11. Peter Parker Tests His Abilities (Spider-Man)
Sam Raimi, known for directing horrors, released Spider-Man in 2002, and the modern superhero movie was born. The film takes itself seriously, but still remains faithful to its colorful comic book roots; a first for the genre.
It’s a balance that stuck, and has only been built upon since the early naughties. A young Kevin Feige was a producer on the film, and the tonal influence on his own Cinematic Universe in the years to come is evident.
Gone were the black, gothic-inspired days of old. In its place was a bright, sometimes silly, but ultimately endearing take on the characters from the page.
Raimi made the bold to choice to embrace the campy spandex look that Burton’s Batman and Singer’s X-Men went out of their way to abstain from. It paid off. For years Raimi’s Spider-Man series was the highest grossing superhero franchise of all time.
One particular offender that veers on the side of goofy is the scene where Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) starts to discover the extent of his powers. Parker decides to try his hand at climbing after gaining some inspiration from a nearby spider spinning its web.
Raimi uses the old-school trick of simply turning the camera on its side to great effect. It’s an iconic scene that’s as charming as it is corny. Maguire sells it, and we can’t help but to cheer along with him as he really revels in his new skill set.
