Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy had it all. Hope, responsibility, consequences, heartbreak and all the genre-defining filmmaking that makes some of today's superhero movies pale in comparison.
It was a true superhero movie that knew how to use its comic-booky elements to its advantage. Sure there were a few downs but for the most part, this trilogy has been idolised and put up there with some of the greatest comic book adaptations of all time, paving the way for a new generation of films, that just hasn't quite reached it.
In this article we are going to be discussing the greatness of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films, going into the aspects that make it in my mind one of the greatest trilogies in film, let alone superhero cinema.
Sam Raimi's Version were Important
When people mention defining superhero adaptations that have moulded the genre, the ones that immediately come to mind are, X-Men and X-2, The Dark Knight Trilogy and none other than Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films.
While The Dark Knight Trilogy, Logan, and even The Winter Soldier are some of my favourites because they brought a unique format to what we would expect from superhero films covering the biggest characters of the genre, the original Spider-Man trilogy is uniquely a comic book take that does the comic book film so well. Most films like the previous examples disguise themselves within the frameworks of different genres, whether it's The Dark Knight being a neo-noir, Logan being a western, or Captain America: The Winter Soldier being a political thriller.
But Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films are fully superhero stories that join this list because of their ability to transmit deeply human qualities at the same time. They do what the other great films based on comic book characters do, but keep a film stance within the superhero genre. And that is something quite unique.
Today we see a plethora of through and through superhero films, but many of them don't possess the ability to truly challenge characters to their core, or make us relate on a human level. Yes, they do include these qualities in parts but not to the extent that Sam Raimi's films did, and it did so with a clear focus on the real. They infuse the superhero with a sense of human movies, giving us stories about real people, all while using the comic book and fantastical elements as a tool to elevate them even more so.
They feel honest yet bright through the canvas of these classic characters. What was groundbreaking about Spider-Man was that in a time where most young superhero fans dreamed of being a superhero and being idolized by millions, these films weren't the escapism that many stories were because Peter Parker is rarely victorious. Yet Spider-Man's fight and responsibility was the hope that a child needed and the aspiration towards his character.
Tobey Maguire's Spiderman is Personal
In fact, throughout all three Raimi films, even after victory in the battles he fights, Peter suffers loss from a very personal perspective. His actions lead to the deaths of people he cares about and the situations that unfold turn him away from a girl he loves and longingly wants.
It's this balance of a Spider-man comic book readers know and want with a man facing realistic physical and mental torture with no happy ending. It's sending the message that the superpowers or strength gained by Peter after he's bitten by a spider, won't solve his biggest problems and the chances he has to make a good life out of this situation goes in the complete opposite direction.
His only living father figure, Uncle Ben, is shot and killed as a result of his decisions, he realises he can have Mary Jane because of the danger that very connection brings up, showing us the total weight that is placed on his shoulders with these new abilities. Sam Raimi could have barely touched upon this but he chose to make it the boundary of Peter's character so that we could really relate to him on a human level, all while maintaining the intense action set pieces and fun that you'd expect with the character of Spider-Man.
The director knew how to approach this character, and while the third entry may come off goofier than the previous two and struggle with an overpacked use of plotlines and characters, the messages are still there and I think this is why the whole trilogy has stayed fresh in the minds of fans for so long.
At the end of the first Spider-Man when Peter says his abilities are his gift and also his curse leading through to the funeral of Harry and his continued struggle with keeping Mary Jane at the end of the third film, this grief is only repeated throughout all of them. And while the character has a responsibility and in his early tenure seemed joyous with the idea of being a superhero, by the time we get to Spider-Man 2, we realise that Peter can no longer understand why anyone would want to be like him.
When Aunt May tells Peter that Henry wants to be like the famous web-slinger, Peter questions this and throughout the film debates whether he really wants that life anymore, because of the grief it brings. He goes from accepting responsibility and transferring the hope that Spider-Man can bring into fully realising the problems that come with being that figure.
It's something many superhero films touch upon but do so very briefly in today's landscape. I've wanted more comic book films like this and say the Dark Knight trilogy, where we truly explore what the symbol of that character means and how the person underneath struggles to fit in those shoes. It makes the moments of heroism seem that much more raw to us as humans who are simply connecting to another human being.
The Heartbreak of Sam Raimi's Spiderman Films
Raimi conveys this through his films with Peter Parker, showing us the moments of heartbreak and the many consequences. Peter knows that even if you put your all into something and hope for a good outcome, there can always be a consequence. He can overcome the villains that try to kill him in moments of battle, ones that equally suffer trauma, but in these films, he hasn't overcome being a regular guy.
And this is what I struggle to see in Tom Holland's Spider-Man, as he not as internally challenged to his core enough. His issues feel like every hero's problems whereas Tobey Maguire Spider-Man struggles with more real problems that are effective on a much deeper level. Tom Holland's version struggles with asking out someone he likes, whereas Maguire's version is faced with different layers of love he feels. These include his responsibility as the web-slinger and not being able to be the man that Mary Jane needs him to be.
And his fights with villains such as Norman and Otto are equally as sharp as the internal fights he deals with. Throughout these films, we see the mistakes even after becoming Spider-Man. He wanted to initially use his powers to be famous, then get revenge on the person who killed the one who cared about him.
And he eventually is consumed by his ego, briefly losing his focus on why he. Spider-Man and what the right thing to do is. He is essentially facing a constant internal battle because of a life that pulls and tugs in many different directions. He forgets who he truly is, makes mistakes, and becomes someone who isn't Peter Parker.
Yes Bully Maguire has become a meme and it could have been approached better in parts but for the most part, the approach is continuous and ever-developing. What Sam Raimi trilogy does is tell us that it ok to have problems and fight ourselves over them. It's the process of becoming a better person through hard choices and a warning to not become lost within that.
Hope and Responsibility
So the answer to the personal consequences and heartbreak at the centre of the Tobey Maguire films is having a choice. At the end of the final entry, Peter reflects with a monologue about this very idea. Whatever battle or fight comes our way, we always have a choice.
They are what make us the people we are and we always have the choice to do what's right. There's no getting out of the way of the problems that come at us as there will always be another fight that arises and lessons to overcome from it. Having forgiveness, being able to give up the things you love and accepting the responsibility on your shoulders.
It's real-world problems that connect us to these films and this whole trilogy is about a person who, just like all of us, has to deal with everlasting pains. Spider-Man isn't just someone who saves day and defeats villains, and in Sam Raimi's films, we get stories that aren't just ones with escapism, they are stories that reflect life.
Spider-Man is truly about wanting to be better rather than already being the best. This is where half the greatness lies and it's part of the reason why these films are constantly re-explored. The continuous interest in this adaptation of Spider-Man is the relatability we find in Peter Parker and the long-wanting for things to get better.
Sam Raimi's Practical Filmmaking
But the other half comes in the very authentic and groundbreaking take that Raimi achieved through the filmmaking. Yes it's fun, snappy and very comicbooky, but what we get with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, are all of the very human themes discussed before brought to the screen in a mostly realistic way too.
The director used a great mixture of practical props alongside visual effects, which don't pull us out of the movie with scenes that clearly look like they have been shot on a green screen. Even when Spider-Man is chasing Doc ock on the side of buildings trying to save his precious aunt, the visuals are clean and have textures to them that make the supernatural action feel grounded in the destruction that occurs.
This is because there are real shots without CGI tentacles mixed into the frame. It blends the real and the artificial together with extreme care and to think this was done almost 20 years ago just speaks to why Superhero movies need to put more effort into the way they blend this or pull off visual effects.
I can go on and on about how many of the greatest comic book movies do this right and don't indulge in expecting the character to carry the bad visuals across the line. Because in years to come, they won't hold up if they don't hold up now. Sam Raimi and his team, on the other hand, filmed something that would hold up and make the audience fully immersed in the filming of tense action fights just as much as they are with the character of Peter Parker and his emotional struggles.
It's about putting effort into bringing a character to life while challenging them to their core and crafting a story that is worth telling in a theatrical way. The Sam Raimi Spider-Man films did this successfully and in my opinion, excel greatness on a level that not many other comic book movies or trilogies have done.
But that was my video discussing the greatness of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films. This trilogy was one of the defining sets of films in my childhood and when it comes to No Way Home, I really just wanna see these characters used in an appropriate way. But more importantly, by bringing these characters in the filmmaker and studio is risking the already satisfied story arcs of each of them.
They are characters that while redeemed, had tragic and conclusive endings for the most part. My worry is that they will be used as props, fan service and overshadow what should be the real focus of the film and that is Tom Holland's Spider-Man. Tom Holland's take hasn't stood on his own enough, and while there are positives in these films like the emotion in Homecoming with Peter, Vulture and his daughter, it is still pulled down and reshaped by the MCU formula and that type of filmmaking, ultimately feeling less effective, weightless nor iconic or unique.
The MCU makes Holland's version fit into its mould. Even the Andrew Garfield ones had personal moments explored deeper like Maguire's. We just haven't experienced a true personal moment with Holland's version as of yet. I hope I'm wrong come No Way Home but when looking back at the Sam Raimi trilogy you have a clear example of how to approach the character of Spider-Man and the villains within that world from a conclusive and emotional context.
It showed us how to make a set of superhero films, ones that inspire, yet challenge us by connecting us to the key things that we all go through in the real world. But like with the ending of each of these films, there's always that message of hope and responsibility that drives us toward the next issue.
It really is a great set of superhero films that will go down with The Dark Knight Trilogy and the X-men films as some of the defining ones of all time.
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