g a comeback. Blade stated that okay maybe we do want to see superhero films again, X-men stated that okay we have potential, and Spider-Man proved that there was an audience for it again. But still studios were just still playing with the tricks of how to make a plausible comic book superhero film that is until The Dark Knight was released in 2008 and finally we learned that if done right we can take these films seriously. I'm not going to go into The Amazing Spider-Man, because to be fair they are two completely different interpretations of Spider-Man so I'm just going to look at how much expectations did the film meet or exceed at the time of its release and how well it holds up for today. I guess what needs to be discussed first is the portrayal of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, played by Tobey Maguire. Sure this kind of portrayal would not be the right way to go for today's standards, Peter Parker is portrayed as the stereotypical geek who's constantly bullied, where's glasses, and has health problems. But to be fair that's what audiences wanted to see at the time, this is probably the first theatrically released blockbuster film to ever star Spider-Man and audiences, especially the fans, wanted the true nature of the story and characters be brought to life on the big screen. It seemed to work and people loved it. In fact Maguire doesn't even give a bad performance, for the character he is given he plays it pretty plausible and you can tell that he is in the role. I think he does even better as Spider-Man, he seems witty, strong, confident, courageous, and heroic just as we want Spider-Man to be. So not much the character of Peter Parker, but Spider-Man holds up. Another character that seems to be always good even in the next two installments is Harry Osborn, played by James Franco. He seems confident and full of himself, but yet you can tell there is something that can make him snap, something is holding him back from being normal, maybe because he lives in the shadow of his strict and demanding father. Some may argue that the villain Norman Osborn/ The Green Goblin may not hold up as well but what makes him so enjoyable is that Wilem Dafoe is completely devoted in the role that he will just go all out to be completely that character like the villain leaped straight out of the comic book, it's the same feeling with Jack Nicholson as the Joker from the 1989 Batman film. Another character that is surprisingly done well J. Jonah Jameson, played by J.K. Simmons. This guy is just UNBELIEVABLY...BELIEVABLE as J.J! This guy gets the role down right, he looks the part, talks the part, therefore just a flawless representation of a comic book character. He just cracks me up every time he's on screen. One character who unfortunatly does not hold up is Mary Jane Watson, played by Kirsten Dunst. She just seems like she was created to be the damsel in distress, she hardly contributes anything, and it feels more she was written from the 1960s or for a romantic comedy, she just doesn't seem real to me like, I doubt this what real teenage girls are like. A lot of the SFX and a lot of the dialogue surprisingly don't hold up as much. If you watch this movie again you'll realize the writing isn't exactly Shakespeare. But again to be fair, that's the fun of it. There are times when we're not in the mood for something dramatic, gritty, or realistic and instead just want to have fun and be entertained. Plus, the story is well-paced so that gives the film some points. I'm not a huge fan of this film as I used to be, but I can definitley see there are Spider-Man fans that adore it just because how much fun it has as a comic book superhero film, the same way as myself being a Batman fan adores the 1989 Batman film with Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton. I still enjoy this film whenever I watch and I'm sure the legacy of it will be timeless. Sure it's silly but it's sure fun. Grade: P
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