"Spider-Man" "Spider-Man 2," "Spider-Man 3" (2002, 2004, 2007)
Onetime cult horror director Sam Raimi seemed like a left-field choice for this big-budget enterprise, but he managed to do exactly what the studio and the comics publisher must have wanted him to do: drain away all his signature style and attitude, and turn in a product that even penniless people in Guam would make an effort to buy."
Spot on, the movies completely lacked (with the exception of the Doc Ock hospital scene, that was brillant) that sense of humor and style that Raimi had once-upon-a-time. Boring.
"It's not the cast (Tobey Maguire was a good choice)."
Tough call. I've come not to like Tobey in the role but isn't that the scripts fault? They sucked, a lot of great actors looked bad in it (like Defoe overacting big time). They made Spidey a socially inept retard, humorless, wannabe matyer filled to the brim with teenage anst but the virgin emo kind not the passion filled youth kind we all wanted.
Peter in the comics is both a smart and socially intellgent guy who needed some serious self-confidence boosting ala his Spider powers! He is witty and funny but can sometimes use corny puns to banter with villians, unlike Tobey who doesn't say much at all in the suit probably because of how high pitched his voice is. He is an everyman dealing with life's problems but above average like we like to imagine ourselves, that's why people like him. Tobey in the films is not smart enough to build webshooters nor does he use his brains to outsmart villians in battle. He is irrationally obsessed with a girl he barely seems to know, that he rejected on very flimsy grounds as she gets kidnapped anyway every single time, but now is obsessed almost to the point of being a stalker.
In the excellent new Marvel comic adaptation Iron Man, Tony Stark is portrayed perfectly by Robert Downey Jr. who really brings this larger-than-life character into the real world without sacrificing his wit or genius. It always feels like he is integral to the suited-up action scenes thanks to the funny bantering and intelligent strategy being displayed. There is no wall of separation between the hero and the man as there is in Spider-man. Spider-man the hero is so shortchanged by the Peter Parker melodrama that it honestly feels more like a chick flick then a real Marvel adaptation such as Iron Man.
"It's not the stories (well, the stories could have used some work)."
Huge understatement, the stories sucked and were repetitive. "Benevolent scientist gets turned evil by experiment gone awry, Spider-man must choose between self-interest or being responsible (why can't he enjoy being Spider-man?), he must go after Mary Jane but keep her at arms length in an unbelievable romance that functions as the plot dictates. She also gets kidnapped." Cut and paste this formula into any of them. The plots were like swiss chesse as far as plot-holes go.
"It's not the way everything is aimed at little kids (instead of, say, big kids, too)."
Agreed.
"No, it's the effects. Again. The age of digital has done the movies a lot of favors. But it has made special effects movies look cheap and two-dimensional. And Spidey deserved better than this."
Spider-man feels like a digital rubber cartoon character that punches people in the face. We deserve better!