Unlike the recently updated franchise that relies on commercialism and cheap pop culture references to bribe the audience into rushing to the theater, the Original Trilogy expresses love and respect for its source material with its sweeping soundtrack, gorgeous cinematography (see the now-famous shots of Spidey swinging through New York City), and relatable characters, all wrapped up in a heartwarming motion picture trilogy that proves there is good and bad in everyone, and that the choices you make determine the kind of person you will become. The reason this trilogy holds together better than, say, the Iron Man franchise is the investment in the characters and the story. Where most other film franchise consist of a first film that is well-received, a sequel to make money, and possibly a third film to make even more money without any advancement of the story or character development, the Spider-Man Trilogy comprises itself of three stand-alone films that also fit together as one complete story. Every scene in each of the films is relevant and progresses the overall story (with some minor mishaps in Spider-Man 3, though it is clear that that storyline was an executive decision). Each of the characters learn from their experiences and the audience finds itself sympathizing with both the "good" and "bad" characters. Tobey Maguire gives an exceptional performance as Peter Parker, the shy, nerdy kid who always wants to do what is right. The audience feels that the good-natured Peter truly cares about others and wants to make the world a better place, but still struggles with the sacrifices he must make to do so (unlike the Peter Parker from 2012, who treats his loving aunt and girlfriend like dirt every chance he gets, then blames his behavior on teen angst and the hardships of not knowing who his parents are). Through his good and bad choices, the audience watches him grow into a mature man. I could go on and on, but it is best to let the trilogy speak for itself. Just know before watching that these films were made in the early 2000's, and it shows. These films were released before The Dark Knight and The Avengers changed the standard for the superhero film. Don't expect a dark, serious drama with giant explosions every five seconds; instead, prepare for a summer blockbuster that is fun and heartwarming. With that in mind, you will be able to enjoy one of the best film trilogies in the past few decades. P.S. As many times as this trilogy has been re-released, this has to be the best packaging yet! The discs are housed in foldout cardboard sleeves (though some may find this packaging damaging to the disc, as long as the owner is careful when removing and reinserting the disc it should not be a problem). The sleeves for each disc is decorated with the original poster for each film, for which it gets points for pure nostalgia. Also, this Blu-Ray set contains all of the special features from the original DVD sets, a definite plus seeing as they were not included in a previously released Blu-Ray set.
Posted by parkerman45
What could be better than a bowl of popcorn with a soda and this action series? Great way to spend an evening. Love it.
Posted by stick989blue
Ok lets be clear about one thing since my opinion is objectively right even if unpopular. Spider-Man 1 is overrated garbage and Spider-Man 3 is underrated and superior to the first one even if it is also a trainwreck. Spider-Man 2 is Spider-Man 2 (yes it's just as great as they say nobody disputes this). But I'm glad this is a specific trilogy with a fine arc for Peter/Harry/Mary Jane that ends on an emotional and very adult note. Even if Peter is kind of a cuck for allowing Mary Jane to walk allover him in high school and only like the popular boys. She is truly quite shallow and only seems to dig him when she finds out he's Spider-Man. Also the whole pretentious tone "with great power..." stuff does weigh these films down. They seem very self righteous for what should be kind of a more light hearted care free character. Despite this tonal flaw the Amazing Spider-Man films only double downed on the pretense (basically proving for any doubters that Sony really doesn't know how to handle this character). Looks like Tom Holland's Spider-Man finally got it right.
Posted by ejkousc
