Best of the original trilogy!

Rating: 9/10 (27 July 2012)

I don't care what anybody says, but this movie is one of the best superhero movies of all time as far as I'm concerned. Since the new reboot of Spider-Man came out, a lot of fans of that new film are boasting about how it's way better than this movie and the other two, how Andrew Garfield was way better and that we should all forget about Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films. They even go so far as saying all three are as bad as "Batman and Robin". I find that completely ridiculous. Me personally, I don't have anything against "The Amazing Spider-Man". I really liked it since it was nice to see a new version of Spider-Man come onto the big screen. However, it's difficult for me to erase the memories I have of going to see Sami Raimi's Spider-Man movies.
I loved the first film, and was excited for the 2nd film. I still remember getting pumped every time I saw the ads for the movie on TV, and I marked everyday off my calendar up to the day it came out. I was so excited to see Doc Ock, and it didn't let me down. It was amazing! Plot: 2 years after the events of the first film, Peter Parker's life is a mess due to his commitment to being Spider-Man; he's failing his classes in school, he's messing up in his job and he barely talks to Mary Jane and Harry these days since Spider-Man takes up most of his time. Peter and Harry haven't talked much since Harry believes Spider-Man killed his father, Norman Osborn, and Mary Jane begins dating another man. Plus his Aunt May is facing foreclosure since Uncle Ben died, and Peter is emotionally shattered over not telling her the truth of how Uncle Ben really died. Peter becomes so overwhelmed with the unrelenting stress of living two lives that he gives up being Spider-Man. Things seem to go better for him, until Doc Ock comes onto the scene. Dr. Otto Octavius is injured during a lab demonstration on fusion energy, fusing four mechanical arms into his spine, and becomes Doctor Octopus (Doc Ock). Peter is then forced to become Spider-Man again to stop Octavius' rampage. I really think the story is excellent because it shows Peter struggling with everyday problems, and how he feels that being Spider-Man has brought him nothing but one problem after another. That feeling we have at some point in our lives where we just give up on life after having so many problems is very human, and I love how Sam Raimi was able to show that Spider-Man is also a human being with common everyday problems.
As far as accuracy to the original comics, which fans of the reboot claim that this movie is not faithful to the comics at all, the plot in this story was mostly influenced by "Amazing Spider-Man #50", also known as "Spider-Man No More", where Peter gives up being Spider-Man, but finds himself unable to let it go. Sure there are some differences to this version: Mary Jane is the main love interest, Doc Ock is the main villain in the movie whereas the Kingpin was the main enemy in "Spider- Man No More!" But honestly, I don't care how accurate the movies are to the comics, because at least in my eyes, this movie captured the core of Spider-Man and that's what a superhero movie should be about.
People can say what they want about Tobey Maguire, but I think he was great in this film. He makes the character sympathetic and relatable, and I really care about what happens to him. I would argue that out of all three movies, Tobey gives his best performance as Peter Parker in this one. He was good in the third one, really good in the first film, but I think this was his best performance as Spider-Man in this film. Kirsten Dunst as always is beautiful and amazing as Mary Jane (yes she is a bit harsh to Peter in this movie, but I think she is still good in this one regardless), James Franco is fantastic in this movie as he shows the rage and anger Harry feels towards Spider-Man, Rosemary Harris is terrific as Aunt May, but I have to give two thumbs up to Alfred Molina who played Doc Ock. He was incredible as Doc Ock, and very scary with those mechanical arms (in a good way). And yes it wash a bit harsh of her to leave John Jameson at the altar the way she did, but the last scene where Mary Jane (who at this point knows that Peter is Spider-Man) chooses Peter almost brought tears to my eyes, and then it shows Spider- Man swinging through New York after hearing sirens going off in the distance. One of my favorite scenes in this movie was the battle between Spider-Man and Doc Ock on top of the subway. I still get a thrill out of watching that scene, and I remember being in awe of the scene where the passengers see Spider-Man without his mask and they promise not to tell anyone they saw his face. As far as directing, Sam Raimi did an excellent job with this film, especially since he was a big fan of the comics.
I don't really know anybody who hates this movie, even though I've heard the fans of "The Amazing Spider-Man" badmouth this movie relentlessly saying it's just as bad as "Batman and Robin" by Joel Schumacher (give me a break!). Like I said, I don't care what anyone says, but this movie is one of the best superhero movies ever made besides the first Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy and The Avengers. 8 years later, this movie is still a great film to watch.