Spider-Man (2002) review

Throughout the long history of Marvel Comics, few if any of their characters have achieved the level of fame and popularity that Spider-Man has. He has had a strong connection with comic book readers ever since his debut in 1962, largely due to him being a more relatable character than other superheroes as his problems were far more common and everyday than most others. With the growing popularity in superhero films over the following decades, several studios and filmmakers made numerous attempts to bring Spidey to the silver screen but none ever came to fruition; that is until 2002, when the web slinger finally made his cinematic debut thanks to Sam Raimi. The film proved to be a massive success and helped ignite the superhero craze that would later come to dominate Hollywood in the following decade. Looking at the film now, how does it shape up after twenty years?
Spider-Man is neither a perfect movie or a great one; it has a lot of problems with both its story and characters. But that being said, I think it still holds up rather well due to a combination of several factors such as great performances, affection for the source material and its solid entertainment value. Thanks to this, it's aged well and makes for a very enjoyable superhero adventure.

Getting Sam Raimi to direct the film was perhaps the best choice the studio and the producers made. Raimi has the perfect mix of genuine love for Spider-Man and a style of directing that seemed tailor made for a comic book movie. His passion for the character shines through strongly in his direction as he treats it with a high level of respect. This is reflected in the film's tone as well. A good word to describe this movie is earnest. The tone is quite cheesy and campy in some areas, but it doesn't try to hide it. It has fun with it for the most part and its earnest nature makes the film's cheesy moments and elements work for the most part, which is helped by the fact that Raimi gives it a huge heart. The upbeat tone, along with the director's genuine passion for the source material, makes Spider-Man a feel good movie that's a ton of fun to watch. In that regard it feels a lot like Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie, which Raimi sighted as an influence on all of his Spider-Man films. Indeed I think that Spider-Man is the closest any superhero movie has come to recreating the feel of Donner's Superman. The film has a terrific sense of humour as well; it's packed with so many funny lines and moments, especially in the scenes with Jameson. But while it is for the most part an upbeat movie, it does still get serious and has some weighty emotional moments, such as the death of Uncle Ben and Raimi gets to flex his skills as a horror director in many of the scenes with the Green Goblin, bringing a nice sense of variety to the film.

The best aspect of Raimi's direction is easily the terrific energy that he brings to the film. It whips along at a quick pace and is extremely lively. To create this energy, Raimi makes great use of whip pans and quick edits and transitions between scenes, which brings a great comic book feel to the film. It also adds a unique visual flair, which is a staple of most of Raimi's films. The man has a great visual eye and is the best of all the Spider-Man directors in that area, particularly when it comes to the cinematography. Spider-Man features some truly stunning camerawork, especially when it comes to the swinging scenes. The camera moves and follows Spider-Man in exhilarating, dazzling fashion. The shots are just jaw dropping. Raimi uses the camera to show Spidey's powers in highly stylish and unique ways, especially the spider sense. It goes into stylised slow motion and zooms right in on the things that Peter is sensing. It puts you inside Peter's head and shows you how his powers work in a really engaging way. The most overlooked and creative method of presenting Peter's powers comes when he first crawls up the wall. Raimi achieved this by building the set on its side, having Tobey Maguire crawl along the wall and position and move the camera in such a way to completely mask this. The camera is initially looking down on Peter from above and as he climbs, it pans down to look up at him from beneath. The result is superb. It's a highly effective camera trick and would probably fool most people. The whole film is brilliantly photographed and looks like a comic book brought to life. Of all the Spider-Man directors, I feel that Raimi is definitely the best. Nothing against Marc Webb or Jon Watts, but Raimi just seems tailor made for Spider-Man. He's incredibly passionate about the character and his directorial style is perfect for a comic book movie. In every way it's a match made in heaven. I'm really glad that he's returning to the genre with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and I cannot wait to see what he does with it. After almost twenty years and two other filmmakers tackling the character, the definitive Spider-Man director is still Sam Raimi.

The film features a very strong cast, particularly Tobey Maguire in the title role. He makes for a superb lead, especially as Peter Parker. He brings a huge amount of likeability to the part and makes Peter a very endearing character, as is shown right away from the beginning. In the wrong actor's hands, Peter's nerdy side could have come across as awkward, over the top and annoying, but Maguire manages to make it work. He doesn't overdo Peter's geeky nature and performs it in such a way that both feels natural and comes across as endearing. Where Maguire really excels is in the film's dramatic and emotional scenes. He is easily the best of all the Spider-Man actors when it comes to these scenes, especially the death of Uncle Ben. The Internet has been making fun of Maguire's face when he cries, calling it stupid and laughable, but I disagree. The fact that he scrunches his face up and looks like a total mess is precisely what makes it work so well since that is what teenage boys look like when they cry. Maguire is phenomenal in these scenes, largely thanks to the heavy, raw emotional power he has in buckets. One thing that's really great about his casting is that the filmmakers didn't just go for a pretty face. I don't mean to say Maguire is bad looking in any way, but he's considerably more plain than either Andrew Garfield or Tom Holland, especially the former. I think this works really well for the character since Peter is supposed to be an average Joe like you and me, someone who goes unnoticed at school, and Maguire pulls that off very well. He does falter somewhat with the Spider-Man side of the character, but more on that later. For now I'll say that Maguire works brilliantly in this film and makes for a great lead.

Willem Dafoe is absolutely superb as Green Goblin. He's incredibly campy and over the top, something that could have easily been a big detriment to his performance, but he manages to make it work. He pulls it off by only going over the top when it's appropriate, and maintaining a strong sense of menace. His performance is often very unnerving and in some instances even chilling. The scene of the Goblin persona talking to Norman through the mirror is perhaps his best moment of acting in the film. It could have come across as really cartoony, yet Dafoe makes it work. The way he moves is so inhuman looking and his voice is extremely spine tingling. His voice might actually be the best part of his performance; it's just cartoony enough to fit in with the film's campy style while also being dark enough that the Goblin still feels like an intimidating threat. Dafoe did a lot of the stunt work himself and in doing so he brings a unique body language that makes the Goblin feel so inhuman. Given that the writing for the character is rather basic, Norman Osborn could have fallen completely flat as a villain, but he still works thanks to Dafoe's wonderfully theatrical performance.

The quality of the supporting cast equals that of the supporting cast equals that of the main cast. Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris make for the perfect Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Robertson has a great likeability to him, along with the paternal quality that Uncle Ben should have, and helps to bring credibility to the film. Of all the live-action depictions of Aunt May we've gotten on screen, Harris is easily the best. Much like Robertson, she has a huge amount of likeability, an endearing maternal quality and seems to just emanate warmth. Every scene with her is a delight thanks to this.

But the highlight of the supporting cast is undeniably J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, which is pretty much the definition of perfect casting. Simmons is absolute gold here; he's utterly hilarious with so much comedic energy that makes him a total hoot to watch. He gets so many great lines and rattles them off super quickly, in the process producing some great laughs. Just to give you an idea of how perfect this casting is, the reason Jameson wasn't in The Amazing Spider-Man duology was that the filmmakers knew they wouldn't get anybody as good as Simmons to play him; and when the character made his MCU debut in Far from Home, rather than recast the character as had been done with all the other major characters, the filmmakers instead brought Simmons back to reprise his role, and he did it so well that it almost seemed like he'd never stopped playing it, even over ten years after Spider-Man 3's release. Now that is great casting. It's a stellar cast overall and one that elevates the film greatly.

Danny Elfman provides the film with an outstanding score that is easily one of my favourite superhero soundtracks of all time. It encompasses many different styles of music such as action themes, love themes and horror themes, successfully interweaving them all into one coherent score. Elfman writes a superb theme for Spider-Man that perfectly fits the character and in particular makes for an excellent main theme for the film. It isn't just isolated to the opening credits and is utilized throughout the rest of the score, with the composer successfully incorporating it into the other tracks without it feeling out of place. In keeping with Raimi's directorial style, Elfman's score has a strong comic book flair to it, especially in the theme "City Montage", which is basically a musical personification of the film's comic book style. The action themes throughout the soundtrack are exhilarating and full of energy. They do a great job at getting the blood pumping and really are a strong aid to the somewhat tepid setpieces. The score is generally rather light-hearted, but it also dives into other musical styles, such as the theme "Alone" which represents Peter's regret after Uncle Ben's death. The theme for the Green Goblin almost sounds like something from a horror movie; it's really chilling and unnerving, particularly at the end where it has a really dark, ominous sound that just keeps building and building with a chilling choir creeping in. The dark and emotional styles of music both come together in the brilliant theme called "Revenge". It starts off being very emotional and tear jerky to punctuate Uncle Ben's death, and it then transitions into a rather dark, serious theme as Peter chases the killer and has a really intense atmosphere. Elfman provides a great love theme for Peter and MJ that has a lovely romantic sound to it and is one of the score's highlights. Wrapping this point up, this is easily one of my favourite superhero movie soundtracks ever. It's a terrific accompaniment  to the film and defined the musical style of Spider-Man that still hasn't been beaten after two seperate reboots. Four different composers have succeeded Elfman and though they have generally all done solid jobs, none of them have even come close to his work. To this day, he remains the definitive Spider-Man composer.

Like a lot of other movies around this time, Spider-Man comes with a number of pop and rock songs by popular artists of the time, most notably "Hero" by Nickelback. The song is incredibly cheesy, especially its lyrics which are all about how love will save you, and the electric guitar instrumental just screams early 2000s. But that's part of the charm. It fits in really well with the film's style overall and also just makes for a great listen. True, it does really, really date the film but it's a good enough song to make me forgive it for that.

Spider-Man unfortunately has a lot of problems with its story and characters, which prevents it from being a great movie. The first issue with the story is its rather basic nature. There is little to no depth to it and for the most part it's just a very straightforward superhero story. It's a very cookie-cutter plot that has little under the surface, whereas the sequel has a deeper story that goes beyond just being a conventional superhero plot; thus most people, including me, enjoy that movie more.
The other big issue with the film's story is the pacing. It goes through the events of the story in too quick a fashion, particularly towards the beginning. Here it has to introduce the characters of Peter Parker and Norman Osborn, and then have their origins take place almost immediately afterwards. For me this all happens too quickly, and it doesn't give us a chance to get to know much about these characters, which leads me onto my next point.

      

                                

The characters are one of the film's biggest issues. The reason for this is that the writing for them is quite one note and simplistic. There isn't much to their characterisations beyond their rather basic traits; Peter is a science geek, Norman is an unhinged psycho with a split personality, Harry feels underappreciated by his father, etc. Peter's flat character is arguably the most problematic; he's the lead character, the one we're supposed to root for, but we never really get to know him that well. We only get one scene of him as his normal nerdy self before he gets bitten by the spider, and after that there isn't much in the way of character development for him. He comes across as a bit of a bland lead as a result. The Green Goblin really had so much potential to be a great villain, but his underdeveloped character makes him a somewhat dull antagonist. There isn't much focus on the fact that the Goblin persona is slowly taking over Norman, outside of that scene with the two talking through the mirror. The worst character in the film though is easily Mary Jane Watson, who is pretty much the definition of a flat love interest. Her character is exceptionally bland and dull; she gets no virtually no development beyond coming from a broken home and aspiring to become an actress. She gets no further depth, and she spends most of the film just being a damsel in distress. In this movie alone, Spider-Man has to save her four times, even in a bloody lunchroom. There's nothing to MJ that would make the audience get why Peter is in love with her. There is a little bit of chemistry between Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, the latter of whom is likable enough and does a serviceable job with the material, but it isn't enough to make up for the flatness of her character.

     

The cast is generally really strong, but there are two performances that I didn't care for; the aforementioned Kirsten Dunst and James Franco. Starting with Dunst, she's pretty bland. She doesn't have much in the way of charisma and does little to make Mary Jane a character that the audience cares about. Franco as Harry too is a rather dull presence. He has a very limited emotional range, and his voice is very one note and monotone throughout the film. For much of the screen time, he feels like he's half asleep and he lacks energy. Perhaps this was Franco's way of showing Harry's mind state given his relationship with Norman, but it has the unfortunate side effect of making him come across as slightly bland, especially in comparison to the other actors

   

The action in the film is rather substandard. For the most part it lacks the necessary energy and adrenaline. What really makes it so tepid is how dull the choreography is, which is especially evident with the fight between Spider-Man and the Goblin at the World Unity Festival. The choreography is really stilted and slow, coming across more like a stunt show than an actual fight. It lacks energy and you don't feel the impact of the punches. That same issue is apparent with the fight in the burning building. Having said that, there are two action scenes in the film that are actually really good. The first is the scene of Peter chasing Uncle Ben's killer. This sequence not only has great camerawork, but also a great sense of brutality. The choreography and physical performance of Tobey Maguire do a great job at conveying Peter's anger and desire for revenge. He punches through the roof and windshield of the killer's car, and then once they end up in a warehouse, Peter actually smashes his head through glass windows and breaks his wrist with ease. It's a very striking sequence. The filmmaking in the scene is of a very high quality, particularly in how it is lit. Raimi lights the scene in such a way that the audience doesn't realize the killer is the mugger Peter let go until he does. By doing so, the director essentially puts the audience through the scene with Peter. It's a brilliant bit of filmmaking.

The second action scene that's quite good is the final showdown between Spider-Man and the Goblin, which is easily the best action scene in the film. In stark contrast to how soft and tame the other setpieces felt, this one is harsh and brutal. The Goblin kicks Spider-Man's arse; he punches him, kicks him, sends him flying into walls, I mean he just demolishes him and doesn't even give him a chance to fight back. This scene actually really freaked me out when I was a child for this exact reason. It's so jarring when compared to the rest of the film. The sound design really does a lot to make this scene so intense; the punches and kicks all sound really tough and brutal, and the absence of music for the first half adds a lot to the tension. The whole scene really does make it seem possible that Spider-Man might not come out on top. But other than these two scenes, the rest of the action is really underwhelming.

The special effects really don't hold up. The CGI especially has aged horribly. Whenever Spider-Man is a completely digital character on screen, it doesn't look the least bit realistic. His movements look incredibly fake and as if he doesn't have any bones. He looks like a weightless cartoon character. At no point does it ever feel like he's a living breathing character actually on screen. This is most evident in the scene of Peter chasing Uncle Ben's killer, where the CG looks more like graphics from the PS2 video game than something that's actually really there. That same issue is apparent with the Green Goblin, particularly during the Unity Fair scene, where he looks poorly composited into live action footage and sticks out like a sore thumb. It really dates the film badly.

A common criticism of Maguire's Spider-Man is that unlike his comic book counterpart he doesn't have that many wisecracking, funny lines while in costume. As I'm not a comic book reader, my issue with this has nothing to do with accuracy to the source material. My issue with this is that Peter's minimal dialogue when he's Spider-Man creates a slight disconnect with his character. This is compounded by the fact that he's wearing a mask, meaning that we can't see the emotions on his face. This makes it somewhat hard to connect with him. Future films would fix this by giving Spidey more dialogue and, in the MCU trilogy's case, having the mask be expressional.

Another issue with Peter's minimal dialogue is that when he does get some jokes and quips, Tobey Maguire doesn't do a very good job with them. This is what I meant earlier when I said that he falters with the Spider-Man side of the character. He doesn't have the charisma or comedic wit that Spidey should have, and his line deliveries sound quite flat. Both Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland really nailed this aspect of Spider-Man. What's really strange is that Maguire reprised his role in the video game, where he was given a ton of jokes and quips, and he did a really great job with them. In the game he did have that wit and charisma that was missing from his screen performance, so maybe Sam Raimi just didn't direct him properly in this area. Overall I do really like Maguire's interpretation of the webslinger, but I'd be lying if I said he was completely perfect.

Spider-Man has a number of issues that prevent it from being either a great movie or a perfect one. But despite that, I do still find it to be a very enjoyable film. It was a huge part of my childhood, so I will always have a nostalgic connection to it. But for the viewing I did for this review, I tried to distance myself from those childhood memories and judge it as if I were seeing it for the first time. Thankfully it still holds up quite well for me in that regard and I would still consider it one of the best Spider-Man movies. True, it's far from perfect but its wholesome nature, passion for the character and entertainment value makes up for that. Spider-Man is a highly entertaining superhero film and a fun, breezy way to spend a couple of hours.