What can I possibly say but WOW! This movie is truly a dream come true for a long time Spider-man fan like me. Not only was the movie made but the movie was made RIGHT! Many directors and artists in Hollywood claim to be fans of comic book heroes, but when it comes time for them to actually put it together they fail miserably. But not here. Sam Rami is a TRUE Spider-man fan-and he did what a true fan would do. He stayed true to the source and to the material. He captured the essence of Spider-man and his history. He didn't decide to pretentiously add his own mark like Tim Burton did with the laughable Batman movie. Rami stayed true to the comic. This is the Spider-man I read about month for the last 13 years.
I really did not think that anyone could top the X-Men, but Rami has and I don't just mean because of the special effets. I also mean in terms of the plot and character development. This is not a long drawn out movie filled with pointless violence. It is a well plotted story that moves effortlessly from point to point. Who would have thought that so much could be fit into two hours? And the end, I won't give it away , but who on earth would have thought that it would have ended that way. Instead of going for the same old boring cliche Hollywood ending--Rami tacks on an original one which hints towards the future.
Tobey Maguire was not my first choice to play Peter Parker. But boy does he deliver! I understand that he worked hard to get this part and boy does it show! He plays Peter just the way he was portrayed in the book! Kristen Dunst also was excellent,I did not think that she could pull off the part of Mary Jane. She's a lovely girl but not the super-model that MJ is in the comic book. But I was pleasantly surprised with what was done with the character.
After being disapointed with the unseeminly endless rubish that Hollywood has produced lately I am now, in the words of Mr. Stan Lee, a true believer. Thanks Sam Rami for not butchering a character I consider to be like a brother and restoring my faith that there are film makers out there who actually care about film making!
Here are the main differences between the previous Spider-Man blu-ray and this newer version:
Bonus Material, including an audio commentary and several featurette (all of which come from the Special Edition DVD but were not on the previous blu-ray) have been included here.
There is new cover art for the blu-ray
Included is an Ultraviolet streaming copy of the film that works with various portable devices so that you can watch the film on-the-go.
Obviously, the studio is releasing this new blu-ray to capitalize on/promote "The Amazing Spider-Man" film which arrives in theaters this summer. But the least they could have done for this "new" blu-ray is give us some new material, whether it be an extended cut of the film or some new features.
So while I love this movie, I really see no reason to buy it again because it doesn't add much to the experience that I am getting now with the previous Spider-Man discs that I own. But if you are new to blu-ray or did not own the previous version, then I highly recommend you pick this up.
And below are links to "Spider-Man 2" and "Spider-Man 3":
Spider-Man 2 (+ UltraViolet Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]
Spider-Man 3 (+ UltraViolet Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]First of all, this isn't a review of the Spider-Man movie or dvd. It's a review of the box set: Spider-Man Limited Eidtion DVD Collector's Gift Set. (I'll do a review of the Spider-Man dvd at a later time) It contains two dvds: 1) the Spider-Man widescreen special edition, and while I'm not going to go into it in this review, it is a great movie and a great dvd; and 2) Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels, which I've reviewed under the dvd, so I won't go much into this dvd here. But it is a very informative interview. These two dvds pretty much make the gift set worth the price. It also comes with a few 'collector's items' which I leave to you to decide if they make it worth picking up the gift set or just buying the dvds. There's a reproduction of the Amazing Fantasy comic that first introduced Spider-Man. It's monetary value is null, since it is a reproduction, but it is nice to get a copy of our favorite web-slinger's first appearance. A bit juvenile, but valueable for the Spidey-fan. There's a piece of artwork by John Romita Sr, nice but doesn't add much to the set. And finally there is a film cell from the movie (when Spider-Man is dodging Goblin's bats in the burning building). Also nice to have, but I found these collector's items don't add much to the enjoyment of the dvds. I'd say the gift set is only valuable to the hard core fan. Otherwise, just pick up the dvds.
Read Best Reviews of Spider-Man (2002) Here
When Spider-Man was released in the theaters, I heard many people say that they didn't know why Tobey Magurie was cast as the Web Spinner. What they don't realize is that Stan Lee originally conceived of Spider-Man as an average sort of person with everyone could relate. As Rosemary Harris as Aunt May says in the film, "You're not Superman." Maguire is perfectly cast as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. He is of average height, underplays instead of overacts and is just as convincing at playing a high school nerd as he is at playing a super hero.Kirsten Dunst, likewise, is terrific as Mary Jane Watson. With her looks (and body), it would be easy for her to simply physically match the character. However she also manages to embody the character's vulnerability that she hides beneath her confident and charismatic exterior. Having seen very few of her adult roles, I never would have pegged Dunst for the role. However, having seen her in the role, I can't see anyone else playing it.
There was much talk about the special effects in Spider-Man as there always seems to be with blockbusters like this. However, to me, the casting is the true strength of the film. Maguire, Dunst, Harris as Aunt May, Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben and Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborne are all perfectly cast and show that a film can have all the latest technical wizardry, but still must depend on its actors to flesh out the characters and make the audience believe and care about what happens to them.
Want Spider-Man (2002) Discount?
When going into adapting a comic to film, there are usually two routes. The first route is the movie will be utterly disappointing and lacking any of the intensity from the book it is adapted from (see the Spawn live action film for example), while the second route is a riveting, very well put together film that carries the essence of the comic (the original Superman and Batman and the Blade series). Spider-Man isn't the best comic adaption to film, but this long awaited movie more than delivers the goods. Tobey Maguire is rather good and believeable as Peter Parker and Spider-Man and seems to be a great choice for the role in the future films, while Kirsten Dunst is as stunning as ever as Mary Jane Watson. James Franco perfectly captures the personality and insecurity of Harry Osborne, while Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris are very good as well as Uncle Ben and Aunt May. But the best casting and performance goes to Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin/Norman Osborne, he is absolutely perfect as the maniacal schizo and is clearly having a lot of fun in his role, while an almost as perfect performance by J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, who is perfectly cast and looks just like the character does in the comic. Director Sam Raimi (director of the cult classics Evil Dead Trilogy and the original Darkman) directs with his usual stylish flair (along with some shameless corporate promotions) and is a great example of how to make a comic adapted film with a director who knows the comic... All in all, Spider-Man may not be up there with the original Superman, Batman, and Blade, but it is more than worth a look...Save 41% Off
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