It hasn't aged well but it's earnest silliness is a nice contrast to the MCU

Rating: 5/10 (26 April 2020)

Every so often you revisit a film you haven't seen in years. I dug out my old DVD of Spider-Man and afterwards had lots of thoughts while dissecting it eighteen years later. We've had so many incantations of 'Spider-Man' that we forget that this film was the conceptual groundbreaker for the MCU and Hollywood's endless parade of comic book movies. What do we make of Raimi's contributions to the mythos now that the dust has settled? To be honest the whole Raimi series is over the top and sometimes it is to the point of being obnoxious. 'Spider-Man 3' is one of the worst comic book films ever made. But does this original hold up at all?
I kind of enjoyed it but the whole time I was wondering if I may have been laughing at and not with it. It's a cartoony movie with superheroes and villains that are flamboyant. Willem Dafoe alone is worth the price of admission and I mean that sincerely. The Green Goblin is a B movie villain and not some tortured soul. Dafoe realizes that and plays the part perfectly.
I think though that Sam Raimi who has a great sense of humor and flair for pulp entertainment was for the most part taking this seriously. The fun set pieces and scene chewing from Dafoe don't make up for the creepy screen chemistry between Maguire and Dunst. This is the prime example of the 'Your Princess is in Another Castle' trope. The fact that Mary Jane is totally oblivious to Peter Parker is insane. Maguire's Parker has all the charm and subtlety of Norman Bates.
And also this is prime Bush era Post-9/11 porn. The brave tough cartoon New Yorkers throwing trash at the Goblin saying "Don't mess with my city" is hilarious now. You have to think that the "With great Power comes great responsibility" stuff played well to that mindset too. That's something I definitely am tired of and have no nostalgia for.
For what it's worth 'Spider-Man' can be appreciated today if you don't take it for a high art requiem on good and evil like we are expected to do with 'Avengers Endgame'. It's a fine dumb comic book movie