Wow…12 years ago. And to me it seems modern. Guess I’m getting old.
Parts I remember and parts I don’t…but the one thing I kept remembering throughout was that I liked 2 better.
It’s pretty d@mn fun in the beginning, especially Peter Parker discovering his abilities…cute, both lighthearted and serious.
Tobey Maguire is really good as Parker, but to me the only other standout is the gruff yet oddly charming greedy newspaper chief. That’s not a good thing, since he has maybe 5-10 minutes total screen time.
Dunst and Franco I find decent but not much more, and the one actor I’d expect to like the most – Willem Dafoe – is actually pretty mediocre. As the “good” side he’s fine, but the Green Goblin side is overacted and is far more annoying than menacing. And that’s PRETTY annoying. I’m not a fan of the comics and I don’t have anything else to go on, but I don’t care…even if Dafoe is portraying him EXACTLY as written, then he’s written pretty badly.
Some dramatic parts believable, others cliche/grandiose.
The camerawork is great, but the FX they capture are sometimes impressive/sometimes Ehhhh…
There’s too much sloooo-moooo, and especially near the ending (and at the ending) it becomes more persistently cliche – not innovative, not “felt”, and just plain not enjoyable.
And there’s far too much Basil Exposition for 2.
Off Netflix Streaming…in a few hours. Or a few +24, if they show it ON the expiration date and not just TIL it.
Inspirational Quote: “With great power, comes great responsibility. Remember that, Pete…remember that.”
Grade: C