"SPIDER-MAN" (2002) Review

 

"SPIDER-MAN" (2002) Review

I have been a major fan of the Marvel Comics character, Spider-Man, for a long time.  When I was a kid, I used to read "The Amazing Spider-Man" comic strip from my local newspaper on a daily basis. I was also a regular viewer of the reruns from the 1967-70 animated series "SPIDER-MAN" and the 1978-79 television series, "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN", which starred Nicholas Hammond. So when Columbia Pictures released a movie version of the comic book web crawler twenty years ago, I was a happy camper.

Ironically, I have no memories of any particular episode from either the animated series or the live-action series. All I know is that I used to watch both. But there is no way I could ever forget director Sam Rami's 2002 film adaptation, which starred Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker aka Spider-Man. How could I? I own a DVD copy of the movie.

"SPIDER-MAN" is basically Rami and screenwriter David Koepp's take on the web slinger's origins. The movie begins with teenager Peter Parker living with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May in Forest Hills, a suburb in Queens, New York. Peter is in love with next door neighbor Mary Jane Watson and is best friends with Harry Osborn, the son of millionaire/scientist and Oscorp CEO, Dr. Norman Osborn; who seems to regard Peter more as a son than Harry.  Peter attends a field trip with Mary Jane, Harry and other fellow students to a genetics lab. when he is bitten by a genetically engineered spider. He wakes up the following morning with perfect vision, fast reflexes, superhuman strength and the ability to emit web strings. His school fight with Mary Jane's bullying boyfriend, Flash Thompson, attracts Uncle Ben's attention, who has become concerned with Peter's recently distant behavior.

Meanwhile, Norman Osborn's company is in danger of losing its bid for a contract with the U.S. Army for weapons. Osborn tests his company's new performance-enhancing drug and becomes stronger. He also acquires a maniacal alter ego and murders his assistant. And Peter decides to use his new abilities to raise money. He enters a wrestling match to win $300 dollars. But the promoter scams him out of his full reward and Peter retaliates by refusing to help stop a thief from stealing the box office returns. The same thief ends up killing Uncle Ben during a carjacking. When Peter realizes that the thief and his uncle's killer are one and the same, he becomes guilt-ridden and decides to use his powers to become a masked vigilante following graduation from high school. In time, Peter aka Spider-Man and Osborn aka the Green Goblin battle it out for the safety of New York.

As much as I enjoyed "SPIDER-MAN", I must admit that it had its flaws. All of those flaws centered around Koepp's screenplay. One, I thought the story was a bit episodic, especially the first half that revealed both Spider-Man and the Green Goblin's origins. In fact, the movie could be easily divided into two halves - from the beginning to Peter's graduation from high school, and his activities and battles with the Green Goblin. Another major problem that stemmed from Koepp's screenplay was the dialogue. "SPIDER-MAN" turned out to be one of the two top movies that were released during the summer of 2002. The other was "STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES". While fans and critics criticized some of the dialogue in the latter film, they easily overlooked the cheesy dialogue that tainted "SPIDER-MAN", especially the smart-ass comments that poured from Spider-Man's mouth. And I found the Green Goblin's early attempt to convince Spider-Man to become an ally a bit contrived.

Fortunately, "SPIDER-MAN" possessed virtues that outnumbered its flaws. One, the movie was fortunate to have Danny Elfman as its composer. I thought he did a top-notch job that contributed greatly to not only the movie's, but the entire trilogy's atmosphere. Neil Spisak and his team did a superb job with the movie's production designs that gave it a colorful, comic-book style without going over-the-top.  I was especially impressed by Spisak's designs for the genetic lab sequence and the Oscorp-sponsored fair sequence that featured the murders of the Oscorp directors. Spisak's production work was ably assisted by Don Burgess' photography. In fact, I would say that Burgess' work more than Spisak's gave the movie its colorful comic-book style.

Although I found Koepp's screenplay a bit episodic, I must admit that it featured some very exciting scenes that I will never forget. My favorites include Peter's wrestling match with Bonesaw McGraw, the murder of the Oscorp directors, and Spider-Man's rescue of Mary Jane from a bunch of thugs. But the two scenes that truly stood out for me and struck me as well directed by Rami were the Thanksgiving dinner at Peter and Harry's Manhattan apartment; and the final showdown between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. The Thanksgiving dinner not only led to Osborn's discovery of Peter's identity as Spider-Man, it provided a deliciously subtle interaction between the millionaire and Aunt May, due to wonderful performances by Willem Dafoe and Rosemary Harris.  Spider-Man and the Green Goblin's final confrontation led to a nail-biting moment in which the latter forced Spider-Man to choose between saving Mary Jane and the underage passengers of a Roosevelt Island Tramway car.  The sequence also led to a brutal fight between the adversaries and one of the best lines ever to be uttered by a Marvel villain:

"This is why only fools are heroes - because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice."

I will also add that when I criticized Koepp's screenplay for being episodic, I really meant that it seemed to be somewhat divided between two complete stories. Once Peter assumed the role of Spider-Man, became a photographer for The Daily Bugle and engaged in his conflict with the Green Goblin, the movie picked up to become a force of nature.

Tobey Maguire nearly failed to become Peter Parker aka Spider-Man.  Although Rami wanted him for the role, Columbia Pictures executives were hesitant to cast someone who did not seem to fit the ranks of "adrenaline-pumping, tail-kicking titans".  Apparently, these guys never read any of the comic books.  Without his Spider-Man outfit, Peter Parker was supposed to be a quiet, nerdy science student with a slight built.  Not only did Maguire physically and emotionally fulfilled Peter's character with perfection, he also worked with a physical trainer to improve his physique for the Spider-Man scenes.  His performances as Spider-Man really took me by surprise.  I did not realize that he would be so effective as both an action hero and quiet nerd.  And I like being surprised.

Koepp's portrayal of the Mary Jane Watson character differed from the comic books in many ways.  One, Peter and Mary Jane never met until both were students at Empire State University in the comic books.  Two, the comic book Mary Jane was a little more extroverted than the cinematic Mary Jane portrayed by Kirsten Dunst.  And she seemed quite taken by Spider-Man, after he saved her during the Goblin's murder of the Oscorp directors.  Despite these changes, Dunst gave an excellent performance with the character she was given and she had a very strong screen chemistry with Maguire, which culminated in the famous screen kiss that is still considered iconic.  Also, Dunst's Mary Jane proved that friendship was a more valuable component than mere muscles, when she revealed at the end that Peter meant more to her than Spider-Man.  Dunst also had a strong screen chemistry with actor James Franco, who gave an excellent performance as the insecure Harry Osborn, who longed for his father's attention and especially respect.  Come to think of it, Franco also had strong chemistry with both Maguire and Willem Dafoe.  Cliff Robertson was wonderful as Peter's Uncle Ben.  He and Maguire were excellent in the Peter/Uncle Ben scenes that would end up reverberating in the next two movies.  And Rosemary Harris was a delight as the warm-hearted Aunt May, especially in the Thanksgiving dinner scene and the hospital scene that featured her own heartwarming conversation with Peter.  Despite being forced to utter some very cheesy dialogue, Willem Dafoe overcame this defect and gave a truly scary and fascinating performance as Norman Osborn aka the Green Goblin.  Some of his best moments featured those scenes in which Osborn had conversations with his alter ego - the Goblin.  No wonder his Green Goblin is still considered to be the best on-screen Spider-Man villain.

Stan Lee was ecstatic over J.K. Simmons' portrayal of The Daily Bugle editor-in-chief, J. Jonah Jameson.  And I can see why.  In some ways, it is a rather one-dimensional performance.  Then again, I have always remembered Jameson as a one-dimensional character.  But Simmons breathed life and humor into the role and ended up giving one of the best performances in the movie. It is too bad that the Betty Brant character was regulated as a supporting one.  In the comic books, she was Peter's high school girlfriend and his first love.  In "SPIDER-MAN", she is Jameson's friendly secretary, who was always coming to Peter's aid.  Yet, Elizabeth Banks effused a great deal of warmth into the character that made her very likeable.  I can also say the same about Bill Nunn's performance as editor Joseph "Robbie" Robertson.  Bruce Campbell and Octavia Spencer provided some humorous moments as a wrestling announcer and a clerk who signs Peter up for a match.

Unlike many other fans of the "SPIDER-MAN" movie franchise, I never considered the 2002 movie to be the second best of those directed by Sam Rami.  David Koepp's screenplay seemed a bit episodic to me.  And it was filled with too many cheesy dialogue.  But the screenplay did provide a strong and action-packed second half for the story.  And I am one who cannot deny that Rami's direction, along with the production crew and an excellent cast led by Tobey Maguire overcame the screenplay's flaws and provided a first-rate comic book movie that I will never forget.

"SPIDER-MAN" (2002) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from "SPIDER-MAN", the 2002 adaptation of Marvel Comics' superhero. Directed by Sam Rami, the movie starred Tobey Maguire as the web slinger:

"SPIDER-MAN" (2002) Photo Gallery

"JUSTICE LEAGUE" (2017) Review

"JUSTICE LEAGUE" (2017) Review

The D.C. Comics Extended Universe (DCEU) released its fifth film utilizing several characters that were either featured or hinted in its previous four films during the fall of 2017. Directed by Zack Snyder (well, most of it), "JUSTICE LEAGUE" proved to be an even more controversial entry than two of its previous films. Only for different reasons. 

Set some time after the present-day events of "WONDER WOMAN", "JUSTICE LEAGUE" begins with the Gotham City costumed vigilante Batman aka Bruce Wayne attempting to arrest a thief. However, his efforts are interrupted by the arrival of an alien creature known as a parademon. Realizing that he had dreamed of a similar creature in "BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE", Batman realizes that Earth is about to face another alien threat. Before he can summon Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince, she learns of an even bigger threat from her mother, Queen Hippolyta of Themyscira. A former foe known as Steppenwolf has arrived on Earth to acquire the three Mother Boxes, sentient, miniaturized, portable supercomputers from his homeworld of Apokolips. One of the boxes had been guarded by the Amazons of Themyscira for thousands of years. The pair decides to find the other metahumans - Barry Allen aka the Flash, Victor Stone aka Cyborg (whose body was cured by a Mother Box) and Arthur Curry aka Aquaman - and form a team to fight against Steppenwolf. Bruce manages to easily recruit the Flash, but is unable to recruit Aquaman. And Diana encounters difficulty in recruiting Cyborg. But when Steppenwolf manages to acquire the second Mother Box in Aquaman's world of Atlantis, the "King of the Seven Seas" decides to join the newly formed Justice League to defeat the alien from Apokolips. However, it is not long before the League realizes they need a sixth member to help them defeat Steppenwolf - namely the recently deceased Superman.

Ever since the release of "MAN OF STEEL" in 2013, critics and some moviegoers have been highly critical of the DCEU. With the exception of "WONDER WOMAN", the franchise's movies have either received mixed reviews or panned. In the case of "JUSTICE LEAGUE", it has been panned . . . perhaps even more so than the other four films. Personally, I have been a major fan of the DCEU films before "JUSTICE LEAGUE". Do I believe the movie deserved to panned? Honestly? No. But I do feel that "JUSTICE LEAGUE" is probably the first DCEU film toward which I felt some disappointment.

There was a good deal from "JUSTICE LEAGUE" that I enjoyed. The creation of the Justice League began when Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman formed a team to battle Lex Luthor's creation, Doomsday, in "BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE". This creation continued with Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince's recruitment of the Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman. And if I must be honest, I enjoyed how the movie's screenplay took its time in fusing these characters into the League. I found this especially satisfying, since both Cyborg and Aquaman proved rather difficult to recruit. What finally drove them all together as a team proved to be the threat of Steppenwolf. 

This leads me to something else I enjoyed about the film. Steppenwolf's acquisition of two Mother Boxes provided some first-rate action sequences featuring the Amazons on Themyscira and the Atlantis inhabitants' efforts to stop him. And they did not make it easy for him. I especially enjoyed the sequence featuring Steppenwolf's theft of the Mother Box on Themyscira. There were other action sequences that enjoyed. One of them included the League's first encounter with Steppenwolf inside an abandoned facility near the Gotham City Harbor. I also enjoyed the League's second attempt to defeat Steppenwolf and his Parademon army at a small Russian village, where the Apokoliptian planned to fuse the three Mother Boxes and terraform the Earth's surface. I also enjoyed an early action sequence that featured Wonder Woman's confrontation with a group of terrorists in London. But for me, my favorite action sequence featured the League's confrontation with a recently resurrected and amnesiac Superman. Although I found it rather scary, thanks to Henry Cavill's chilling performance, there was a comedic moment that I found very funny.

As much as I enjoyed most of the film's action sequences, I found a good deal of its comedic and dramatic moments even more satisfying. It seemed pretty obvious to me that the film's two comedy relief characters were Barry Allen aka the Flash and Arthur Curry aka Aquaman. And I found both characters more than satisfactory, thanks to Ezra Miller and Jason Momoa's performances. Miller's Barry Allen was an extroverted and nervous personality that was at odds with his inability to easily befriend others. This was especially apparent in one scene that featured the initial meeting between Barry and Bruce Wayne at the former's abode and his attempts to befriend Victor Stone aka Cyborg. But the one scene that truly made me appreciate Miller's comedic talent occurred when the League clashed with a resurrected, yet amnesiac Superman and the Flash attempted to attack the Man of Steel from behind . . . and failed. Jason Momoa's portrayal of Arthur Curry also provided a good deal of the movie's comedic moments. Momoa's portrayal of the blunt and cynical King of the Seven Seas practically had me in stitches. But I especially enjoyed that moment when Aquaman unexpectedly went into a comedic spiel about fighting Steppenwolf and his appreciation for Wonder Woman . . . unaware that he was sitting on her Lasso of Truth.

However, there were many dramatic moments that made me happily realize that "JUSTICE LEAGUE" was not all comedy and action. The movie's opening credits featured a poignant montage that revealed the world's grief over Superman's death. One particular scene - a homeless man holding a "I TRIED" sign next to him - really resonated within me. I thought Martha Kent's visit to Lois Lane in Metropolis and the two women's shared grief over Clark/Superman's demise was particularly poignant, thanks to Diane Lane and Amy Adams' performances. I particularly enjoyed one scene that featured a tense conversation between Cyborg and his father, Dr. Silas Stone over the latter's decision to use a Mother Box to save the former's life. May I be frank? Both Ray Fisher, who portrayed the superhero and Joe Morton, who portrayed his father, really knocked it out of the ballpark in this scene. I was not that impressed by the CGI used for the Steppenwolf character. But I must admit that I enjoyed Ciarán Hinds' voice performance for the villain. The actor projected a good deal of style and menace into the character. 

I enjoyed Clark's reunion with both Lois and Martha. Although I feel that it was a bit too brief for my tastes, I cannot deny that I found it emotionally satisfying. And I enjoyed the tense conversation between Aquaman and future love interest, Mera of Atlantis. The scene seemed to give audiences a preview of the screen dynamics between Momoa and Amber Heard, who portrayed Mera. But if I had to pick my favorite dramatic moment in "JUSTICE LEAGUE", it would have to be the scene that featured Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince's conversation regarding his continuing guilt over his past attempt to kill Superman and her lingering grief over the death of her former lover/colleague, Steve Trevor. Thanks to superb and subtle performances from Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot, the scene was a tense and angst-riddled moment that I truly enjoyed.

Zack Snyder had collaborated with cinematographer Larry Fong on four films - "300" (2007), "WATCHMEN" (2009), "SUCKER PUNCH" (2011) and especially, "BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE" (2016). For "JUSTICE LEAGUE", Synder ended up collaborating with Fabian Wagner, who had previously spent most of his career in television - especially HBO's "GAME OF THRONES". However, I am not that familiar with Wagner's previous work. But I must admit that I was impressed by his work in "JUSTICE LEAGUE". His work proved to be a bit brighter than Fong's work in "BATMAN V. SUPERMAN". This is not that surprising, considering that the movie's narrative is slightly less angsty than the 2016 film. But I was especially impressed by his photography of the film's protagonists, as shown below:







One would be inclined to wonder why I had regarded "JUSTICE LEAGUE" as something of a disappointment, due to my positive comments on it. Well . . . I had problems with the film. Hell, I have expressed quibbles for about every comic book movie I have seen. My first problem with "JUSTICE LEAGUE" there were times when it seemed I was viewing a movie with two directors . . . with two different styles. Well of course the movie seemed to possess two different director. As everyone knows, Zack Snyder had experienced a family tragedy while dealing with the film's post-production. Unable to continue, he asked Joss Whedon, who had directed the two Avengers films for Marvel/Disney, to complete the post-production reshoots, using his notes. Well . . . Whedon did more than that. At the behest of the Warner Brothers executives, he chopped out a good deal of Snyder's work, re-shot and re-wrote at least 30 percent of the movie in a similar style he had used for the Avengers films. In the end, there were times when "JUSTICE LEAGUE" seemed like a DCEU film trying to look like a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie. I found this very confusing - especially in the film's third and final act. 

One of the results of this hack job by Whedon and Warner Brothers, was the decision to change the film's composer. They tossed out Junkie XL (who had co-written the "BATMAN V. SUPERMAN" score with Hans Zimmer)'s score and hired Danny Elfman to replace it. Now . . . I have been a fan of some of Elfman's work for years. But what he did for this film's score? As far as I am concerned . . . nothing. Elfman fell back on the nostalgia factor by utilizing his old score from the two Batman films directed by Tim Burton. Worse, there was a moment following Superman's resurrection - I do no know if this happened or not, but I could have sworn that right after the resurrection or when the Man of Steel confronted Steppenwolf for the first time - Elfman even used a few bars from John Williams' score for the 1978 film, "SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE". All I can say that it was a very cringe-worthy moment for me.

Speaking of Superman . . . what in the hell happened? Granted, I really enjoyed the sequences featuring his resurrection, his clash with the League's other members and his reunions with Lois and Martha. But once Superman joined the League's battle against Steppenwolf . . . I just do not know what happened. It seemed as if someone - I suspect it was Whedon - tried to transform him into Christopher Reeve's version of the Man of Steel. Ugh! Look, Chris Reeve's Superman was fine for the late 20th century. But we are nearing the end of the 2010s. Henry Cavill had managed to establish his own version of Superman. There was no need to force him to copy another actor's style. One other fact bothered me. I am referring to the questionable CGI that tried to hide the mustache he was sporting, while filming "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT". Apparently, Paramount Studios refused to allow Cavill to shave the moustache for the "JUSTICE LEAGUE" re-shoots. Between the cringe-worthy grinning, the cheesy dialogue and that ridiculous race against the Flash in the first post-credit scene, I simply found myself feeling sorry for Henry Cavill. In fact, either Snyder or Whedon (I suspect the latter) tried to lighten up Affleck's performance as Batman by forcing the latter to spew some pretty lame jokes. Poor man. In their attempt to transform the movie into an Avengers film, the Warner Brothers suits damn near sabotaged both the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight.

But for me, the real problem proved to be the film's last act. It brought back bad memories of the last act of the 2015 movie, "THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON". The entire sequence featuring the Justice League's battle against Steppenwolf and the latter's parademon army at some Russian village struck me as simply confusing. It was beyond confusing. Between the questionable editing, the unattractive lighting, and the rushed action, I simply found the entire sequence hard to swallow. I can only thank God that Russian village was not rising in the sky, while the Justice League battle Steppenwolf. That shit would have been even more difficult to swallow. The first post-credit scene featuring Superman and the Flash's race to see who was the fastest did not help. Why is it so damn important in a D.C. Comics movie or television production to show a Kryptonian (whether it was Superman or Supergirl) in a race with the Flash? I disliked it in this movie and I disliked it in a Season One episode of the Arrowverse's "SUPERGIRL". Fortunately, the second post-credit scene nearly made up for the film's last thirty minutes or so. I will say that it involved Lex Luthor and one of Batman's former foes, Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke. It proved to be a great surprise.

So, there you have it. Do not get me wrong. "JUSTICE LEAGUE" provided some great action scenes and dramatic moments. It also featured some excellent performances, as well. However, it is quite obvious that the Warner Brothers executives and Joss Whedon made a serious mistake in ignoring Zack Snyder's post-production instructions and trying to transform the movie into their own version of a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film. In a way, they did. "JUSTICE LEAGUE" strongly reminded me of Marvel's 2015 movie, "THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON" - both the good and the bad.

"JUSTICE LEAGUE" (2013) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "JUSTICE LEAGUE", the fifth entry in the DCEU franchise. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie starred Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot and Henry Cavill: 


"JUSTICE LEAGUE" (2013) Photo Gallery