User blog:Spencerz/What If? Spider-Man 2002

So I recently read that Sam Raimi was not the first choice to direct the 2002 Spider-Man movie. And it got me to thinking about how that film, and it's sequels, would have turned out had another director taken Raimi's place.

Four other directors were considered:
 * Roland Emmerich, the director mainly known for CGI disaster epics like Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012.
 * Tim Burton, director and occasional writer of fantasy films with dark humor like Batman, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and nearly every major Johnny Depp movie that doesn't involve Pirates.
 * Chris Columbus, director and producer of a number of big films, including Home Alone 1 & 2, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jingle All The Way, the first three Harry Potter films, the Night at the Museum series, and the Fantastic Four series.
 * David Fincher, a director known mostly for more adult films like Alien 3. Se7en, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, and The Girl With The Dragon Tatto, as well as The Social Network and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Now, I think that Raimi did a decent job with the film. The slow-mo fight scene was a little eh, and Tobey Maguire wasn't the greatest choice, but overall, Raimi made a d*mn good film. But I'm curious as to what the other four could have done.

I think Emmerich would have made the movie worse. Sure, he's got some good popcorn flicks, but the unavoidable explosion of every building in New York would have seemed out of place for Spider-Man. Widespread destruction is more a Superman thing. I personally don't care for Tim Burton's work outside of Batman, so I'm glad that Spider-Man stayed out of his hands. Besides, Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man was alright; Johnny Depp as Spider-Man would have been terrible. It seems to me as though Columbus would have made a movie similar to Raimi's final product.

David Fincher would have been the one I would have liked to see out of the four. His movies are very much dark and and full of surprise twists, or full of stylish action. It seems like it would have been a dark and gritty hero movie before Batman Begins made it a standard in the superhero genre. But, while I think that Fincher would have been a good choice, I think that Raimi was the overall best choice.

Curious as to what other have to say about it.