easy to see his directorial imprint all over this film. He brings a lot of energy and quirkiness to the movie that feels really refreshing in an age of studio-mandated, assembly-line comic book fare. He also clearly has a lot of reverence for the source material, lifting iconic moments from the comics while embellishing them with his own directorial flourishes. His direction is greatly enhanced by Danny Elfman's awesome score, probably one of my favorite written for a superhero movie. His title theme, the motif for Spider-Man himself, contains three different melodies, each reflecting a different aspect of the characters personality: the tragic, the heroic, and the swashbuckling. These themes, along with motifs for other characters, are woven throughout the film, reinforcing the storytelling.

     The casting for Spider-Man is really strong all around. Toby Maguire is a revelation as the titular character, bringing just the right amount of pathos, awkwardness, and genuine humanity to the role. William Dafoe is also great as Norman Osborn, stealing every scene he's in with his theatrical performance. The green goblin costume for this movie looks pretty silly, and is rather constricting, but Dafoe manages to breath life into the iconic villain despite this. James Franco is really solid as Harry Osborn, imbuing the character with his own unique sense of awkwardness and charm. Kirsten Dunst is certainly the weakest of the main cast, though she does manage to evoke Mary Jane's vulnerability while still making her likable. The supporting cast is really great as well. Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris seem instantly iconic as Uncle Ben and Aunt May and J.K. Simmons simply is J. Jonah Jameson.

     With all that said, Spider-Man is still a flawed film. David Koepp is a pretty good writer, but he often struggles when it comes to dialogue and this film is no exception. Groaners like "Aunt May, is that an angel" are unfortunately all too common in this film's script. Also, while I appreciate the thematic significance of Spider-Man's rivalry with the Green Goblin, the villain often seems to lack a clear motivation outside of destroying Spider-Man and attaining more power. This is definitely one area where the film is not able to transcend it's source material. Finally, while some of the special effects hold up pretty well others are dated and, to be frank, even by 2002 standards they look pretty bad.

     Spider-Man really changed the game for the superhero genre. It was the first film since Richard Donner's Superman to really embrace its source material and it captured the feel of a comic book like no film before it ever had. Despite some cheesy dialogue and dated effects it still holds up really well as a highly entertaining and emotionally resonant entry into an ever growing genre.

Score: 9/10