Spidey is duking it out

Film On this Dickensian anniversary, let's look at ...



That's the Spider-man I know. That's the Spider-man I grew up with.

The problem I always had with the Sam Raimi films was that the structure of the first film, which tossed aside the high school period as quickly as possible so that they could have Peter at the Daily Bugle didn't leave much room for us to simply see him at his job. Both of them. That was fixed somewhat in the second film but all three missed on significant point.

Spider-man is funny.

In the comics and the various cartoons whenever Spidey is duking it out with Doc Ock or the Goblin or whoever, he's forever cracking jokes. Sometimes they're corny, and sometimes he's using them as defence mechanism against whatever pain is being inflicted on him physically or emotionally, but there are often speech bubbles filled with humour, sarcasm and irony.

For just a moment, in the back of the car, talking the car thief, "You serious think I'm a cop ..." he becomes the man from the comics. There's a petulance to the playing, but it's there.

The Raimi films rarely had a line like that.  You couldn't even imagine Tobey Maguire playing that line.  The script and his performance were too understated.

The rest looks like it's throwing out the Donner Superman influences in favour of the Nolan Batman. But apart from that?

That's the Spider-man I know.