Are You With Us? Spider-Man
By Ryan Mazie
July 2, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
It was only a little more than two years ago when Sony announced that Spider-M4n (ok, that wasn’t the title, but you know I love when titles have fun with their numbers) was going to be a no-go, but the franchise would be rebooted instead. I was one of the many who took to Twitter (@RMazie – shameless plug), to unleash a verbal lashing for the dunderheaded decision, which was quite shocking.
Unlike Batman Begins, which was rebooted eight years after the last film, The Amazing Spider-Man was not coming off of a mega-flop. Spider-Man 3 broke the biggest opening weekend record of all time and wound up with a bountiful $336.5 million haul (while the lowest in the franchise, there was still plenty of life left in it). A critical and audience disappointment, though not nearly despised at a Batman & Robin level, most people felt as if Sony’s decision was solely a monetary one, wanting to continue the franchise at a cheaper cost (SP3 cost a reported $258 million). However, after an interesting directing (Marc Webb of solely the indie 500 Days of Summer) and casting choice, plus a killer debut trailer, The Amazing Spider-Man has seemed to win back audiences.
But before Andrew Garfield dons the Spidey-suit, I wanted to take a look back at the first origin film with Tobey Maguire in the lead, which was released (believe it or not) ten years ago.
Spider-Man is the first actual movie that I remember seeing in IMAX back when IMAX theaters were actually custom built and not just retrofitted screens. I was in awe of the visuals and Spider-Man quickly became one of my favorite superheroes, second to Batman (two more weeks until Dark Knight Rises guys! And I already have my IMAX ticket at the same IMAX theater where I saw Spider-Man - talk about full circle).
While I saw the film again on TV and DVD, it has been quite a while since I saw the movie and was surprised when watching it at how many plot points I forgot. So as a quick refresher for those like me, Spider-Man tells the tale of the dorky Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), who gets bitten by a radioactive spider on a class fieldtrip. With newfound perfect vision, abs, and … oh, yeah, the ability to scale walls and shoot webs out of his wrists, after the death of his surrogate father Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson), Peter dons a makeshift suit to fight NYC’s criminals.
Midway through the film, Peter faces his biggest challenge, another souped-up human, the techno-powered Norman Osborn-cum-Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). James Franco plays Osborn’s son and Parker’s pal who is dating Peter’s childhood crush, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). It’s quite the web these characters are twisted in.
Spun by director Sam Raimi (Evil Dead) and writer David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible), Spider-Man is a fine story to introduce the web-slinger into a marketplace that was not used to big-budgeted superhero flicks outside of the Caped Crusader and Superman.
The story holds up very well, but then again, it is barely ten years old, so of course it should still seem relevant and be with us. I do see how The Amazing Spider-Man can differentiate itself by being set primarily in high school, which this film uses only in its opening act. Peter’s transition into superhero mode is fairly quick and there is a somewhat blurred sense of time as far as pacing is concerned.
Maguire is well cast, but I didn’t feel as if he fully owned the role until Spider-Man 2. Dunst, with her comic-hued red hair, is a fine love interest. Dafoe steals the show as the cackling Goblin, creating a frightening-yet-kid-friendly villain that fits perfectly into Raimi’s Spidey universe, thanks to his deft balancing of genres.
It was fun to spot the pre-famous cameos of True Blood’s Joe Manganiello as jock Flash Thompson, Elizabeth Banks as J. Jonah Jameson’s secretary, and The Help’s Octavia Spencer as the “Check-In Girl” at the underground wrestling arena. The only cameo that makes the film feel dated is Macy Gray (remember her?).
The special effects hold up surprisingly well, given how much ground has been broken in only a decade’s time. Even without the aid of 3D that The Amazing Spider-Man seems to be relying on with the marketing, the flying sequences are immersive and framed at a distance, making the size relationship clear and even more impressive.
Spider-Man was groundbreaking in several ways. One, it opened up the floodgates for B- and C-list superheroes to get big budget film adaptations, including Daredevil (2003), Catwoman (2004), Fantastic Four (2005), Ghost Rider (2006), and of course, The Avengers’ star player Iron Man (2008).
Secondly, Spider-Man placed further emphasis on opening weekend records. Swinging into the record books, Spider-Man was the first film to make over $100M in three days. Nowadays, that seems to be more of a precedent for any big-budget film to do. Opening with $114.8 million over the first weekend of May, the web-slinger held very well, webbing in $403.7 million ($551 million today) and nearly the same amount overseas. While I do not see The Amazing Spider-Man reaching such a height, given its Tuesday opening, it should come close to Spider-Man 2’s $88 million weekend tally after opening on Wednesday, leading into the fourth of July weekend.
Nominated for two minor Oscars, Spider-Man lost best visual effects to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Its biggest accolade probably was winning “Best Kiss” at the MTV Movie Awards for the now classic upside-down in the rain make out session.
A great set-up to an acclaimed sequel and an okay-threequel, Spider-Man still is an impressive visual feat with a classic story and fun characters. The Amazing Spider-Man will certainly face an uphill battle this week, proving its existence against the Raimi-Maguire flick that still has the ability to wrap audiences into its strong web.
Verdict: With Us
8 out of 10