WOW

Rating: 10/10 (16 June 2002)

Hottest movie of the year. Tobey Maguire shows us exactly why he is rated as the hottest young actor on the circuit. This movie relies heavily on how subtle it can be delivered and in Maguire they have gotten one of the most subtle actors on the planet. Its one thing that he is great at and one thing that's often understated in moves laden with special effects. He carries the weight of the performance with such ease and at times makes it look like he is not even trying. After all he is playing to the most hypocritical and hard to please audience out there... The comic book guys. While the film doesn't port everything over from the comic the changes are acceptable and minimal. Webs coming from glands in the wrist and being bitten by a genetically modified spider rather than a radio active one. The latter doesn't make any difference as genetic modification was unknown when the concept of spider-man was being penned all those years ago and to be fair had it been known, he probably would have gone with the genetics anyway!!! Dafoe gives us a performance somewhat restricting him and with this he delivers by his standards what can only be called an adequate performance. The cameo of the day has got to go to J.K. Simmons who delivered a mast piece of a cameo in the shape of newspaper editor J J, Jameson. Any fan of the comic will tell you that the part was carried out to perfection. To sum up the film was brilliant and should secure Maguire's future as a major box office draw. He is great at subtlety, something that all the great actors have, Ed Harris, Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro etc... On a finishing note I thought it was brilliant and a little bit special that the original song be put in at the end of this film. Showed it really got to the grass roots.
Watch it and you will enjoy it.