Has someone finally gotten it right?

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2002)

The history of trying to transfer elements of Marvel's Universe to the screen, either little or big, is at best rocky and usually leaves a mess. Probably the first reasonably successful attempt was the first Blade movie. You could nitpick it some, but you really didn't have to be a fan of the comic to enjoy the movie. The next big success would have to be the X-Men. While it might not have always stayed true to the source material, it was a good movie and it did justice to the tone and theme of the comics.

Spiderman, however is something of a cultural icon. More teenaged comic readers probably identified with him on such a level, that the mere thoughts of moving him to the big screen is terrifying. Spiderman was a teenaged superhero. He was strong and fast and agile. He could do things most people couldn't, but he was also a teenager. He had girl trouble, family problems, school problems, as well as a secret identity. He was never the strongest or fastest. He was usually weaker or slower than the opponent he faced, but he always outsmarted them in the end. Heady stuff for the readers. How to capture that in the movie? And how to bring in the cast of characters so neccessary to the story? Well they did it. They picked an excellent cast, a good script and turned it into a fast-paced movie that stayed very true to the storyline and themes of the source material. It isn't a perfect movie, the CGI didn't blend that well, the goblin costume left something to be desired and Mary Jane wasn't quite like I remember, but I still can't wait for the next movie.