Kirsten Dunst was the best.
And Tobey Maguire was there, too!
Next week: Diane Lane isUnfaithful.
Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst in ‘Spiderman’.Zade Rosenthal/Columbia Pictures
DARREN:There have been so manySpider-Manmovies.
ButSam Raimi’s 2002 origin story stands alone for sheer historic import.
It hit me at a strange time.
Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe in ‘Spider-Man’.Everett Collection
(2099 was thebest.)
But with the passage of time, I recognize how this first big-budget film maintains a handmade quality.
That’s not the feeling here, even if there are major defining flaws.
(Green Goblin, oof!)
What were your memories of watching this the first time, Leah?
And how did it play for you now, a hundred Spidey movies later?
should be court martialed for the hellish shade ofMr.
Pibbthey both landed on.)
Randy “Macho Man” Savage?
But one thing I love about this version, which may sound counterintuitive, is thesmallnessof it.
(And I have to say, the Raimi gore).
Still, her Mary Jane shines through.
Also,that kissholds up!
Or down, you know what I mean.
Do you have any favorite character moments, Darren?
DARREN:Kirsten Dunstas Mary Jane Watson is one of my favorite performances inanysuperhero franchise, period.
Admittedly, her best work came in the sequels.
(She isawesomeinSpider-Man 3,a secretly sensitive downer about a striving woman and her toxic exes).
shtick seemed 78% sweeter when everyone assumed nerds were nice.
But you make a good point about the intimacy.
Anyone about the Parker parents could watch two terribleAmazingSpider-Manmovies.
Actually, the next two generations of Spider-cinema made the case that teen Peter is the ultimate Peter.
The film’s a bit too jammed with super fights to develop any of the tertiary characters.
Just on a visual level, Leah, how do you think the film has aged?
And beyond the heinous costume, how do you feel about Dafoe as a baddie?
I also enjoy the pure unhingedeffortof Dafoe very much, in a role he seems physically born to play.
before being impaled on his own goblin glider.
into that Marvel-verse, if not the fullParks & Recoffice comedy you dreamed of.
But looking back from 2022, would you really change anything about this one, Darren?
I think it’s sort of perfect time capsule, Mr. Pibb dye jobs and all.
DARREN:You’re right about the Tim Burton influence, complete with a Danny Elfman score.
That time-capsule quality you mention extends to some full-blown jingo.
perfectly captures a moment of national Manhattan unity.
My biggest takeaway is the faithful translation of the comics' downbeat tone.
“The ones I love will always be the ones who pay,” Peter narrates.
