So, how strong *is* Spider Man, anyway?

Rating: Null/10 (5 May 2002)

To provide a little background here, I've really only read Spider Man comics from the late 1960's, so I don't have much in the way of "recent" knowledge of the character.
That said, I was pleasantly relieved that this movie was much more human than was the X-Men film of a few years ago. Sure, I like Patrick Stewart as much as the next Star Trek fan, but let's face it - kids at this mutant school would have called each other by their real names when out of costume. But I digress.
This film, at least, remembers that most super-heroes start out as real people (except, perhaps, for Kal-El) and I was relieved to see the director give them that respect. Sam Raimi obviously has an affection for the character, and handles one of Stan Lee's finest creations with kid gloves. Heck, he even gave the movie a storyline! (Apparently optional; see X-Men.)
This brings me to the whining part. Question one: How strong is Spider Man? If he is strong enough to heft a 20-ton cable car one- handed (well beyond his abilities in the 60's), how in fact did he avoid making a nasty mess by putting his fist directly through "Flash" when he punched him? Question two: Why is OsCorp, a "major defense contractor", sponsoring the balloon-infested "World Unity Day?" (When was the last time Lockheed-Martin threw a party for the public in Times Square?) Question three: how did Osbone get so rich if he kills all of his best scientists?
Question four: how does the Green Goblin's "glider" support the 20-ton cable car? (I want one of those engines to put in my car!) Question five: why did they spent too much time on the Green Goblin (who was never anything more than a lame diversion in the comics) and not enough time on J. Jonah Jameson (Spidey's real enemy)? Question six: How does Parker learn so quickly how to be a good spider? I think they could have spent more time on him learning how to use his spider abilities and had a lot of fun with it without having to play the "super villian" card. (J. Jonah Jameson himself theorized that the existance of "super heroes" *caused* the advent of "super villians".)
That said, I don't wish to detract from Dafoe's performance - in fact, the Green Goblin in the film was at least twice as interesting as the comic book character (the sight of Dafoe trying to casually lean against the wall in that absurd body armor was priceless!) ever was.
All complaints aside, the film wasn't what I'd hoped it would be, but was much better than I feared it would be!