The first Spider-Man film is 20 years old today (😢) Even though I don’t think it’s the best superhero movie now, at the time I did and I loved that film (I still love that film). Only saw it once at the cinema but watched it tonnes when I got the DVD.
I don’t think kids post-Spider-Man 1 will get this but at the time there was this unspoken understanding that Spider-Man would never be a film. Even reading comics and watching the cartoon in the 90’s I always thought wouldn’t this be a great film, but you just knew you would never get it. Even as a kid I just knew films couldn’t do this. I never had doubt that the idea wouldn’t work, but you just sort of knew and believed that this would never be a movie. They couldn’t make Spider-Man swing through a city and make it look good.
Even when X-Men came out I remember thinking wow what if they made a Spider-Man film. But you can’t do that. I don’t remember how I heard or knew that a Spider-Man film was happening but I remember this poster
Was unbelievable. Even looking at it now this poster gets me excited. Spider-Man. Look at him. Spider-Man is the coolest.
I also remember watching this with a friend of mine at the time on DVD and after I just accidentally let all my comic book nerd out. Non-stop talking about the comics being like there’s this villain, they could do this character, the bridge is from this story, there’s not just a Green Goblin but a Hobgoblin, and they don’t die from being stabbed instead they wreck Spider-Man’s life by making him believe he was a clone for 20 years and my friend was like Shut. Up. Lol.
On the flip I found it weird people knew so little. I can’t remember who I watched it with. But I remember someone being surprised that his uncle died. I was like how do people not know that.
But I was excited, what was I supposed to do.
I still think JK Simmons as JJ is some of the best casting in any superhero movie even today. He absolutely fucking nails that role.
The end action scene is also iconic to me. With Goblin holding the tram car of kids in one hand and MJ in the other. Truly at the time I had bated breath being like how is he going to do this. And watching him dive after MJ, catch her, swing around and catch the train car. Perfect. It’s perfect because it’s a situation perfect for Spider-Man, and it completely blew me away. I could not see how he was going to do that at all.
”Now choose!”
Looking back at it. There’s a distinct lack of quips. There’s good jokes, but almost no quips. I think the rest of the casting is pretty bad. Dunst and Toby have no chemistry. The guy who plays Harry is annoying. People moaned about the Goblin’s mask, but I thought he and everything about it was great. William Defoe is so good it worked even with the mask. I really enjoy their Green Goblin.
But I’m not gonna lie I love this movie. Even though parts of it have not aged great, and I could not pick this and that, the first Spider-Man film? It’s a really special movie for me. Spider-Man is the coolest