How does the film hold up?

[Stevens25]

I hadn't watched the original movie is a while but I recently watched the dvd. I still love it. It remains a great film and I think Raimi did a wonderful job in bringing Spidey to the screen. However,I have to say that some of the CGI effects left a little to be desired. When he was swinging through the city,Spider-man appeared to be to stiff with no really body movement. At times,the GG didn't look all that convincing either. Speaking of which,I still find Dafoe's Goblin a bit corny and cheesy at times,but I have to say that he was entertaining as a villian. The outfit doesn't bother me that much,I just wish the eyes were a bit smaller and more evil looking on his helmet. As before,I found the time spent out of the Spidey suit more interesting. The characters of Peter,MJ,Harry,Norman,Aunt May;etc, were a little more fascinating to me than Spidey/GG and their battles. Although,I still love the ending fight. It had real drama to it.
Overall,the origianl still is a wonderful movie. I'd give it 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

[Papa Burgundy]

agree with most of what was said

[Redwoods Wolf]

I still like it. I think it holds up well, despite the CGI and not very much aerial battling. The characters do fine, and I am still impressed that Spidey leaves MJ hanging at the end. I think it was important to cement his sense of responsibility (so he could then spend most of Spidey 2 questioning it, ironically).

Good stuff.

[GoldGoblin]

I wish they would make an extended cut with more aerial fighting action.

[Spade]

Of the two currently released, I like Spider-Man better than Spider-Man 2. Spider-Man, in my humble opinion, is the best of the available superhero films out there in history. It respectfully ecapsulated the origin while altering only what couldn't be covered in the span of a film or what had to be changed to quicken the pace. The acting is solid on all fronts, the story is well-crafted while leaving the room for a possible sequel and appeals to many audiences simultaneously. The Goblin fight at the end of the film screams classic Raimi and, like the film as a whole, wasn't afraid of showing realism in a comic book film while staying true to the fantastical nature of these characters.

Spider-Man 2 may be everyone else's favorite, but I feel everything was done better in the original. After seeing what's to offer in SM3, though, I may soon have another film that takes the place of this one- I'm a big Venom/ symbiote fans. Still, this film oozes of the classic and enduring era of Spider-Man. I'd give it a 100% A+ all the way, through and through.

[dodus]

IMHO, not so well. It always felt a bit too overcooked, and count me in with the small community of people that totally hated the GG (though Dafoe was awesome as Norman).

The CGI never really bothered me, and there are Peter parts that still get me (Uncle Ben, MJ at the end, the dynamic between Harry, Peter, and Norman), but every time that Spider-man costume is on, it feels like the mark is being seriously missed. Not so S-M2, which was as perfect a superhero movie as we're likely to get (until May 4th).

[Dark Phantom]

Originally Posted by ChibiKiriyama

Of the two currently released, I like Spider-Man better than Spider-Man 2. Spider-Man, in my humble opinion, is the best of the available superhero films out there in history. It respectfully ecapsulated the origin while altering only what couldn't be covered in the span of a film or what had to be changed to quicken the pace. The acting is solid on all fronts, the story is well-crafted while leaving the room for a possible sequel and appeals to many audiences simultaneously. The Goblin fight at the end of the film screams classic Raimi and, like the film as a whole, wasn't afraid of showing realism in a comic book film while staying true to the fantastical nature of these characters.

Spider-Man 2 may be everyone else's favorite, but I feel everything was done better in the original. After seeing what's to offer in SM3, though, I may soon have another film that takes the place of this one- I'm a big Venom/ symbiote fans. Still, this film oozes of the classic and enduring era of Spider-Man. I'd give it a 100% A+ all the way, through and through.

Your my new best friend! I completely agree with you!!!

[CaptainStacy]

It holds up wonderfully, imo.

[Spoarz™]

Originally Posted by CaptainStacy

It holds up wonderfully, imo.

I totally agree dude, I watched the movie recently and I feel it holds up brilliantly too.

Although the CGI isn't perfect, some moments actually seemed better than I remembered. And the final swing is still absolutely amazing. It is one of the greatest CGI film sequences ever made in my opinion.

This movie was terrible.

How many posts until I can do a new thread?

[CaptainStacy]

Originally Posted by TheLegendLives

This movie was terrible.

How many posts until I can do a new thread?

And yet, here you are, on a forum dedicated to the film.

Go figure.

[Cmill216]

The movie, overall, still holds up rather well. Some of the CG shots, not so much. But the final swing is still one of the greatest visual effects sequences ever crafted. And I love the fact that events in that film are still felt five years later as we approach SM3.

[zanos]

I don't think the film holds up well at all. It gets pushed further down the list by fans as new comic book films comes out and it's only been a few years. The sad fact is it's just another cgi movie albeit with one of the biggest comic books characters ever created but there's really nothing special about it.

[The Lizard]

I still enjoy watching it, and my initial 2002 rating of the film stands the same (8/10).

There are flaws aplenty of course:

-The numerous continuity and editing screw-ups. Seriously, Spider-Man has horribly sloppy film continuity that even distracted me in the theater the first time I saw it.

-Certain aspects of Spidey's depiction that just never felt right, like Pete letting the burglar fall to his death and of course those damn organic shooters.

-Some cringe-inducing dialogue, the very worst of course being Peter's "What I would tell Spider-Man about MJ" speech in the hospital.

-I personally wasn't put off that much by the Green Goblin armor, but I'll still mention it as a minor annoyance in some scenes.

-Clunky CGI during certain scenes (which is oddly enough balanced by really good CGI in other scenes - Sony Imageworks needs to work on consistancy in their product).

However, the film's "heart" still comes through, and several acting performances still raise it above the average superhero flick. So yeah - 8/10.
(Spider-Man 2 gets a marginally better 8.5/10, but I should talk about that in the correct forum I guess)

[The Joker]

Despite Goblin's horrible costume, corny dialogue, and some of the dodgy CGI sequences, I still enjoy this movie. It hasn't got the replay value of SM-2, but it's still an enjoyable movie.

[Dark Spidey]

Originally Posted by Doc Ock

Despite Goblin's horrible costume, corny dialogue, and some of the dodgy CGI sequences, I still enjoy this movie. It hasn't got the replay value of SM-2, but it's still an enjoyable movie.

Yes I agree. You know, I'm really looking forward to SM3. But somehow as cool as it all looks, I can't see it replacing Spidey 2 as my favorite. That film had pretty much everything that I was looking for in a Spidey movie. To be honest when the dust settles in a year or so. I think most people will still prefer SM2.

Not as cheesy as the first. But not as dark as the third. Just right.

[Dark Spidey]

Originally Posted by The Lizard

I still enjoy watching it, and my initial 2002 rating of the film stands the same (8/10).

There are flaws aplenty of course:

-The numerous continuity and editing screw-ups. Seriously, Spider-Man has horribly sloppy film continuity that even distracted me in the theater the first time I saw it.

Agreed. The worst case of this is at the very end of the film when Peter and MJ are talking by Ben's grave. Which I believe is the most emotional scene in the entire film. There's a cut to a different take with a very, very noticable diference that takes me right out of the movie every time I watch it.

One day. Raimi will have to go back to this film and do and special edition or something and fix these damn continuity gaffs, that to be honest, make the film look like it was made by amatuers. Oh and an update of CGI would be much appreciated too.

[Geko]

Originally Posted by Dark Spidey

Agreed. The worst case of this is at the very end of the film when Peter and MJ are talking by Ben's grave. Which I believe is the most emotional scene in the entire film. There's a cut to a different take with a very, very noticable diference that takes me right out of the movie every time I watch it.

Ok, I read this and then rewatched that scene. Now I'll admit I do tend to get more caught up in movies than some and generally miss all these continuity glitches, but I can usually spot them if I'm looking for them.

That said... what exactly are you talking about?

[Dark Spidey]

Originally Posted by Geko

Ok, I read this and then rewatched that scene. Now I'll admit I do tend to get more caught up in movies than some and generally miss all these continuity glitches, but I can usually spot them if I'm looking for them.

That said... what exactly are you talking about?

If you never noticed this. Even on repeated viewings. Then you are very fortunate. As I actually caught this the first time I ever saw Spider-man in the movie theatre.

After MJ confesses her love for Peter and kisses him, she has her hand on the side of his face. And continues to while Peter talks. But then when Peter says the eternally heartbreaking line "That's all I have to give". A different take of Tobey Maguire has been inserted into the scene. Noticable by the distance of the shot but more annoyingly the lack of MJ's hand on his face. Which then suddenly returns as we switch back to the original take of the scene!

[Geko]

WOW! I had never noticed that, but you're right.

[GoldGoblin]

They should make a 2.1 dvd for this.They need to replace the wirework shots with CGI.Like when:
-GG kicks spidey into the lightpole in Times Square.

-When spidey kicks GG in the burning building and then webs GG and pulls him back to hit him again.They should CGI some of that fight to make it bigger and better.

-They could even add some CGI areial fighting in the the Times Square part in the movie.

-They should CGI a shot of spidey swinging with MJ after spidey saves her from falling off the building in Times Square to make it look more natural.

-They should make GG's smoke from his hands that he sprays at spidey at the Bugle come out faster too,it was too slow,maybe even make it green.

Sony would make a huge profit if they did this and some other things through out the movie.

[griffolyon12]

I think it's still amazing,and in some ways I like it more than the 2nd one.It' still a perfect 10/10 for me.

[bellepheron]

I watched the 1st movie the other day in because I can't wait for the 3rd and needed a fix of spidey and was pretty disapointed!! For me the best bits of the 1st are the bits focusing on peter and mj and him getting his powers and learning to use them!

The action set pieces especially the fight scenes are totally lame compared to any of the doc ock fight scenes and the whole film seems too kiddy orientated when i watch it now, and dont even get me started on gobby's costume!! whoever came up with that should be sacked!!!

[OctaviusINC]

I still love the 1st film to death. It brings back a lot of memories and is so much fun. The only parts I have a problem with is the TERRIBLE editing after Peter 1st webswings into the billboard and cuts to him running home. that's just sloppy editing. And the corny, "This is new york. You mess with one of us you mess with all of us." I dont care though, its still great.

Originally Posted by OctaviousINC

And the corny, "This is new york. You mess with one of us you mess with all of us."

I think this was a reaction because of 9.11