The best comic book adaption ever!

Rating: 10/10 (4 May 2002)

Wonderful, colorful, and extremely well made, Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" undertaking has proved its worth and some. It is a very satisfying vision of the comic book that stays very true to the source material. The story, characters, and overall feel of an actual comic book have never really been faithfully adapted to a motion picture until now. The acting is pitch-perfect as well, from Tobey Maguire's nearly heartbreaking portrayal of Peter Parker, to Kirsten Dunst giving Mary Jane a very insecure persona. And Willem Dafoe, of course, hams it up appropriately as Norman Osborn, whose hidden agenda is Spider-Man's arch-nemesis, the Green Goblin. The special effects sequences are truly a spectacle. They are thunderous, stunning races through Manhattan's concrete jungles that blur the line between CG images and reality. My only gripe about the movie is that it moves at a cheetah's pace, sometimes at the sacrifice of some of the movie's dramatic punch. But hey, that's excusable due to the fact that the film is based on comic book, and shouldn't pretend it is based on Shakespeare. Another lame bit is the presence of Macy Gray, which for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, kind of detracts from the movie (though only in a small way). If she's gonna be in films she should stick to the stuff she did in "Training Day". But even with these two barely significant quirks, "Spider-Man" is an exciting, and fantastic movie with awesome acting, characters, music, and special effects. Go se it, even if you just go for J.K. Simmons' hiarious performance as the liberal media tyrant J. Jonah Jameson. The movie is a thrilling experience and we can only hope that Raimi and company reunite for a sequel in the future. 10/10