In honor of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 being released tonight/tomorrow, I thought it would be fitting to go back into the pat a little bit. With that being said I'm going to review the first 3 Spider-Man films that were directed by Sam Raimi and have nothing to do with the current Spider-Man universe. So without further ado...
Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire) an orphaned, intellectual teen loner living in Queens with his aunt May (played by Rosemary Harris) and uncle Ben (played by Cliff Robertson), and dreaming of the girl next door, Mary Jane (played by Kirsten Dunst). On a field trip to a Columbia University lab, Peter is bitten by a genetically altered spider and overnight he gains superhuman strength, agility, and perception. At first, Peter uses his powers for material gain, winning a wrestling match with a purportedly lucrative prize. But when Peter apathetically fails to stop a burglar from robbing the wrestling arena, a tragedy follows that compels him to devote his powers to fighting crime -- as the superhero Spider-Man. When he's not busy fighting crime in a spider suit, Peter moves into an apartment with his best friend, Harry (played by James Franco), and begins work as a photographer at the Daily Bugle. Meanwhile, his do-gooder alter ego finds a nemesis in the form of the Green Goblin (played by Willem Dafoe), a super-powered, megalomaniacal villain who happens to be the alter ego of Harry's father, weapons-manufacturing mogul Norman Osborn.
This film is really good. I really like how director Sam Raimi made it feel like an actual comic book film. it had a real sense of corniness and cheesiness to it (corn and cheese combination great for any dinner). I really thought that the acting was superb especially from Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe. I thought the action was great and the visual effects on this movie are good but not great. On the downside of things honestly the character of Mary Jane was boring and repetitive, it seemed as if she was in trouble at least 4 or 5 times and it just got stale. Also I probably would've enjoyed just a little bit more if had been darker instead of being mostly light-hearted. Overall I had a great time with the film and I'm going to give Spider-Man an 8 out of 10.
Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire) is attempting to juggle college classes and his job as a photographer with the Daily Bugle while maintaining his secret life as costumed crime-fighter Spider-Man. Parker is also struggling to hold on to his relationship with Mary Jane Watson (played by Kirsten Dunst), who is beginning to enjoy success as a model and actress, and both Mary Jane and Peter have noticed he's beginning to buckle under the strain. Parker's friendship with Harry Osborn (played by James Franco) is also beginning to fray due to Peter's seeming alliance with Spider-Man, whom Harry blames for the death of his father, the nefarious Norman Osborn. As Parker weighs his responsibilities to himself and those around him against the obligations that come with his special powers, Spider-Man is faced with a new nemesis -- Dr. Otto Octavius (played by Alfred Molina), a deranged scientist whose latest project has turned him into the near-invincible cyborg Doctor Octopus.
What can I say, this film is awesome. When making a sequel you always want the movie to be better than the original and it's only happened a handful of times (i.e The Godfather, The Dark Knight, Aliens, Terminator 2 etc) and this film does just that. I thought the acting was marvelous and again it's accredited to Tobey Maguire and newcomer to the franchise Alfred Molina who in my opinion gives the third best portrayal of a villain in a superhero movie (only behind Heath Ledger's Joker and Tom Hiddelston's Loki), also Mary Jane didn't annoy me as much as she did in the first film. The story is very compelling and it dives into the darker parts of Peter Parker's dilemma of whether he should or shouldn't be Spider-Man. Also the action in the film is fantastic and the visual effects are as well. Overall the film is fun, exciting and suspenseful and I give Spider-Man 2 a 10 out of 10.
All is well in New York City until one night, as Peter (played by Tobey Maguire) and Mary Jane (played by Kirsten Dunst) sit gazing at the stars, a falling comet streams across the sky and crashes into the ground close by. But this isn't any ordinary shooting star, and upon impact the mysterious space rock is split open to reveal a shape-shifting symbiote with the power to overtake anything that it comes into contact with. Later, as Harry Osborn (played by James Franco) acquires his late father's flying board, engineers a powerful new Goblin outfit, and takes to the sky to avenge dad's death, the mysterious space sludge infects both Peter's Spider-Man suit and ambitious street photographer Eddie Brock (played by Topher Grace). Peter's strange new suit gives him a newfound sense of power as it gradually overpowers his personality, and he discovers that escaped convict Flint Marko (played by Thomas Haden Church) was in fact the man responsible for the death of Uncle Ben (played by Cliff Robertson). Unfortunately for Peter, Marko has recently acquired the power to morph at will and quickly completes his transformation into the dreaded Sandman. As the Sandman gives in to his darkest criminal instincts and the slithering space symbiote transforms Eddie Brock into the nightmarish fanged villain known as Venom, the citizens of New York City must once again call on Spider-Man to fend off destructive forces that are far too powerful for the likes of mortal man.
Remember when I said sequels are supposed to build on the previous film and be better, yeah this movie didn't do that at all. Now I will say that I did like the acting of Tobey Maguire and Thomas Haden Church, but my god Topher Grace is horrible and this whiny and bitchy version of Eddie Brock and the Mary Jane character went back to her old habits of bugging the piss out of me. Also some of the visuals were really good and the action sequences were excellent. But the film has some of the stupidest dialogue and just overdrawn and over-dramatic storyline that has enough subplots to rebuild the city of Detroit. Overall the film is sloppy and poorly written and I give Spider-Man 3 a 2.5 out of 10.
Overall trilogy rating 7 out of 10.
So ladies and gentlemen what are you thoughts on the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, what would you rate it and what did you think of my reviews? Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire) an orphaned, intellectual teen loner living in Queens with his aunt May (played by Rosemary Harris) and uncle Ben (played by Cliff Robertson), and dreaming of the girl next door, Mary Jane (played by Kirsten Dunst). On a field trip to a Columbia University lab, Peter is bitten by a genetically altered spider and overnight he gains superhuman strength, agility, and perception. At first, Peter uses his powers for material gain, winning a wrestling match with a purportedly lucrative prize. But when Peter apathetically fails to stop a burglar from robbing the wrestling arena, a tragedy follows that compels him to devote his powers to fighting crime -- as the superhero Spider-Man. When he's not busy fighting crime in a spider suit, Peter moves into an apartment with his best friend, Harry (played by James Franco), and begins work as a photographer at the Daily Bugle. Meanwhile, his do-gooder alter ego finds a nemesis in the form of the Green Goblin (played by Willem Dafoe), a super-powered, megalomaniacal villain who happens to be the alter ego of Harry's father, weapons-manufacturing mogul Norman Osborn.
This film is really good. I really like how director Sam Raimi made it feel like an actual comic book film. it had a real sense of corniness and cheesiness to it (corn and cheese combination great for any dinner). I really thought that the acting was superb especially from Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe. I thought the action was great and the visual effects on this movie are good but not great. On the downside of things honestly the character of Mary Jane was boring and repetitive, it seemed as if she was in trouble at least 4 or 5 times and it just got stale. Also I probably would've enjoyed just a little bit more if had been darker instead of being mostly light-hearted. Overall I had a great time with the film and I'm going to give Spider-Man an 8 out of 10.
Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire) is attempting to juggle college classes and his job as a photographer with the Daily Bugle while maintaining his secret life as costumed crime-fighter Spider-Man. Parker is also struggling to hold on to his relationship with Mary Jane Watson (played by Kirsten Dunst), who is beginning to enjoy success as a model and actress, and both Mary Jane and Peter have noticed he's beginning to buckle under the strain. Parker's friendship with Harry Osborn (played by James Franco) is also beginning to fray due to Peter's seeming alliance with Spider-Man, whom Harry blames for the death of his father, the nefarious Norman Osborn. As Parker weighs his responsibilities to himself and those around him against the obligations that come with his special powers, Spider-Man is faced with a new nemesis -- Dr. Otto Octavius (played by Alfred Molina), a deranged scientist whose latest project has turned him into the near-invincible cyborg Doctor Octopus.
What can I say, this film is awesome. When making a sequel you always want the movie to be better than the original and it's only happened a handful of times (i.e The Godfather, The Dark Knight, Aliens, Terminator 2 etc) and this film does just that. I thought the acting was marvelous and again it's accredited to Tobey Maguire and newcomer to the franchise Alfred Molina who in my opinion gives the third best portrayal of a villain in a superhero movie (only behind Heath Ledger's Joker and Tom Hiddelston's Loki), also Mary Jane didn't annoy me as much as she did in the first film. The story is very compelling and it dives into the darker parts of Peter Parker's dilemma of whether he should or shouldn't be Spider-Man. Also the action in the film is fantastic and the visual effects are as well. Overall the film is fun, exciting and suspenseful and I give Spider-Man 2 a 10 out of 10.
All is well in New York City until one night, as Peter (played by Tobey Maguire) and Mary Jane (played by Kirsten Dunst) sit gazing at the stars, a falling comet streams across the sky and crashes into the ground close by. But this isn't any ordinary shooting star, and upon impact the mysterious space rock is split open to reveal a shape-shifting symbiote with the power to overtake anything that it comes into contact with. Later, as Harry Osborn (played by James Franco) acquires his late father's flying board, engineers a powerful new Goblin outfit, and takes to the sky to avenge dad's death, the mysterious space sludge infects both Peter's Spider-Man suit and ambitious street photographer Eddie Brock (played by Topher Grace). Peter's strange new suit gives him a newfound sense of power as it gradually overpowers his personality, and he discovers that escaped convict Flint Marko (played by Thomas Haden Church) was in fact the man responsible for the death of Uncle Ben (played by Cliff Robertson). Unfortunately for Peter, Marko has recently acquired the power to morph at will and quickly completes his transformation into the dreaded Sandman. As the Sandman gives in to his darkest criminal instincts and the slithering space symbiote transforms Eddie Brock into the nightmarish fanged villain known as Venom, the citizens of New York City must once again call on Spider-Man to fend off destructive forces that are far too powerful for the likes of mortal man.
Remember when I said sequels are supposed to build on the previous film and be better, yeah this movie didn't do that at all. Now I will say that I did like the acting of Tobey Maguire and Thomas Haden Church, but my god Topher Grace is horrible and this whiny and bitchy version of Eddie Brock and the Mary Jane character went back to her old habits of bugging the piss out of me. Also some of the visuals were really good and the action sequences were excellent. But the film has some of the stupidest dialogue and just overdrawn and over-dramatic storyline that has enough subplots to rebuild the city of Detroit. Overall the film is sloppy and poorly written and I give Spider-Man 3 a 2.5 out of 10.
Overall trilogy rating 7 out of 10.
So ladies and gentlemen what are you thoughts on the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, what would you rate it and what did you think of my reviews? Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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