After several false starts (read about some of the near misses, they’re doozies) Spider-Man finally got his first swing on the big screen in 2002’s self-titled feature film. It was an instant hit and, like X-Men before it, cemented the superhero movie genre as a Hollywood staple. Now you can relive the experience of seeing this classic in the early 2000s (or find out what it was like, if you’re young) as Sony and Fathom team up to re-release the Spider-Man Trilogy.

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man is the relatable tale of a geeky schlub who finds himself inheriting great power, and discovering through one painful mistake that it comes with great responsibility. It still has one of the best origin sequences I’ve seen in any superhero film, where Peter Parker awkwardly tries to figure out his whole superpower deal. Will he save his love interest or that train car full of passengers? Can he save both?

Spider-Man 2, a loose adaption of the comics’ “Spider-Man No More” arc, was one of the few sequels to truly live up to the original, with Alfred Molina’s memorable performance as Doc Ock centering a tale about Spidey’s “Parker Luck” becoming too overwhelming.

The interesting thing here is that the edit of Spider-Man 2 Sony has chosen is the “2.1” version originally released exclusively to DVD in 2007. It contains eight minutes of extra scenes and will be presented theatrically for the first time, in a new 4K transfer.

Are the Raimi films perfect? Of course not. Some people didn’t like that Maguire’s Parker was such a pathetic sad little man, instead of the witty quip machine Spidey tends to be in the comics. Some thought the CG scenes were unconvincing (come on, it’s 2002 here). Then there’s Donut Mary Jane. To explain that I’ll have to reproduce a passage from one of my favorite things I ever wrote, Love Is Hard:

Let’s say a man comes home from work, and he sees a donut on the counter of his kitchen. He’s been waiting to eat this donut all day. It’s been a hard day at work, trying to reach the goal of getting to this hour and reaching this donut. But just as he’s about to grasp it in his hand, TWENTY NINJAS BURST INTO THE ROOM, GRAB HIM AND START DRAGGING HIM AWAY! He waves his arm frantically, one centimeter from the donut! IT’S SO CLOSE, HE’S GOT TO MAKE IT—

By making this man want a donut so badly and struggle so hard for it, it makes you want the donut as well. It’s the center of the tension, and you want the tension resolved. Substitute the donut for a pretty woman and you have something like the original Spider-Man trilogy.

Why does Peter Parker want Mary Jane so badly? Because he does. Why is he in love with her? Because he is. The first two films tell us next to nil about MJ and why we, as an audience, would want to be with her. Most people agree the first two films are great, but that the romantic aspect was botched. There is still tension about her, but it comes from being the center of the plot, from being an object to acquire. Mary Jane is a donut.

Dated computer graphics and donuts aside, the Raimi trilogy makes for a great time (except for that third one) and you’ll want your Spider-Butt in the seat for the re-release this fall. Each film will screen twice, on two separate nights. Spider-Man comes first on September 26 and October 3 followed by Spider-Man 2.1 on September 27 and October 4, and then finally Spider-Man 3 on September 28 and October 5.

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