On Sept. 27-29 and Oct. 3-5, select theaters saw the rerelease of the famous Sam Rami Spider-Man trilogy but the films released again on the weekend of Oct. 3-5 one film each day the Friday released Spider-Man (2002) the Saturday released Spider Man 2.1 which is the extended cut of Spider-Man 2 which has never released in theaters and was originally a DVD and digital exclusive the film included nine extra minutes of screen time. Then Sunday released Spider-Man 3.
The rerelease is a collaboration between Fathom Entertainment and Sony Pictures to bring the movies back in theaters. The CEO of Fathom Entertainment commented on the rerelease saying: “The success of ‘Spider-Man’ in 2002 helped launch the modern era of superhero films. To this day, Tobey Maguire’s take on Spider-Man resonates across generations. At Fathom Entertainment, we celebrate fandom, and I am delighted that ‘Spider-Man 2.1’ in 4K will make its theatrical debut, a true gift for longtime fans and a thrilling discovery for new ones.” The 3 films rerelease every once in a while, so a new audience can experience the awe of the original trilogy in a proper theater.
“Spider-Man” (2002)
“Spider-Man” (2002) was an important film to the superhero film genre due to it being a huge success boosting the production and demand for more superhero flicks. The first film sees the origins of Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) becoming the iconic superhero Spider-Man. Peter Parker is a nerdy kid from Queens, New York, who lives with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. He gets bitten by a radioactive spider on a school field trip while taking photos of his friend Mary Jane (Kristen Dunst) which later becomes his love interest. A big reason of Peter’s upbringing to become Spider-Man is the killing of Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) which he feels responsible for because he was able to prevent it, but he chose not to. The film also stars James Franco as Harry Osborn, Peter Parker’s best friend and son of the main antagonist of the film the Green Goblin, played by Willem Dafoe, which gets his powers from taking an experimental serum on himself which goes wrong making him go insane. Spider-Man keeps on thwarting Green Goblin’s plans causing him to harm his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) leading to a final confrontation which ends with the Green Golbin impaling himself with his own glider while trying to kill Spider-Man.
The film is a great interpretation of the comics to the big screen considering this is the first time Spider-Man was brought to movie theaters for its time in 2002 the film was revolutionary and groundbreaking being a key film for the superhero craze that would soon follow. The films plot inspired by the comics is almost perfectly with a mix of it being grounded to make it as realistic as possible. The only flaws in this film is that it doesn’t hold up to today’s superhero films, which although isn’t its fault, still makes the film seem outdated to today’s standards due to today’s big blockbuster hits. “Spider-Man” (2002) gets a good
Grade: B
“Spider-Man 2.1” (2007)
“Spider-Man 2” is regarded as one of the best comic-book sequels of all time and is renowned by many fans and critics. It is often viewed as the best film in the trilogy. This extended cut first released in 2007, expands on the original film from 2004. The praises it gets is deserved. The film see’s Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker return as the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
The film also sees Kristen Dunst Reprise her role as the main love interest in Mary Jane Watson and James Franco reprises his role as Harry Osborn the son of Willem’s Defoe Norman Osborn, who played Green Goblin, who died at the end of previous film (Spider-Man 2002). The film also introduces Dr. Otto Octavius, known as the famous comic book villain Doctor Octopus or Doc Ock. He is played by Alfred Molina, who puts on a captivating performance as the film’s main antagonist.
The film takes place two years after the first film. Peter struggles throughout the movie to juggle both his lives as Spider-Man and Peter Parker. As he misses class constantly with declining grades, makes little money and lives in a underwhelming room in a complex where he struggles to get his rent paid. He also has a love triangle with Mary Jane and her soon-to-be-husband John Jameson, who is the son of J. Jonah Jameson, and is portrayed as a handsome, successful man who is an astronaut.
Because of the constant stress, he quits being Spider-Man for a brief period of his life as Peter Parker improves.
He does this by throwing his suit away, putting his glasses on and stop using his powers. His life does improve but due to the rise of Doc Ock, he is forced to comeback as Spider-Man and defeat him.
Overall “Spider-Man 2” is without a doubt one of the best comic book films of all time and every main cast member arguably gives their best performance in this movie out of the trilogy. The film’s special effects are specular for its time, so much that the film won an Oscar for its visual effects. As of 2025, it is the last superhero movie to win an Oscar for its visual effects.
Grade: A+
“Spider-Man 3” (2007)
Although “Spider-Man 2” is regarded as one of the greatest comic book films of all time its successor “Spider-Man 3” is a film with a very mixed reception because the plot was altered by creative heads to add characters Raimi didn’t want in the film. Raimi said: “It’s a movie that just didn’t work very well. I tried to make it work, but I didn’t really believe in all the characters, so that couldn’t be hidden from people who loved Spider-Man. If the director doesn’t love something, it’s wrong of them to make it when so many other people love it. I think [raising the stakes after Spider-Man 2] was the thinking going into it, and I think that’s what doomed us. I should’ve just stuck with the characters and the relationships and progressed them to the next step and not tried to top the bar.”
“Spider-Man 3” picks up a few months of the events of “Spider-Man 2” and it stars the main cast from the previous films.
The plot of the film is overly stuffed. It involves Mary Jane and Peter Parker’s relationship as they struggle to maintain their romantic relationship due to Peter’s actions as Spider-Man and her failure in her career path. The film has three villains –Harry Osborn, who becomes the New Goblin, Thomas Hayden Church’s Sandman and Topher Grace’s Eddie Brock, who becomes Venom.
The film also revolves around the symbiote which is an alien creature that comes from outer space that first latches onto Peter. Sandman is an escaped convict who falls into a powerful sand mixing machine that turns him into Sandman. As Sandman he can turn into sand at will and form any object out of sand using his limbs.
Peter’s relationship with Harry returns still. Harry despises Peter, but in the end he learns the truth and that makes him put his hatred aside. The climax of the film sees Peter team up with Harry to take down Sandman and Venom. Even though the film brought popular characters such as Eddie Brock and Venom, this ultimately damaged the quality of the film. Raimi didn’t know the character of Venom and was forced to include him damaging the final product. In the end “Spider-Man 3” gets a bad reputation for its unnecessary inclusions, but the film is enjoyable enough to pass off as a solid entry to the Spider-Man franchise.
Grade: C
