My initial reaction to the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming was to rewatch all of the previous Spider-Man films. Well, I made it halfway through the first film and then it was showtime for the new release. I'm pretty glad that I did not watch all of them because I would have been exhausted from all of the web-slinging.
Upon rewatching Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, I realized that the movie is dated. There must be some reason why I own all three of Raimi's Spider-Man flicks, but now that I have watched the first and half of the second installment, I'm not sure that I was in the right mindset as a child. Spider-Man is fun and probably caused my jaw to drop when I was a kid, but it no longer means much to me. The franchise was cheesy, CGI-heavy, and oddly paced. Spider-Man covers a lot of the character's background, but it feels extremely rushed. Character backgrounds are pushed into the later films to try and evoke more emotion in the later installments.
Tobey Maguire (Pleasantville), James Franco (127 Hours, This Is the End), and Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia) proved that they are capable actors, yet there is not much that the audience can relate to with their characters. All three of them come off as entitled brats at some point in the film. Franco and Dunst often make me cringe with their relationship, which might be what the writers wanted. Oddly, the new Spider-Man franchise actors are more mature than the original trio. The direction for this film was more action based than Spider-Man: Homecoming. If I had watched all three films before seeing the new one, maybe I would have had a different opinion. But, the cast is so fun in the new film that it basically makes the original trio completely underwhelming.
I will admit that the storyline in the first film follows the comics more closely than the new franchise. There is also more action in the original, so kids might enjoy watching it a bit more. While the CGI is outdated, the sequences are exciting and the costuming is spectacular. I like this costume more than the new one, especially since it is not a Tony Stark creation. At least in 2002, Spider-Man did not have to rely on the Avengers to help him out!
The Bottom Line: Outdated and odd, Spider-Man is still thrilling in this "classic" Marvel flick.
Score: 5.5/10
Upon rewatching Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, I realized that the movie is dated. There must be some reason why I own all three of Raimi's Spider-Man flicks, but now that I have watched the first and half of the second installment, I'm not sure that I was in the right mindset as a child. Spider-Man is fun and probably caused my jaw to drop when I was a kid, but it no longer means much to me. The franchise was cheesy, CGI-heavy, and oddly paced. Spider-Man covers a lot of the character's background, but it feels extremely rushed. Character backgrounds are pushed into the later films to try and evoke more emotion in the later installments.
Tobey Maguire (Pleasantville), James Franco (127 Hours, This Is the End), and Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia) proved that they are capable actors, yet there is not much that the audience can relate to with their characters. All three of them come off as entitled brats at some point in the film. Franco and Dunst often make me cringe with their relationship, which might be what the writers wanted. Oddly, the new Spider-Man franchise actors are more mature than the original trio. The direction for this film was more action based than Spider-Man: Homecoming. If I had watched all three films before seeing the new one, maybe I would have had a different opinion. But, the cast is so fun in the new film that it basically makes the original trio completely underwhelming.
I will admit that the storyline in the first film follows the comics more closely than the new franchise. There is also more action in the original, so kids might enjoy watching it a bit more. While the CGI is outdated, the sequences are exciting and the costuming is spectacular. I like this costume more than the new one, especially since it is not a Tony Stark creation. At least in 2002, Spider-Man did not have to rely on the Avengers to help him out!
The Bottom Line: Outdated and odd, Spider-Man is still thrilling in this "classic" Marvel flick.
Score: 5.5/10
Image credit: By David Shankbone - David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2070935
