Long ago, back in a time when CGI effects were still special, and a $200 million budget actually meant something, a filmmaker named Sam Raimi was tasked with creating a film based on a Marvel comic. Now, the X-Men may have made comic book movies viable, but it was Sam Raimi’s motion picture adaptation of Spider-Man that would turn Marvel into a cinematic juggernaut. That first Spider-Man movie wound up becoming one of the biggest films of all-time and it would hold the record for biggest opening weekend for four years.

It’s financial success can be attributed mainly to it’s fantastic quality, with the first two films in this series in particular standing as towering achievements in the world of superhero movies. Although many like to tear down Tobey Maguire’s interpretation of Peter Parker, he and Raimi got one aspect of the hero that few get; his wonderment at what is happening to him.

Peter Parker isn’t a billionaire, a god or a super-soldier. He’s just a normal kid who’s faced a lot of hardship in his life. Such hardship makes him appreciate not only the awesome powers he’s given, but also the fame that comes with it. Spider-Man 3 is rightly derided as the weakest installment in the series (don’t worry, I’ll get to the film itself shortly), but it actually contains perhaps the best moment in the whole series.

At a simple dinner, Peter Parker notes his amazement at seeing his face on billboards, on newspaper and shining brightly in lights. People love him and his actions and that’s a unique scenario for a kid who just a few years ago couldn’t walk down his school hallways without being beaten up. He’s so enchanted with this fame that it consumes him and it tips the character into unique and exciting directions. That aspect of reacting to fame in a human manner is something few films have ever looked at in a successful manner, but it’s one of the few things in Spider-Man 3 that gets completely right. To boot, this moment is one of hundreds in this trilogy that show why Maguire was born to play Spidey.

But don’t think Tobey’s the only good cast member around. Willem Dafoe and Thomas Haden Church play excellent bad guys to oppose Peter Parker, with each not only playing up the human aspects of their supervillains but also managing to provide a lot of fun spectacle for Peter to go up against. I have mixed feelings on Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, but she does do well in terms of expanding Peter Parker as a person. And finally, J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson is perfect, simply perfect, deftly playing his role as both humorous and mildly antagonistic.

So, while Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 bring it in terms of quality and impacting modern film, why is Spider-Man 3 so infamously derided? Well, I’ll be honest; I don’t hate the film and actually find it entertaining in many ways. Perhaps it’s because it was the first PG-13 movie I saw in theaters, or maybe the melancholy feeling knowing that was the end of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies, and by definition, the end of an era. But I think it’s also because I feel it does a more satisfactory job of connecting to the other two films than many realize.

The overarching theme of Spider-Man is the acceptance of maturity; after all, Uncle Ben’s words of wisdom are “With great power comes great responsibility”, which relates directly to the newfound responsibilities that come with adulthood. By making Sandman, or Flint Marko, Uncle Ben’s killer, we’re able to witness Peter Parker finally accept something equally as important as responsibility, which is forgiveness. The other side of the coin is Harry Osborn, played by James Franco, who cannot learn forgiveness and begins a doomed quest for revenge, a quest that involves the death of Spider-Man.

The complex relationship between Harry and Peter deserves an article of itself, but the complex ideas presented in both Flint Marko and Harry Osborn allow us to contemplate the more intricate details behind Spider-Man. Now, those two do make things uber interesting for a while in Spider-Man 3, but then the filmmakers attempt to shoehorn in Venom into the proceedings in order to appease fans and things quickly go haywire. These guys don’t even attempt to make Venom connect to Peter Parker in an interesting way, not to mention that it makes everything randomly sci-fi for no good reason. Venom is a great character, but he deserved better than just being yet another character in the admirable, but messy Spider-Man 3.

That third installment aside (and even that one is still better than one might remember), the Spider-Man films represent how good superhero tales can be. Tackling ideas of responsibility and forgiveness, all with some great actors and have-to-be-seen-to-believe action scenes, make this film series one of the very best ever produced that anybody can enjoy. After all, how can one not love Spider-Man, who does whatever a spider can?

Spider-Man: A-

Spider-Man 2: A+

Spider-Man 3: B