"Wondrous To Behold"

Rating: 9/10 (6 November 2018)

Ever since the dreaded "Batman & Robin" movie screened up in 1997, Moviegoers criticized it over and over, until we were left with one question: can superhero movies ever be good again?
The answer was yes.
Director Sam Raimi (Notable for his work on the horror films "The Evil Dead" And "Army Of Darkness") stepped inside Sony Pictures Entertainment to answer that question. Together, they created what was widely considered to be the best superhero movie series yet: Spider-Man.
For starters, this movie handles the Spider-Man origin story very smoothly. From the spider bite to Uncle Ben's death, no other superhero movie can top the origin story better than this one.
Now let's talk about acting. We've got Tobey Maguire playing Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and I say he does a great job with it. Raimi's Peter Parker displays the nerd inside but also showing a shy side to girls, even Mary Jane Watson (Kristen Dunst) - the girl Peter loves the most.
Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) does his work but after a human body experiment his personality goes full villain. Thus creating his alter ego "The Green Goblin" how Raimi handles the goblin is somewhat the best I've heard of from Dafoe so far.
And now, let's talk about special effects - brought to you by Sony Pictures Imageworks.
I've heard from some reviews that the special effects were kind of shaky, and I agree. But the special effects here are pretty well done - from blue screening to excellent CGI, You could tell that was hard work for all the people working for the special effects department.
Peter's relationship with Mary Jane Watson somewhat ties in with the original comics, if you're a comic book expert that is. But i don't understand why MJ is somewhat hated throughout, she's always put into a "damsel in distress" situation in ALL 3 MOVIES. But I can mostly ignore that, MJ is always the girl Peter/Spidey wants to save the most because Peter cares about MJ, she's his love life, and MJ always loved Peter since the first day they got together. Saving people is Peter's duties as Spider-Man.
Oh, and who wouldn't forget Peter Parker's friendship with Harry Osborn (James Franco), Norman's son? It seems to start here, but grows bigger and until Harry thinks Peter/Spider-Man killed his father and later becomes the new goblin in the third film. But i'm glad he realizes Norman Osborn/Green Goblin actually killed himself because of his own glider. How can someone who has been the son of a villain blame their friend, who is a superhero, for something that wasn't entirely their fault? But I guess that's Harry Osborn for you all.
And the CGI - oh my god. The way they handled the CGI in this movie is really realistic. Spider-Man's CG model is really accurate to the real one, done throughout all 3 movies - perfect.
And overall, what do I say about this movie? Fantastic. Spider-Man really captures the comic book spirit of a movie adaptation through the entire movie, with great actors, great story, great special effects/CGI, and great everything else. This movie really sets up the gold standard for superhero movies old and new.
And remember - With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility.
INFO
Runtime: 2 hours
Director: Sam Raimi
MPAA Rating: PG-13
BBFC Rating: 12+
Rating Reason: Stylized Violence And Action
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment (Columbia Pictures)