Super-Cember Day #3: Spider-Man (2002)

(Originally posted December 3rd, 2017)

I have actually had a lot of exposure to Spider-Man before seeing this movie. I had a DVD of 3-4 episodes of the animated series which I watched quite frequently (from memory, those episodes actually featured the Green Goblin) and a collection of about 10 of the comics. And then, of course, earlier this year I saw the incredible Spider-Man: Homecoming. How does this film stack up? Well, it's about as typical a superhero movie as you can get, but that's not all good. This is Spider-Man (2002) starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Willem Dafoe as Norman Osbourne/Green Goblin, Kirsten Dunst as Mary-Jane Watson and James Franco as Harry Osbourne.

Spider-Man (2002)

One of the things this movie gets absolutely spot on is the origin story. Everything from the catalysing incident to the discovery and exploration of the powers to Uncle Ben's death. As a Spider-Man origin story, they hit every beat they needed to and they hit them well. Even though I knew it was coming, Uncle Ben's death hits like a truck, and it's impact is felt throughout the entirety of the remainder of the film. Every action Peter takes after that point is influenced by what he learned through the heartbreak of Uncle Ben, and it's so very believable.

Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben Parker

Spider-Man's powers are just so cool. And this movie does a great job of capturing them, and it goes beyond simply swinging through the cityscape of New York. The first time we see him climbing up a wall, I got goosebumps. It was such a great moment, not just for the effects of how they pulled it off, but for Peter as a character, as the look on his face just says it all: everything's different now, and I love it. One or two of the effects are distractingly noticeable, but nothing outright pulled me out of the experience, which is a big achievement for a film made 15 years ago.

Spider-Man in action

I have to admit, it was a little odd seeing James Franco in this movie, especially after constant reviewings of the Disaster Artist trailers. But, he plays his role nicely here. He's not given much to do, but he has a lot of great character moments that really sucked me into his performance. You can see the inner turmoil of the character as he attempts to balance Peter, MJ and seeking affection from his distant father.

James Franco as Harry Osborn and Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn

Speaking of which, Willem Dafoe absolutely steals the show as the Green Goblin. I will say that I usually detest when a villain's motivation is simply 'insanity'. I touched on this in my Batman review, and in that case, Jack Nicholson clearly displayed those traits before they were amplified by his insanity. Here, I can't imagine the Osborn from the opening scene doing the things he did by the end. His experimentation didn't bring out what was already buried inside, instead it just drove him insane. But, I was won over by the end, primarily due to Dafoe's ridiculous performance, and I mean that in the best possible way. There was no other cast for this role, and he is far and away the best thing about this movie.

Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin

As for Tobey Maguire, I have some reservations. Don't get me wrong, he does a great job in the role, but there's just something about his performance that doesn't sit well with me. Maybe I'm just comparing him to Tom Holland too much, but it's impossible not to. We've had 3 Spider-Men in 15 years, it's only natural to compare them. And, I'd be lying if I said there weren't a few moments that felt like a first take. Every now and then, his performance felt a little bland, and I'm not sure why. And, I'm pretty sure everyone's said this by this point, but while his Peter Parker was right on the money, he didn't sell me as Spider-Man. It's another one of those situations where I couldn't imagine the geeky dweeb from the beginning cracking quips like he did while wearing the costume. With Tom Holland's Spider-Man, I bought it immediately, but here, it just felt a little off.

Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker

And, finally, someone please remove Mary-Jane from this movie. I'm sorry, but she is completely pointless. Kirsten Dunst's acting is fine enough, and I will say that the scenes that focus on her abusive home-life and relationship with Peter himself were very well handled. But she doesn't do anything herself in this movie. She only really has stuff happen to her, and we never really see the impact it leaves on her character until right at the end when she confesses to Peter, and that revelation is completely exclusive to all the dangerous situations she keeps ending up in. Her only real role in this film is to be something for Spider-Man to save. Oh, wait, I lie. She has a relationship with Harry that's never given enough screen-time to properly develop into anything, and even that only exists so that Peter can get involved in a love triangle so that Norman can learn who matters most to Peter, and inevitably put MJ into another dangerous situation. It's entirely cyclical and it's incredibly dull. And, it's such a shame because, again, there was something there. I was invested in her abusive father and her fascination with Peter. i can totally believe she would fall for someone like him because he's the first person who ever told her she was special. I could watch an entire movie completely focused on her character minus the Spider-Man stuff, and it would probably be an interesting watch. Sadly, her only role in this film is to play the damsel in distress, and it's not particularly interesting at all.

Kirsten Dunst as Mary-Jane Watson

In the end, Spider-Man (2002) is a flawed film, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. I'd definitely watch it again, but given the choice, I'd pick Homecoming any day of the week. We'll see how it holds up with the remainder of the Spider-Man movies over the rest of the month. 7/10.

Tomorrow: witness the beginnings of the DCEU with Man of Steel.