IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched on Blu-Ray
Spider-Man Rewatch Road To Far From Home Step 1 of 7
From today's point of view, returning to the beginnings of the legendary Spider Man often happens only for nostalgic reasons. Indeed, the beginning of Sam Raimi's iconic SPIDER MAN trilogy in 2002, along with the X-MEN released two earlier, was the starting point for a new era of the blockbuster and its heroes. Raimi's film set standards at the time, including in terms of special effects, and almost all comic film adaptations in the hands of large film studios were based on the interpretation of the director of the Evil Dead series.
But what else is Spider-Man suitable today when it can often only be viewed from a nostalgic glance? The effects, however praised they used to be, have put on a lot of dust and this is unfortunately noticeable in numerous action scenes. In addition, the film often opens with some, dislocated moments of patriotism (The most memorable scene: the American flag as a final image), which can be forgiven due to the 9/11 trauma that took place only a year earlier.
But beyond that, it's amazing how well Spider-Man still works. While the film is deeply ingrained in the early 2000s in its entire style, the story remains a timeless one: Peter Parker and his transformation into the friendly spider from the neighborhood, his struggle for the love of Mary Jane Watson and his fight against Norman Osborn a.k.a. Green Goblin, is also a pure coming-of-age story. Raimi takes his figures seriously in every second and encounters them on an equal footing.
Instead of getting lost in the unbelievable and celebrating his superheroes more and more, he stays on the ground, his Peter Parker is first and foremost human. An outsider figure who only finally finds fulfillment in an alter ego and also has to learn to take responsibility. Not only in terms of his superpowers, but also on his way into the adult world. Raimi was very lucky with his leading actor: Tobey Maguire's face makes the character's awkwardness believable and he is able to adapt Raimi's rhythm of humour and seriousness very well.
On the other side is Willem Dafoe aka Green Goblin, Spider-Man's adversary, whose career is payed almost as much attention by Raimi. Dafoe is merged with the role, often he may be a bit exaggerated, but he never breaks the credibility behind the villain. His Green Goblin is a nasty counterpart to Peter's Spider-Man, he symbolises what could become of Peter if he used his powers irresponsibly.
The supporting characters are also all excellently cast. Kirsten Dunst as M.J. and James Franco I saw here for the first time and was convinced of their talent, even if their characters aren't completely exhausted. But that's totally fine, it's just the first movie.
Raimi couldn't have cast the character of J. Jonah Jameson better with J.K. Simmons. No wonder why, after the Raimi trilogy, the character no longer appears. Simmons is the perfect Jameson and, like RDJ as Tony Stark, impossible to replace.
At that time I didn't notice the Bruce Campbell cameo as groovy ring announcer and smaller performances by still relatively unpopular Octavia Spencer (wrestling receptionist), Elizabeth Banks (Jameson's secretary) and Joe Manganiello (M.J.s douchebag friend). All the more I'm celebrating their appearances now.
Overall, Raimi's Spider-Man anticipates many themes of the current blockbuster and is not only recommended for nostalgists, because beneath the surface of the early zeitgeist of the 2000s, there is still a huge heart beating.
And before I forget: the score by Danny Elfman is iconic and worthy a superhero such as Spider-Man!
