Action is his reward. Yours is the best superhero movie since "Batman" (the Tim Burton one - sorry, but the 1966 one sucked).

Rating: 9/10 (15 September 2002)

Warning: This features the odd spoiler.
"Spider-Man," as Peter Parker tells us at the start of the movie (and can I just say that, technically accurate though it may be, I hate the hyphen?), is basically a story about a girl. But that's not a reason to put people off (apart from the many people who think they're the only people in the world not to like this movie... and you aren't, okay? You aren't) - the Wall-Crawler was always more approachable than most of his breed, and the human element is one of the many reasons why Sam Raimi's movie is up there with the better examples of the genre ("X-Men," the first Tim Burton "Batman" movie, the first two "Superman" movies); it hits the ground running and keeps going throughout the two hours, with such a fine mixture of love story, origins tale and action that I've now forgiven David Koepp for writing "The Shadow" and "The Lost World: Jurassic Park."
How-it-all-began movies can play like pilots, but this one never feels like television, which is a blessing given how Spiderman (hang the hyphen, this is MY review) hasn't come off too well on the small screen, especially in the live-action attempts (anyone remember "The Electric Company"?). As played by the engaging Tobey Maguire, we're on Peter Parker's side from the moment we see the nerdy student getting mocked by his fellows; we feel his joy on discovering his superpowers (note that he never refers to his Spider-sense tingling); and we feel his sorrow when his uncle dies, a death he could have prevented.
Though a chestnut-haired Kirsten Dunst doesn't look too much like Mary Jane Watson, she's charming and appealing even if she really doesn't have that much to do apart from be rescued and act as the love interest - much like Frances McDormand in Raimi's last (and also good) take on hero flicks, "Darkman."
WHICH BRINGS US TO OUR SPOILERS...
The resemblance doesn't end there; "Spider-Man" and "Darkman" both end with the hero knowing his beloved can return his love but choosing to live the life that fate ordained for him, over what his heart feels. Granted, "Spider-Man"'s ending isn't as all-out sad as "Darkman"'s (Frances McDormand frantically searching the streets of New York for Liam Neeson, who now has the face of Bruce Campbell), but it does leave the possibility of a reunion, and there's also a touch of ambiguity in that it leaves open the question of whether or not she knows his secret identity... in the climax Spidey calls her "MJ," even though she's never told him her name whenever they met while he was in webslinging mode. Very well acted, and very touching. (And I didn't mind the American flag either.)
WE NOW RETURN TO OUR SPOILER-FREE SECTION, STILL IN PROGRESS.
"Spider-Man" has flaws, of course, mainly its villain the Green Goblin and his altar ego (and father of Peter's best friend) Norman Osborn. He's not developed quite as well as his opponent, and as good as most of Willem Dafoe's performance is, some of his attempts at being a tortured soul are uncomfortably reminiscent of Jack Lord getting all emotional on "Hawaii Five-O." Then again, we've had the villain be infinitely more exciting than the hero far, far too many times. The effects from Sony Pictures Imageworks, Digiscope et al are uneven and sometimes unconvincing, and I'm not entirely sure about the Green Goblin's costume, but the human stuff always works (humorous and moving by turns), and since the webbing here looks like webbing and not rope (see the 1970s show), why gripe?
The final faceoff between hero and villain is a bit underpowered, with the real action climax on a bridge coming just before the two go one-on-one - and it's certainly less striking than the movie's final scenes, but the cards have been laid out clearly by then; it's less about a superhero than about a man, and though it has plenty of action, escapes, rescues etc., that's how it should be. Your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man's finally made a successful leap out of the comics.
Bonus points for J.K. Simmons (wonderful but underused as J. Jonah Jameson - never mind, there's always the sequel) and the cameos from Lucy Lawless, Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Kirsten Dunst's rain-soaked breasts (extra treat #1); I wish that Columbia had taken a page from "X-Men"'s book and devoted the end credits to Danny Elfman's score instead of forgettable nu-metal, however. (Even there, they redeem themselves with the theme from the cartoon at the very end of the credits - the ORIGINAL one (extra treat #2), not the version from Aerosmith on the song album! All together now - "Spiderman, Spiderman/Does whatever a spider can/Spins a web, any size/Catches thieves, just like flies/Look out, here comes the Spiderman...")