It took me a while to come to appreciate Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. The turning point, for me, was watching Spider-Man 2, an experience which amounted to nothing less than an epiphany at the movie theatre. Peter’s “human” life was something I could relate to a lot; in some ways I found myself thinking “How do these guys know so much about my life?”
As we all know, the third one was a disappointment, with a bad case of studio heads seeing “action figures dancing in their heads” a la Batman & Robin. That film did, however, showcase some of the most astounding special effects involving computer generated humans I’ve seen; making the first Spider-Man seem laughable in comparison.
So why did I dislike the first one? Well, for one, I thought it was a wee bit overrated. All those glowing reviews for a film that wasted Willem Dafoe in a Power Rangers suit and fx that did not convince. Yet it laid a solid foundation and Maguire was clearly born to play the part. Most importantly, it showcased on screen arguably the most relatable super-hero of all (perhaps along with The Batman).
In fact, you could just call him a hero, period. In the article “Unmasking the Spirituality of Spider-Man,” from Cinema Spirit, several key points are raised, such as the fact that “No other films have so evocatively explored the downside of being a superhero. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), the reluctant everyman messiah, must constantly choose between self-interest and self-sacrifice, choose between his own needs and those of others, choose between his own social life and social obligation, and make all these choices while being misunderstood and unappreciated.”
In a sense, it is Peter Parker himself who is the hero, and not Spider-Man: “when a little girl is trapped in a burning apartment building, he can stand it no longer and rushes in. As Peter Parker, he tries to save the girl, but he fails to successfully leap across a gaping hole in the floor—a hole that Spider-Man could easily have crossed. Peter dangles on the brink, and the girl helps to rescue him.”
Aunt May finally sums it all up perfectly in the second film: “I believe there is a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams.”
There’s even the Ordinary People Change the World campaign, which promises you to “Donate $1 and Start Changing the World,” in an effort to restore the house where Superman was created. This may sound hokey, yet it supports the argument that the Spider-Man franchise, along with similar others, hinted at something very special indeed.
More:
http://www.cinemaspirit.info/spiderman.htm
http://ordinarypeoplechangetheworld.com/
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