The first superhero film I saw that blew my mind

Rating: 9/10 (20 June 2014)

Spider-Man (2002) is a movie that has stayed in my imagination for a long time, and this movie along with the sequel Spider-Man 2 has become of my all time favorites over the years. Before, I never really cared much for comic books or superheroes except for Batman with the Joel Schumacher Batman flicks which... well, you know. My feelings beforehand on the film before it's release, "Looks fun, but nothing THAT special". Boy was I wrong because I was in complete awe as I watched it in the theater with my Dad. I loved it then, I still do today even though I do recognize it has some flaws but I give this movie a lot of credit though for (along with X-Men) for reviving the comic book movie genre, and for getting me into the idea of superheroes in general.
I know a lot of people don't like Tobey Maguire anymore because of the Emo Peter sequence in Spider-Man 3, but I've always thought he was great in the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Having read the comics, I will say that in a lot of ways he encompasses the traits of the classic Peter Parker. He's shy, timid, intelligent but also caring of the people in his life. Within the first 10 minutes of the film, he's established as the school nerd who isn't with the crowd, has Harry Osborn who is his only friend and goes unnoticed by Mary Jane Watson whom he's been in love with since childhood. And you do feel for him as a character and understand his progression as we see his progression from hapless nerd to cocksure fool, to humbled hero after the tragedy of Uncle Ben's death. Call me crazy but I think Tobey did a great job of capturing those qualities and I think he did a great job as Spidey also successfully encompassing the heroic nature of the character with a touch of Spidey's humor here and there. Kirsten Dunst I don't feel is THE best Mary Jane ever, but I've always appreciated her portrayal of the character. Yes the damsel in distress act gets annoying after awhile but like with Peter, you see her character change throughout as she decides what kind of man she wants in her life, and she had some depth to her as far as her home life with her parents.
James Franco does commendable work as Harry Osborn and I love the hint of him becoming the villain in the future. Cliff Robertson (RIP) and Rosemary Harris are terrific in the roles of Uncle Ben and Aunt May and the scene where Uncle Ben dies makes me tear up every time. Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin is perfect. Even though his character comes off as evil for evil's sake, he does bring a human element to the role since he favors Peter over his own son Harry. And yes the Goblin costume does look stupid, but I like it anyway. And JK Simmons is PERFECT as J. Jonah Jameson... Nuff' said! Along with Sam Raimi's direction, David Koepp's screenplay play a huge part with these characters and they both succeed in giving us likable characters that we can connect with.
The score by Danny Elfman speaks the character so well, the effects while some of it looks a bit dated still hold up today, the humor (while it goes overboard at points) is also great, and Sam Raimi's style I think is very suitable for Spider-Man given that the film is very colorful with characters, the tone and the music. It even feels like your watching a comic book come to life. The action is also masterfully executed. Sam Raimi I feel is a master of directing action/suspense since he uses a mix of practical stunt work and CGI. The final fight between the Goblin and Spidey is a showcase in this film for his skills of directing fight scenes. And I absolutely LOVE the final sequence of Spider-Man swinging through the city after he gives the "my gift, my curse" monologue with Elfman's theme blaring in the background.
And I know some people have problems with some of the changes made to the character as far as MJ coming before Gwen Stacy and the organic webbing. Personally I never had a problem with these changes because you can't adapt every single thing from the source material, and every creative mind is going to have his/her own spin on the story. The organic webs I felt were more believable than the idea of a high school student having the 3 million dollars or so to create the mechanical web shooters, and also given that he was bitten by a genetically engineered spider, why not?
Regardless of how people feel about this movie now that the reboot is out, I've always loved this film and always will even though I like the 2nd one better. It's got well realized/likable characters, fun action, a truly amazing score, and a tone that perfectly captures everything that Spider-Man's all about.