Fantastic movie the sets the standard for all superhero movies.

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2013)

This amazing Spider-Man film truly dominates the genre in my opinion. It uses clever comedy, morals, and action to tell a compelling story about a scientist driven mad by a crazed accident which leaves his wife dead and his mind in the control of a set of machine arms. The villain, like the first Spider-Man's Green Goblin, is a sympathetic character, forced to atrocity by a freak accident. You feel for Dr. Octopus, knowing he has to be defeated, but hoping that he gets away alive. Alfred Molina almost steals the show as Dr. Octopus, but one character really surprises the audience with her powerful performance.
Rosemary Harris plays Aunt May, Peter Parker's spirited yet wizened Aunt. Every scene she's in, she demands the audiences attention. She truly forces Peter Parker to come to terms with Uncle Ben's death, and pushes the film's major morals without being overbearing. A truly amazing performance.
Tobey Maguire has never been one of my favorite actors. I don't consider him a great actor, but in Spider-Man, he is perfect. He fits the role of Peter Parker like I never expected, being an avid lover of the original comic book. He captures the essence of the shy, intelligent kid that is suddenly thrust into this world of being a superhero. After showing us a great performance in the first Spider-Man, where he was overshadowed by the ever creepy Willem Dafoe, Tobey Maguire has truly sunk into the role of Peter Parker in this movie.
The two supporting characters, Mary Jane, played strongly by Kirsten Dunst, and Harry Osborn, portrayed by James Franco, who isn't really a very good actor most of the time, but pulls it out of the bag for this movie. They both provide strong support, Mary Jane as Peter Parker's love interest who is getting married to the son of J. Jonah Jameson, and Harry Osborn as Parker's best friend who's obsessed with finding and killing Spider-Man, who he thinks is responsible for murdering his father, the Green Goblin.
This outstanding movie sets the bar for superhero movies everywhere, and still gives the Spider-Man character hope after the mediocre Spider-Man 3 and the remake which I still refuse to see.