Who Am I? : A Retrospective Review of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002) and its Impact on Movies

           This month, Captain America Civil War introduced movie fans to a brand new incarnation of Spider-Man as he joined the clash between Marvel's greatest heroes, who have proven time and time again that they are beyond a doubt the biggest characters in movies today.  14 years ago, however, in May 2002, superhero movies were not the unstoppable proven force they are today.  Two years earlier, X-Men was a large success financially and critically, but after recent failures like Batman and Robin, many fans and studios alike were wondering if comic book heroes could ever be successful on the big screen.  Before release, the World Trade Center was edited out of the film, as a stark reminder through abscess of how much the world had changed.  In a post-9/11 world, could people really look up to flickering capes or see themselves in glimmering saviors?  

           Below, you will find my review and analysis of the comic book classic, Spider-Man.  This movie was a big hit and is now 14 years old, so I won't hesitate to talk about some spoilers.  If you have somehow not seen Spider-Man, you may want to watch it before reading this.

THAT'S WHERE I COME IN

           Sam Raimi's Spider-Man is not about Spider-Man.  Sure, it features the web slinging classic we all knew as kids, but the movie is entirely and importantly about Peter Parker.  The spider bite origin and the superpowers propel the action, but this is the story of a young man going through sudden and significant changes and his ultimate journey into self-discovery.  

           This was the best decision this movie made, but it is also it's most risky.  Everybody has some experience and knowledge with Spider-Man.  Maybe it's the long-running comic series or the animated series.  Or maybe it was just the social presence he had for decades before this movie.  Everyone knows Spider-Man, but do they know Peter Parker?  Will they want to watch a superhero movie where there is more time spent with the man under the mask than the well-known persona it embodies?  

           Luckily for this movie, the answer was yes.  From the very beginning, the relatability of Peter Parker is established.  "Who am I?" he asks in the opening scene.  A question so many people have asked themselves, especially in their late teens.  And, just like Peter, we are usually not the person we wish we were.  Peter is literally on the outside looking in, chasing after the bus and imagining how much easier his life would be if he was not Peter Parker and could simply be somebody else.  Somebody who fits in and acts normal.  Somebody without all the problems and questions he faces.  

           Even before receiving his powers, Peter questions his place in the world as a simple dreamer without the power or confidence to make the changes he wishes for.  This is a feeling that occupied the minds of countless people around the world at the time, especially in New York City, where the film takes place. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, people were suddenly forced to reexamine their identity and their place in the world.  People, like Peter Parker, felt out of place and alone in a world surrounded by people who seemed to be living much happier and easier lives.  

           Peter feeling lost and his constant self-examination made him relatable for every viewer and turned him into someone worth rooting for, superhero or not.  

THE COLD SHIVER RUNNING DOWN YOUR SPINE

           One of the biggest standout performances in this movie is Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn AKA The Green Goblin.  This character feels torn right from the panels of a comic book with some great cheesy one-liners complete with a maniacal laugh.  His presence and gravitas turns the action scenes up to a whole new level of fun.  Willem Dafoe carries the character and portrays the increasingly eccentric split personality with devotion.  A villain so  campy could easily feel out of place in many modern superhero movies, but the comic panel fun of Spider-Man provides a perfect fit for Dafoe and Green Goblin to fully shine.

           However The Green Goblin is not all bad.  We see Norman Osborn truly struggle with his sanity throughout the movie and in many scenes, such as the unforgettable mirror conversation, we get the sense that Norman truly does not want to be sucked into the evil and temptation that the Green Goblin represents to him.  This conflict makes the villain much more relatable and complex.  He is scary because we know that there is a Green Goblin within us all.  An anger at those who wronged us and a desire to make the world into the one we want it to be through force and power.

           As we sit looking back in an era with Heath Ledger's Joker and Tom Hiddleston's Loki, it is important to realize that these complexly motivated and nuanced antagonists owe a great debt to Willem Dafoe's Goblin for proving that a super hero villain can manage to be fun, scary and complex at the same time, all while pulling a career-defining performance out of a big name actor. 

           I'LL MAKE HIM INFAMOUS!

           Talking about any of the films in the Spider-Man trilogy is impossible without bringing up J.K. Simmons as  J. Jonah Jameson.  One of the most memorable and quotable characters in recent years, J.J. is a phenomenal and defining character for the series. He does not have much screen time compared to other characters, but nearly every line and action he delivers gets a laugh as he quickly hangs up on his wife or bluntly tells the timid and self-conscious Peter Parker that his perfect pictures of Spider-Man are crap. 

           Like most of the characters in the movie, even J.J. has his moment of complexity and heart.  When Green Goblin breaks through his window and  violently demands to know who is taking his pictures of Spider-Man, the seemingly-heartless and practical J.J. lies to protect Peter Parker, a kid he barely knows.  "I don't know who he is," J.J. lies, "His stuff comes in the mail!"  This small moment in a larger scene could easily be missed, but it further supports the running theme in the movie that there is more to who people are than what they show and that complexity is a part of everyone.  

          Initially, J.J. is uninterested in publishing news about a menace like Spider-Man, however when he hears about the sales numbers he instantly changes his mind.  "He doesn't want to be famous? I'll make him infamous!"  He vows to cover every front page for weeks with pictures and headlines about Spider-Man, true or not.  When Peter Parker tries to argue J.J. on his uneducated, negative portrayal of Spider-Man, he is shut down.  "You take the pictures, I'll make the headlines!"

           This type of widespread manipulation and exaggeration of mainstream media was prominent in the time this movie was made.  Every paper battled for the flashier headlines and wilder pictures.  The New York Times, an undeniable influence on the Daily Bugle in the movie and the comics, published a famous and controversial photo of a man jumping from the World Trade Center to his death.  Every day for months and months we were surrounded by controversial images and sensationalised headlines, creating a confused and jumbled narrative over the attacks and who was to blame.  

           Any arrest of a Middle Eastern or Muslim was immediately covered, and any violent act or threat was quickly tied to Al Qaeda and "Muslim Extremism."  This resulted in mass distrust of Muslim Americans and even violence towards completely innocent people who happened to look like those whose faces we had come to know so well from our TV screens and front pages.  

           In Spider-Man, the Bugle portrays Spider-Man as their enemy despite knowing nothing about him.  They cover their front page with his image, connecting him unjustly with Green Goblin simple because they both dress in masks and costumes.  People begin to turn against and fear Spider-Man because they do not know him and their only exposure to him is through the subjective media.  It is not until the end of the film when the people begin to see Spider-Man for who he truly is.

YOU MESS WITH SPIDEY, YOU MESS WITH NEW YORK

           In the finale of the film, Peter Parker is met with an impossible choice: save a tram full of innocent children, or save Mary Jane, the woman he loves.  This is a complex philosophical moment borrowed from a similar situation in one of Spider-Man's most famous comics (seen later in Amazing Spider-Man 2).  This crisis is the emotional climax of Peter's struggles with his own belief throughout the movie.  It seems that there is no way for Peter to save them both, but he still stands up against the odds and tries to be the hero.   

           When the moment seems lost and the Green Goblin may win after all, everything changes.  A barge below hurries with a crane to help Spider-Man and citizens from the bridge throw things at Goblin, shouting "You mess with Spidey, you mess with New York!" and "You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us." 

           This is easily the most on-the-nose reference to 9/11 in the film and feels like a deliberate call of unity to the people of New York, and the people on the world.  The day is saved, but only when the people of New York City, despite what they have been told to believe and despite their fear, come together as one to protect someone different from them.  Because when it truly matters the most, there is no Spider-Man or Peter Parker.  There is no Mary Jane Watson or innocent child.  There is a single human race, finding peace through unity.  

YOU'RE NOT SUPERMAN, YOU KNOW

           Spider-Man is a movie ahead of it's time in content and character.  It took one of the most famous superheros ever and stripped him down into the basic everyman of the day.  He became relatable through his groundedness; a human just like the rest of us, with questions and flaws and concerns for the world. It created two incredibly memorable characters in Norman Osborn and J. Jonah Jameson, pulling the performances of a lifetime out of both actors.   The movie reflects a dark and troubled time for the country beautifully and optimistically by examining the complexities of characters and asking the people of the country to unify in acceptance and understanding.  

           In one of the final scenes, we see Spider-Man dropping off the body of Norman Osborn at his home to stage a peaceful death.  Despite everything Goblin has put him through, Peter still feels a sense of compassion for the man whose hatred had consumed him.  And when his friend walks in, Peter is more willing to let Harry, the friend he had been constantly jealous of, believe Spider-Man killed his father than allow him to know the dark truth.  

           The movie begins with Peter Parker questioning who he is.  And in the end, after hardship and struggle, a year before Nolan's Batman and six years before Tony Stark, Peter Parker proudly declares his newfound identity: "I am Spider-Man."

If you like what you read, you can check out my Blogspot, The Film Fan Awakens, where I post detailed reviews and breakdowns of movies and TV, including Captain America: Civil War. Follow me on Facebook at Facebook.com/TheFilmFanAwakens.  

Let me know your thoughts on Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man.  What are your hopes for Tom Holland's portrayal as the characters enters the Marvel Cinematic Universe?  Which of the Spider-Man movies is your favorite?  Thanks for reading!

All images and clips used in this article are owned by Sony Pictures and the respective creators.  They have been used under Fair Use for commentary and criticism.  

Great Responsibility: A review of Captain America Civil War

             
Captain America: Civil War is based off the most well known comic storyline ever.  It's the sequel to my favorite Marvel movie.  It introduces my favorite superhero into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  It couldn't possibly live up to the hype, right?  Well...

             WITH GREAT POWER...

             The last time we saw The Avengers they had narrowly defeated Ultron in a destructive battle in Sokovia.  This wasn't the first time The Avengers were involved in large-scale destruction.  When Loki lead an invasion, multiple blocks of downtown New York City were annihilated.  When Captain America exposed Hydra to the world, chaos engulfed Washington DC.  

             After so many disastrous events, it was only a matter of time until someone demanded that someone is held accountable.  In response, Secretary of State Taddeus Ross proposes the Sokovia Initiative which would make The Avengers a government-sponsored organisation, only allowed to act under the approval of a United Nations council.  This proposition splits The Avengers by their morals and world view. Captain America leads a team who wish to ignore the Initiative and continue to act independently.  Iron Man leads a team who thinks rules are necessary to sustain their organization and supports the Initiative.  

             This premise and the early act of the movie asked some very deep and interesting questions about the government's role in our lives.  It felt timely as both sides of politics debate the rationale of proactive restraint.  This movie makes us begin to question who we have been rooting for in this series.  When The Hulk smashes in The Avengers or Iron Man blasts a jet out of the sky, we cheer for the characters we love, but we never stop to think about where that jet is landing or who couldn't get out of the way of The Hulk. While it is ultimately an action movie, it was refreshing to see a genre that can often feel flat and empty have some level of depth to it.  

             In the comic series, my side on the battle was firmly set and did not truly bend through the story.  However this movie did a better job with making me begin to question which side I was on.  Iron Man and Captain America both posed thoughtful arguments for their side, and the action and progress throughout the story helps change the way we look at both sides.  One of the few solid complaints I have about this movie is that at the end of the movie they end up mostly pushing a single side.  While they try to keep the question open at the end, it is disappointing that the ending was not more open ended.  

YOU THINK YOU'RE THE ONLY SUPERHERO?

As we know this movie is part of a larger marvel universe.  It is the third Captain America movie, but it is the thirteenth movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe overall.  This cinematic universe idea is growing more and more popular with the growth of the MCU, but it sometimes struggles to work.  Some movies like Iron Man 2 struggle to stand alone and lean too hard on the established universe.  Other movies like Thor The Dark World stand too far alone and fail to feel significant to the overall story.  

             Captain America Civil War manages to walk this line well, but steps off of it at times.  This is certainly a sequel to Captain America 2, with Bucky being a very significant character and Captain America being the lead by far.  His journey continues from where it left off and his relationship with his friends Bucky and Falcon continue to grow.  As far as Steve Rodgers and his character's story, this feels like a Captain America movie through and through and tops off the trilogy.  

             However one flaw for some people could be the Civil War storyline and its reliance on your knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  The movie does set up and remind people of the events of the past, but they will not have much impact if you had not seen Avengers: Age of Ultron before it.  Iron Man's character is probably the second biggest character in the movie and while his character has been well known in pop culture for the past almost 10 years, you could struggle to understand his point of view without seeing the first Iron Man movies.  Many other Avengers make appearances and if you've been living under a rock and this happened to be your first Marvel movie outside of the Captain America series, you would find yourself saying "whose that?" and missing some of the biggest, most fun moments in the movie.  

             With such a large cast, it could be easy for the movie to lose focus and stop feeling like a Captain America movie.  However this movie balanced the cast well, giving each character their moments to shine without overusing them.  Each character's appearance feels like it is important to the story and that they needed to be there.  The plot was wide reaching and it made perfect sense that so many of the Avengers would show up when they did. 

             All of this build up with the various Avengers and the growing tension between the teams leaves you tense knowing that this cannot end peacefully.  All this tension culminates in one of the best action scenes I have seen in a comic book movie.  While other movies from other studios that shall remain unnamed have incredibly drawn out action scenes that tend to feel way too long, this movie truly packed a punch into every second of the action scenes.  The major climatic battle lasts nearly 20 minutes, but it manages to be so fun and diverse that the time flies by and you will with you could watch even more of it.  

             Civil War does a great job feeling like it is part of a larger story.  It rewards viewers for having seen the previous MCU movies.  It also sets the stakes high for the next time we see this team together as much of the tension is left unresolved and many questions are still unanswered.  While I enjoyed this aspect of it, some people who are disconnected from the Marvel Cinematic Universe may find themselves asking more questions than they want to and feeling slightly unsatisfied if they are looking for a complete tie up.  

ENEMY OF MY ENEMY

            Marvel movie's villains have always been their biggest flaw.  They are mostly forgettable and one-note, with the movie heavily focusing on their heroes and just using the villain as a plot device to let us see the heroes in action.  Mostly, this movie suffers from the same flaws.  The villain plays a part, but often feels unimportant and there were many points where he showed up and I thought "Oh, right, he's in this movie."  Many of his actions relied way too much on conveniences and dumb luck, which made his master manipulator type feel much less smart.  

             I was impressed, however, with his motivations.  While they were simple, they were also unique from other Marvel movies and had a bit of a punch with significance to the overall story and themes.  

            In the end, Captain America Civil War is all about the heroes being turned against each other, and I think this movie could have existed perfectly fine without the villain and probably could have been better by turning his screen time into more moments with the heroes.

THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM

             Spider-Man is back with Marvel!  Well, sort of.  Years ago, when Marvel was losing so much money that it was nearly having to close, it sold off the film rights to its biggest characters to keep them afloat.  X-Men went to Fox and Spider-Man went to Sony.  Years later when the Marvel Cinematic Universe began, they were forced to pushed many of their b-list characters like Iron Man to the front line.  

             Spider-Man's movies have been mostly whiplash inducing in quality.  Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy had two of the best comic book movies before Sony and Raimi's creative disagreements results in Spider-Man 3 being mostly a mess with very low critical and fan reaction.  

             The movie killed the franchise for years before Sony rebooted a second time with Andrew Garfield playing the hero in Amazing Spider-Man.  The first movie in his series got mixed but more positive reviews, teasing a sequel that could push the character back into action.  However once again Sony and the director, Marc Webb, came to a clash and Sony overstepped their bounds and gave us Amazing Spider-Man 2, another clutter mess with underdeveloped villains.  While it made money at the box office, the critical reception was so low that Sony became desperate.  Sony, now finding itself closer and closer to the bankruptcy Marvel faced all those years ago, came to a deal with Marvel to basically split the rights and make him and his characters part of the MCU.

             Once the news came out, the internet lost its mind with some people incredibly excited for the future and some people not happy about yet another reboot.  Spider-Man is my favorite superhero, so my mixed emotions controlled me through nearly the whole movie as I anticipated his reveal.  From his first scene, I was instantly sold and happy with the character.  He does not have a ton of screen time, but he plays a very significant part and got the biggest reactions from the crowd.  

             After Amazing Spider-Man 2 I never thought another Sony Spider-Man Reboot would end up being one of my most anticipated movies of next year, but his character in this movie made me realize just how right he can be done with Marvel's help.  With him firmly planted in the MCU, I am beyond excited to see where the character goes.  

WHAT I LOVED

• Spider-Man.  Everything about Spider-Man was done perfectly.  His comedic timing, his personality, and his significance to the plot.  His appearances were satisfying and left me starving for more.  Tom Holland is a young and newcomer actor and could easily feel out of place, but he is truly an Avenger and his age and awkwardness is played perfectly.  After so many years since a great Spider-Man movie, it is a great feeling to be excited and confident for the future of the character again.  
• The Action.  All the action scenes of the movie are great, but the massive action battle as well as the showdown that finales the film are some of the greatest I've ever seen.  I was on the edge of my seat holding my breath as I watched unavoidable conflict shift the MCU and The Avengers forever.

WHAT I LIKED

• The balance of characters.  I felt incredibly rewarded for following the MCU devotedly since 2008.  This truly felt like a massive payoff for the years dedicated as a fan.  It was like a childhood dream playing out.  However I think that people who have not seen any of the other Marvel movies or have only watched the Captain America series will feel lost with many of the characters and not feel the impact of a lot of the moments.  It's part of something larger, for the good and the bad.
• Ant-Man.  I'm not going to spoil anything, but many people doubted Ant-Man before his movie came out and wondered he could fit in.  However Paul Rudd shamelessly stabs his stake right into the MCU and stands his ground perfectly standing among The Avengers.  

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

• The ultimate belittling of the core conflict.  The movie asks thoughtful questions and examines relevant themes, but this is ultimately sort of ignored at the end of the movie when the writers attempted to give us an answer and solve the problem while still trying to keep the question a little open.  They would have benefited from either keeping it more open or fully dedicating to their side.

WHAT I HATED

• The villain.  Hate is a strong word, especially for a movie I truly loved.  But I think Marvel is often given a pass for its poor villains.  The villain here is forgettable and the movie feels like it could exist perfectly without him.  He often feels like he is wasting time in such a favorite storyline.  He could have been cut had his time replaced with more Steve and Tony scenes or more with Bucky and Falcon.  Marvel is praised for everything else it does, but people should not overlook their biggest problem.

For being based on such a beloved comic story and using some of people's favorite characters in movies, Captain America Civil War had no right being as good as it is.  The core story asks interesting questions even if they do end up stepping back from them.  The movie manages to feel like it is part of something massive and big and still maintain its focus on the core character in the title.  Spider-Man was Amazing   Spectacular  really incredibly great and I'm absolutely starving for more. The action is some of the best I've ever seen and culminates in two of the greatest action scenes in comic book movies ever.  The villain is weak, but works for Marvel standards.  

This movie shifts the Marvel Cinematic Universe and with the Russo Brothers also directing Avengers Infinity War in 2018, we are sure to see the ramifications of this event played out in the future of the Universe.   

      What did you think of Captain America Civil War?  What are some of the comic book movies you're looking forward to in the next few years and why is it the next Spider-Man?  Let me know on here or on Facebook!