How well do the Raimi/Maguire Spider-Man films hold up today?

[terry78]

I think with Raimi's Spidey they made him like too much of a dork and then they went too far and made him too much of an ******* in the third. Raimi has basically made it no secret that he's a fan of the 60s era Spidey so this is what we were getting except setting it in modern day.

 

[Infinity9999x]

I thought it was perfect for Spider-Man. He's not Daredevil or Logan. Campy comedy is right in Spidey's wheelhouse.

It’s never sat right for me. Spidey was never really all that campy. Witty? Absolutely. The humor should come from his witty stream of consciousness sarcasm as Spidey and the wry “this is my life and I’m going to have to deal with it” self deprecating and self aware humor as Pete. Camp...not so much. Sometimes sure, but not the main source of humor by any stretch.

When you add that Spidey barely talked in costume...it was a complete misfire of what kind of humor works for Spidey in my opinion.

 

[terry78]

That was the era where apparently someone thought it wasn't realistic for somebody in a mask to be constantly talking. Hell, even Holland barely did it in FFH.

 

[Infinity9999x]

That was the era where apparently someone thought it wasn't realistic for somebody in a mask to be constantly talking. Hell, even Holland barely did it in FFH.

Yeah, they’ve never completely nailed the perfect Spidey persona in live action yet. Holland in CW is probably the closest.

 

[Themanofbat]

I thought it was perfect for Spider-Man. He's not Daredevil or Logan. Campy comedy is right in Spidey's wheelhouse.

I agree. Raimi really captured the "Parker Luck", especially in SM2.

 

[Infinity9999x]

I agree. Raimi really captured the "Parker Luck", especially in SM2.

It got the down on his luck aspect, but they overdid the “look at how doofy Peter is!!! nerrrrrd!!!” To my earlier point, that shouldn’t be the main source of comedy in a Spider-man movie.

 

[MarvelFan]

They are still hold up for me!

Especially Spider-Man 2...
People now days tends to lean on MCU more for relatable aspect...but for me, there no more relatable story than Spider-Man 2.

I never forget Aunt May words that says, we all have the hero in all of us, makes us strong, makes us noble, even sometimes we have to give up the things we want the most.

To me, those are the most relatable things and words that has been uttered in CBM movies.

 

[-JKR-]

They hold up magnificently.
Still the best live-action big screen portrayal of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

 

[NHawk19]

Story wise 1-2 hold up pretty well. 3 well is just well yea.

That Goblin suit though, ugh, I'm all for the CGI Jabba treatment if they re-release that.

 

[Shoppy]

Spider-Man 3 has never been as bad as people make it out to be.

Spider-Man 2 on the other hand has been over-rated since it was released.

 

[fan4stic]

This is so true and now I can’t unsee it lmao. I think that if Holland and all of his personality had Raimi and all the material he gave McFly, we would have dynamite.

Tom is really the first one to actually encompass everything that makes Spidey who he is.

I don't see him in movie having that heaviness, burden of guilt or edge, that I see Spider-Man having. Particularly in Homecoming.

One thing I can't get over was how pathetic a character he was as portrayed by Maguire. Yes, Peter was nerdy and a pushover but he still always had a fire in him and he was never this socially awkward. I mean, it was like they were trying to make him in to George McFly mk2.

Personally, Tom Holland is my favourite characterisation of the character. Maguire was too George McFly on a really bad day and Garfield just came off as unlikable.

I think Peter is hardly socially awkward after he becomes Spider-Man in Raimi's movies. I think he's shown to be more upfront personally in most of the trilogy. I think only really in SM 2 is that downgraded and I think in that case it's more connected to him feeling down about his life. When he stops being Spider-Man in that movie I think he continues being more upfront.

 

[psylockolussus]

They all look dated now, but Sm2 is forever a cbm classic!

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I watched all 3 again recently and they still hold up incredibly well, especially the first 2 which are still among the best in the genre.

CGI can definitely date, but heart, character and emotion don’t and the Raimi trilogy had them in spades.

 

[Herofan]

I think 2 is still excellent, the other two are mixed bags. 2 had the best mix of humor and comedy, the other two films tended to overdo it. I wouldn't really call the humor in 2 and, the dancing aside, 3 campy, though, more like slapstick (which is very fitting for and enjoyable in Spider-Man), just brief bits that were a bit campy ("Eat your vegetables," when the '60s theme song was played).

Audiences generally would probably regard 2 as great, 1 as either good or OK, 3 as at best a guilty pleasure, all entertaining despite some flaws. Probably more entertaining if expectations weren't, and continue to not be, super-high.

 

[OutOfBoose]

I wasn't a fan of them when they came out, because I wasn't familiar much with Spider-Man comics and the only blueprint for me was 90s animated series, which I liked quite a bit. Raimi films felt too different. Too weird.

Decade later I gave the trilogy another chance and actually fell in love with it. And the biggest selling point for me was what initially turned me off - Raimi's style. Not "just" heart, character work, action, cast, but also unique quirkiness, atmosphere of New York, innocence of stories. Even if some technical aspects aged poorly, mostly CGI from SM1, it's compensated by Raimi's handwriting and quality storytelling.

 

[heathjack]

my favorites is spider-man 1 & spider-man 3! i do enjoy spider-man 2!! i liked spider-man 3 cause it kind of reminds me of christopher reeves super man 3!! now one part i don't under stand in ending of spider-man 1 when spider-man was trying save the kids form the cable cart on the bridge & then the green goblin tries to kill him!!then the people on the bridge started throwing rocks & bricks at the green goblin!! only thing the green goblin had to do was throw an punkinm bomb at the people & they would have been dead!! he did that when he was fighting spider-man in the prada!! he didn't do it to spider-man but to norman osborn board members! why couldn't green goblin threw pumpkin bomb at the people on the bridge?

 

[Vader's Fist]

Just watched this clip while taking a break from study:


It really says something about the quality of the swinging effects, in that I don't have to be watching them on the big screen to make my stomach plunge.

 

[Dominate426]

When I’m in the mood to watch a Spider-Man film, those are the ones I watch (even Spider-Man 3). I can’t stand the other two versions especially the MCU one.

 

[Themanofbat]

my favorites is spider-man 1 & spider-man 3! i do enjoy spider-man 2!! i liked spider-man 3 cause it kind of reminds me of christopher reeves super man 3!! now one part i don't under stand in ending of spider-man 1 when spider-man was trying save the kids form the cable cart on the bridge & then the green goblin tries to kill him!!then the people on the bridge started throwing rocks & bricks at the green goblin!! only thing the green goblin had to do was throw an punkinm bomb at the people & they would have been dead!! he did that when he was fighting spider-man in the prada!! he didn't do it to spider-man but to norman osborn board members! why couldn't green goblin threw pumpkin bomb at the people on the bridge?

He was caught off guard, zooms around, giving Spidey time to save the kids/MJ, and then has to deal with Spider-Man

 

[Themanofbat]

Just watched this clip while taking a break from study:


It really says something about the quality of the swinging effects, in that I don't have to be watching them on the big screen to make my stomach plunge.

I could watch those 36 seconds all day long.
Arguably the best of the bunch, but probably because, at the time, I never thought I'd see that type of Spidey swinging greatness in my life

 

[Dark Raven]

Just watched this clip while taking a break from study:


It really says something about the quality of the swinging effects, in that I don't have to be watching them on the big screen to make my stomach plunge.

That swing through New York is better than anything in the MCU Spider-Man films, and also the Webb films. The MCU Spidey was seriously lacking skyscrapers and the Manhattan setting. Even the swing at the end of FFH didn't match that.

 

[saborlord123]

First two a great in my mind. We don't talk about the third one.

 

[Flint Marko]

The first 2 are still two of the best, if not the best, non-MCU superhero films IMO.

They're dated to an extent but sticking with a stylized, timeless 60's look for the city aged beautifully and really adds a lot to both movies.

 

[Shoppy]

Ghost Rider being a Sony film should be seen as part of this bunch...

...the sequel to which was Ghost Rider 2...

...which carried the "Marvel Knights" tag, as did Punisher: War Zone...

...so you could say they're all in the same universe.

 

[Batmannerism]

Holland has been my favorite Spidey since he first appeared - but I think the Raimi films hold up pretty well, aside from a little bit of suspect CGI.

I put it down to a good performance by Maguire - despite some terrible dialogue and a pretty lame characterization- and a very strong supporting cast. What really redeems SM3 at the end is how they resolve the love triangle and give Harry a satisfying ending - plus the death of Venom is nicely in keeping with the comics.

Raimi took a very faithful approach to the 1980s Aunt May, MJ, Harry and Norman Osborn - watching the films is a bit like reading one of the Todd MacFarlane comics.