Mixed bag

Rating: Null/10 (9 May 2002)

The movie adaptation of the `Spiderman' comic books and cartoon is a mixed bag. The story is classic, though not quite done justice by a bland script, but there are a few scenes that are entirely too syrupy. Also, the acting in the film has its ups and downs, with some characters emerging as not-quite-believable. However, the film is visually dazzling, and the scenes that retain a comic-book quality are extremely well-done.
As most people who go to see `Spider-man' are aware, the story revolves around Peter Parker, a young man who is bitten by a genetically altered spider, and gains super-hero powers. He discovers that `with great power comes great responsibility' and through the rest of the movie, juggles his obligations to society as a super-hero, and his obligations towards his Aunt May, secret love interest Mary Jane, and best friend Harry Osborn. It's a story with dangerous potential towards cheesiness, something that takes over in certain scenes. Any scene where Peter Parker talks with Mary Jane, for example, ends up being hard to watch without a smirk.
Tobey Maguire's performance as Peter Parker is somewhat strange: he has the `high school nerd' part down to an art, but when it comes down to things like crying over Uncle Ben, Maguire isn't perfectly convincing. Tears come out of his eyes, but the corners of his mouth stay inexplicably up-turned. Kirsten Dunst is sort of annoying throughout the movie, seemingly fascinated by raindrops after an encounter with Spider-man in one scene. Also, at the end of the movie, it would take a much better performance than Dunst's to convince us that `while I was hanging there, about to die, all I could think of was 'I hope I can live through this to see Peter Parker again.' However, both Willem Dafoe and J.K. Simmons give brilliant performances. Dafoe is convincingly fierce as Norman Osborn/the Green Goblin, while Simmons takes immediate control of any scene that he is in as J. Jonah Jameson, Parker's hard-headed boss. James Franco is flawed as Parker's friend Harry Osborn; he seems stuck trying to play James Dean, but this time with a few nasty rich-kid quirks which make us wonder why Parker feels any loyalty at all towards his friend. The scenes where Spider-man web-slings through the city are great to watch, as is the first airborne scuffle between him and the Green Goblin against the backdrop of a crumbling balcony. The final fight scene, however, is a little disappointing, since it simply involves brutal, face-punching hand-to-hand combat, instead of the web-slinging agility that is Spider-man's trademark.