The Reel Rejects - Spider-Man (2002) Movie Review - WE HAD AN ABSOLUTE BLAST - First Time Watching

Episode Date: July 10, 2026

YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD HERO CHANGED SUPERHERO MOVIES FOREVER! With Spider-Man: Brand New Day swinging into theaters soon and the MCU racing toward Avengers: Doomsday, Paige Kimsey & Jackie Bonsignore experience Spider-Man (2002) for the first time watching, revisiting the Sam Raimi classic that launched the modern superhero movie era. From Peter Parker's unforgettable origin and the legendary upside-down kiss to the terrifying Green Goblin mirror scene, Bonesaw McGraw, and the emotional finale, this Spider-Man (2002) reaction celebrates one of Marvel's most iconic films and the legacy that continues to inspire every new era of Spider-Man. Spider-Man (2002) Reaction (Full Length Watch Along): / thereelrejects The best businesses aren’t built in boardrooms. They’re built by people who just started. Free trial at https://www.SHOPIFY.com/rejects In this Spider-Man (2002) reaction, Marvel movie reaction, and review, Paige & Jackie experience Sam Raimi's (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Evil Dead) groundbreaking superhero classic starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man (The Great Gatsby, Seabiscuit), Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin (Poor Things, The Lighthouse), Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson (Bring It On, Civil War), James Franco as Harry Osborn (127 Hours, Pineapple Express), J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson (Whiplash, Invincible), Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben (Charly, Escape from L.A.), Rosemary Harris as Aunt May (The Gift, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead), and Macho Man Randy Savage as Bonesaw McGraw (WWE Hall of Fame, Ready to Rumble). Featuring unforgettable moments like Peter's spider bite, "With great power comes great responsibility," the Bonesaw wrestling match, Spider-Man's first swing through New York City, the iconic upside-down kiss, the chilling Green Goblin mirror scene, the Queensboro Bridge showdown, and the emotional final battle, Spider-Man (2002) forever changed comic book movies. With anticipation building for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Paige & Jackie revisit the film that launched one of cinema's most beloved superhero franchises and continues to inspire every Spider-Man story that followed. Follow Jackie Bonsignore: https://www.instagram.com/jackiebonsignore/ Follow Paige Kimsey https://www.instagram.com/paige.popcorn?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/  Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/reelrejects Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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All of the drama, none of the hassle. Thank you to Shopify for sponsoring this video. More on them in just bid. Hello, Reject Nation. I am here with Paige. And today we are watching the 2002 Spider-Man. I'm not, Paige. I'm Spider-Man.

All right, guys, here we go. Masks off and we're ready. Oh my God. Okay, I didn't expect it to have that many jump scares. Like, it really, like, Spider-Man really got me. Yeah. I might just be like a little jumpy, jumpy, jumpy little ghost, though. That's okay. That's all right.

I think that that surprised me, too, actually. Because I felt like I had quite a few jump scares as well. It was really fun, though. I feel like you made a comment early, too, that they were doing a really good job making him feel. like a teenager. They really, yeah. And I definitely feel that way too. I think that they, and I don't know if it was directed this way or what,

but all of the scenes was Mary Jane and Peter Parker. It was like, he was so awkward. They were like so dreamy. And it was like their speech slowed down. I know. You know, it was so like, I feel like how it felt like to talk to like my first boyfriend that I was in love with. Yes.

Very sweet. Very good job of capturing that adolescent. Right? I know. And it really, I mean, even despite like the big jump to now their college age, it really is such a coming of age story, I feel like. Yep. You know?

Yeah. Totally. Absolutely. His transformation into the Spider-Man is also his transformation into becoming, it's not just Spider-Boy, it's Spider-Man. Yeah. No, good point. Very good point.

I think William Defoe was amazing as well. William Defoe is amazing in everything he does. Steels the show, as always. but like very a great character for him. I really liked the Green Goblins

costume too. I just liked that it was buggy and iridescent and really... And you like this pumpkin? I did. I don't know if they're really pumpkins

again. My only knowledge is Disney amazing Spider-Man and Friends, but they're definitely pumpkins in that one. What else stood up for you,

sister? Oh, my gosh. Oh, I was really, really impressed with... I'm not somebody that like is a big Marvel. Like it's just never been like what I've reached for and what I've watched.

I'm open to them obviously. But I was, I don't typically go for more actiony or superhero movies, but I was really impressed with, well, the script was really good. And also there was just so much that the drama between the different relationships and the storylines, it really kept me locked in and focused the whole movie.

And I really was on the edge of my seat with like, what's going to happen? Yeah. And also just the, The shots. I thought the DP work was like much better than I expected. Yeah, especially for like swinging through the city. Those POVs were really, really well done. And especially with like an older movie because this came out in like I think 2002. Yeah. I wasn't taken out by any of the like older CGI or anything.

Honestly, only the air balloon. The air balloons are they hot. They're not hot air balloons. What are they called? The floats. The floats. Yeah. No, wait. There's the floats and there's the balloons. The balloons. the balloons. You know what we're talking about, though. But, no, and a lot of the camera, I mean, especially in the fight scenes, the switching from the, I guess the frame rate from it being regular and then the throwing in the slomo and throwing in the this and that. It just was very visually captivating as well. And it kept me like very enthralled.

Yeah. I agree. I knew, like, I knew, obviously there was Mary Jane and she was like the girl next door they write but I again I don't know a whole lot of Spider-Man lore either but I thought it was interesting to have the storyline of his best friend his father being Green Goblin probably setting us up for his son to take revenge I would think that's what it seemed like when he said like three times like I swear you think I don't know it's just a guess but I wonder I don't I don't really know a lot of other villains from Spider-Man either. So I'm curious to see who he comes back as.

I'm trying to think here. I really can't think of anymore either because I know, well, there's Doc. Oh, the Octopus guy. Yeah. Yeah. But like on Amazing Friends, it's actually a girl. Oh, but that could very well be it. Doc Op, Green Goblin.

I can't even think of anymore because, like, Hulk is friends with him and Amazing Friends. I don't know. I played that one. one like Marvel superhero friend co-op game once, but there's like a bunch of different villains in there. So I'm like, I don't know who's from what, really. Who's that guy? Blue.

Is that Mr. Freeze or is that like Batman? Oh my God. Who's that guy? Who's that guy? Who's that guy? I zoom in. We're learning. I don't know.

That's Wolverine, right? Sorry to this man. He could be walking down the street. I wouldn't know a damn thing. Okay. Should we get into some questions? Let's jump into some questions. All right.

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for sponsoring and supporting Rejection. Jaden Rhodes asks, this is one of the best comic book movies and trilogies ever made in my opinion. I love this movie so much. But I am curious, since this movie is very Sam Rami,

it also is it's also such a different comic book movie than what we would get today. So I'm curious, do you like these types of comic movies better or do you prefer the way that they are made today? I mean, I definitely got a lot of comic book feel from this.

I, again, I'm not like a comic book. I don't have a lot of comic book knowledge. I felt like a lot of the like style, style, like character style choices, though, made me feel very comic book. I guess a lot of the like transitions to felt kind of comic booky too, right? Like the silhouettes of him and like just putting on the mask and stuff. And I think that's cool. I think that's a great nod to the comic.

book for sure. I feel like what was like the last comic book movie that I saw? I saw one of the marvels that came out like a few years ago. I can't. Oh, I think it was the new Thor, the one that was directed by Tycho Watiti. I think that my biggest complaint with the newer Marvel films is that they're, I guess they lean a little bit too much into like dumb comedy for me. I like that this one was very dramatic. I like that the stakes were really high. So I would say I prefer this. Yeah. But again, I'm not super familiar with the recent Marvel films. So neither am I actually. But the stakes did feel high.

I felt like I felt a lot of comic book influence, which is very cool. Yeah. Next question. Captain Fernandez. If you didn't know, this was directed by Sam Rami, what scene or scenes would have tipped you off? That is a great question. I have actually been watching Evil Dead with our friend Andrew.

Did he direct that? And he did all of the... Sam Rami is him. And I will say I definitely thought about Sam Rami when we had the William Defoe mirror scene. It reminded me a lot of some of the Evil Dead stuff. I feel like he always does. He always has a mirror scene of some sort. A lot of times in Evil Dead, it's, you know, glass being cut and broken and stuff, which was cool because William Defoe was having, again, what reminded me a lot of Bruce Campbell in a lot of the Evil Dead.

in a lot of the evil dead, kind of that dueling personality, the dueling possession of something in our main character, which was cool because Sam Rami was in this also as they are not Sam Rami. I mean, Bruce Campbell was in this as the wrestling announcer. So the mirror scene for sure, I mean, I felt again like a lot of the POV of him swinging through the city is a lot of that evil dead through the forest stuff.

So I would say those two for sure. Are you familiar with Sam Rami? I think that that is more of a page question Because I actually have not seen The Evil Dead films, but I am looking on Google And it looks like he also did the grudge, don't breathe. Lots of horror. Which, again, I'm not very familiar with either,

but based upon seeing that he does a lot of horror, I guess this movie was more gory than I expected it to be, especially at the end just like through the pelvis, Just, just. Yeah, I think that that doesn't face me right now because I've been in such an evil dead world. Yeah, are you okay? Extreme gruesome and funny. Yeah, my knowledge of the,

Yeah, my knowledge of the evil dead world is just the, when they paraded it, parodied it in evil. Oh my God. In Scary Movie 5, they do the evil dead parody part and they're like, oh my, like, Sarah Highland's tongue is like split in half. Yeah. Yeah. But anyways, my scary movie reviews and your evil did, your first one is out. Yes, it is. I actually think we're on like three.

We're on like three now. Yeah. We'll check them out, guys. Let's do. All right. Next question. Morton asks, hi Jackie and Paige. Hi, Morgan.

While Spider-Man's costume in the 2002 Rami film is often universally praised, not everyone has been so kind about the green goblin costume, claiming it deviates too much from the comics. Shall we take a look? Yeah, because I actually really liked it. Yeah, you, yeah, you said beautiful bug. Beautiful bug. Comic, accurate. Oh, he's like purple. Oh. Huh. I mean, Oh, there's a Reddit thread saying made a more comic accurate looking rimey. I guess it's just that he's purple. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, and look in the comic he has the pumpkins. Yeah, he does. See? I do. something there?

I don't know. I really, I really liked this costume a lot. I loved that I could see his teeth through the mouth of it, actually, just because I feel like William Depeau has like such a great mouth anyways. And I honestly, I feel like that's kind of hard for me a lot in superhero world, is that you don't get to see their faces while they're acting a lot. Like, you know what I mean? I like that you could see.

I really like that you could see, especially it being Willem Defoe. Yeah. I mean, I could understand how people would maybe be upset that he didn't have some purple on, but it didn't really bug me. Yeah, I understand that. And then the- Okay with not that little, like, gnome hat. Yeah, the original one looks a bit medieval. So I understand why for the 2002 one, especially it being based around, like, there's this new technology.

And they're working with the U.S. government. Right, right, right. He's a scientist. I understand why they would want to make it look more high-tech. And not so elfish looking at shoes. Yeah. I get why die-hard fans would be like, throw some purple on him.

Yeah. But I don't know. For us, we were, we were chill. We were chilling. Didn't bother us. Oh, there's a little more. Go ahead. Martin, I'm so sorry.

I missed part of your question. Here's what Morton thinks. He says, maybe it's my nostalgia talking, but I personally love it as it feels like an ancient ceremonial mask, albeit with the mecca theme. The fact that the mask also has no face or mouth articulation also makes it more uncanny valley in my opinion, adding to the fear of the green goblin character. I'd be interested to know of your opinions on the costume of yourselves or whether you think

it still holds up well after two decades. Thank you so much. I think it holds up well. I felt like I could see his mouth very well. I get the, I get how you would think that the no face or mouth articulation would lead to uncanny valley, but I almost think like that shot of the teeth within the teeth. teeth and then kind of seeing his eyes through it. It did, maybe not quite the same effect as the uncanny valley, but it had its own very,

very creepy thing that really was unsettling to me. Yeah. Yeah. I can understand that. I think William Defoe was just kind of like a creepy guy anyways, too. He probably could have not had a mask on at all. I would put Willem Defoe on my, what's that trend where they make the cake? Guys, please comment.

You make a cake? You make a cake and then you go like, oh my God. What do you do with the cake? You put a flag, like a photo of him. It's like a guy that you'd like want to like smooch to keep it PG for YouTube. And it's like like, it's like a hot take. A hot take on your cake? Hot take on your cake.

I don't remember guys. I'm losing my Gen Z card. I'm counting on you for it, girl. Maurice June. Maurice Gray Jr. Hi, Maurice. Hi. I loved this.

when it came out, the chemistry between Toby and Kirsten Duntz was great in my opinion. My question, do you like him having his webbing as a part of his body? Or would you rather see him with web shooters and fluid that he invented in the comics? I always thought that him inventing the shooter and the fluid was a great way to show him how smart Peter truly was. That is a really valid point. I did not think about that because I did know he was supposed to be like a very brilliant. character. I really, I thought that the kind of scarring looked really cool, though, I will say.

It did look really cool. But I think that that's a really good point, too, because we didn't really get to see, like, his smart showed off so much in this film. No, we really didn't get to see any of his smart really showed off. I would kind of argue. You got the science award at the graduation. That was it. But I, like, almost, like, missed that. Yeah.

He had, like, some cool spider facts, but those could just be cool spider facts. Yeah, I got cool spider facts. Yeah, you have cool. Yeah, that's a really good point. I think that now that you say that, I would have enjoyed him doing a little more like science stuff, even in his room, you know what I mean? I don't, ah, that's a tough one because, yes, it would be really cool,

but then part of me would worry, like, what if it malfunctions? It's true. That's why I think as somebody that is like, I want him to win, I like better that it's a part of him because then it's not going anywhere. But then also how does it work? If he gets dehydrated, does it like... I mean, I think the shooter is literally something

that he just like had to attach to his arm with the fluid in it. Oh, no, I mean for the, for Toby. Oh, yeah. Also, you, it freaks me out. Yeah, but I kind of like that. That's why I was like, oh, it's just now it's him, you know? Like, it's just a part of who he is now.

Yeah. Does that answer your question? That's a great question, actually. I hadn't really thought of it. Yeah, comment below what you prefer because I think, I mean, I don't know. I know that Tom Holland invents. Oh, he does.

Or somebody does? I don't really know. Someone does. I think that there's some controversy over Toby is maybe one of the only ones where it's not like an invention. Oh, really? I just think it looked cool

that it almost looked like a little burn on him. You know? like it was just yeah I don't know but I just liked the makeup part of it I guess hey editors I don't know

what you can do but can you make it go thank you thank you or you didn't do anything and I just we look silly I don't know

thank you either way we got one fun surface one fun fun question one fun fun question tell us Jay Jay Rustin says question

what line were you surprised to be used in the movie for me it was the word Shazam Or, well, Peter, you're not Superman being used in the movie there. That was really funny, actually. That was pretty good. I'm trying to think of the rain.

Oh, because Shazam is another superhero, is it? No, Shazam is the movie with Shack, isn't it? He's like a genie. Yeah, you're too young. Shack was in a movie called Shazam. Shack Toba Fest? No, Shack was a basketball player. Queen Mary.

I think I'm right about that. Yes, yes. I think you're right. I'm trying to think, were there any other good one-liners for you? I mean, I like the whole part where he was trying to get the web to come out and he was like, he did the thumbs up. Yeah. Man, I'm going to think of one line right after this.

And I'm going to be really sad that I didn't remember it. It was pretty good when Aunt May said, you're not Superman. You're not Superman. There was lots of really cute stuff that made me giggle. I think. Yeah. Right? I don't know.

This isn't a line, but I just really like the upside down kiss. I mean, come on. Yeah. Name a more iconic kiss other than the notebook. I did appreciate that it didn't go too far with her being alone in that alley with all those guys, too. Oh, yeah. He was there pretty quick. They didn't make a sweat on that one.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, Uncle Ben's line, of course, is iconic and incredible. Yeah. For sure. And also just something, like when I think in terms of superhero movies, and I'm thinking about, like, you eventually soon showing your little boy this film,

that's just like such a beautiful. Right. Take away. Take away, especially for young men, you know. It's very funny because he actually has a little web shooter toy that a friend of mine gave him. And it really is really powerful. Remind me never to babysat your children. It's like a magnet.

But when you hit this lever on it, I mean, it shoots. It's hard, sorry. But it really does and it's got like a magnet on the end. But it flies out and we tell him all the time. This is a very powerful toy. And I need to add on the responsibility because we do always say it's very powerful because he's definitely shot himself in the eye with it, you know. But you learn.

You learn. Amazing. Okay, Paige, any final thoughts? No, I'm really excited. Is there number two that we get to watch with Toby and Kirsten? I think there is. Well, somebody said trilogy. I think so.

Don't they all go with Toby? Because when do we go to, what's his name? Andrew. There is one. It's 2004. Oh, Doc up. What? Right there.

See? Oh, oh, don't look. Spoilers, spoilers. No, don't look. Don't look. Is William Defoe in it? Yeah. Well, thanks for watching.

Watching with us friends. Hope we didn't make any of you real spider folks, Spider fans. Yes. Too disappointed. We're nobs. We're nobs. Be nice.

We're nice. We're nice for nobs. To like this video if you liked it. Share it if you think it's worth sharing. And let us know how you feel about the green goblin costume down in the comments. If you want to, you can join our Patreon where you can get an advanced schedule of shooting. You can ask us questions. And there's a third thing that I forgot.

You can sync up. You can sync up and watch the full review. The full movie with us. At the same time, you can hear every single. None of the coughs are edited out. Sniffle. Yeah. Cough. A chew. A chew. Toot. Anything. There's no toots, though.

There might be. Well, you might have to find out. Maybe you didn't catch it. I just join Patreon and find out. All right. Bye. Bye you guys.