A Marvel

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2004)

This movie is a masterpiece. It has a broad reach, genuine complexity in the emotional lives of the characters and a compelling storyline. I used to read Marvel comics all the time when I was a kid and this film captures those more fully than anything else in this genre. Peter Parker's anguish, star-crossed lovers, megalomaniacs running amok..it is like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar rolled into an action movie.
Speaking of action, some of the sequences in this film are jaw dropping. The elevated subway ride is the best use of a subway in a movie since The Matrix and is just breathtaking. At the same time the movie is very well paced, razzle dazzle action sequences are mixed up with quiet moments of tenderness. The original Spiderman movie was fine but not in this league. ( Hey, wish the matrix sequels had followed same trajectory!). I also really enjoyed the humor scattered through the movie.
For everyone who loves this comic genre, I'd say this is the movie where they got it right. For people who don't, you will enjoy it anyway.