Well done - can't wait for the sequel

Rating: 8/10 (21 November 2003)

Directed by Sam Raimi
Written by David Koepp
Starring: Tobey Maguire , Willem Dafoe , Kirsten Dunst and James Franco
After years of anticipation and a never ending court battle concerning the legal rights , a big budget cinematic adaptation of the well known comics superhero has finally made it to the movie theaters . First of all I should say I was never much of a Spider-man fan , I have never read comics but is there any person on earth who doesn't know the red clad hero who jumps from building to building ? I doubt so . My only knowledge of Spider-man was some cartoon show where he makes a dynamic trio with Iceman and Fire-Star . I am not aware of anyone of Spidey's enemies and I was not familiar with his origin and motives . Nevertheless I am keen on comics generally and I always like seeing comics characters materialize on celluloid . So I got really excited when I heard that the project FINALLY got green-lighted and that Sam Raimi eventually took it upon him to shoot the Spider-man motion picture . I will have to admit that most of the comments are 100% right . Spider-man (2002) may not be a GREAT film but it sure is a good one (and it beats the hell out of the overrated and disappointing 2000's X-Men) .
I don't think the plot is significant . The movie remains as faithfully to its comics origins as it could be and it satisfies both the hardcore well-knowing fans and the uninitiated like I am . Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is a nerdy 17 year old student , not much accepted by his social environment and constantly being picked by his bullies classmates . He has a secret crush on the beautiful girl next door Mary Jane `M.J.' Watson (Kirsten Dunst) but she hardly knows he exists . When he is bitten by a mutated super spider he is bestowed with special powers like climbing on windows with his bare (albeit sticky) hands , ejecting spider nets from his arms , incredible acrobatic agility and enhanced danger-approaching instinct. While he tries to adjust to his newly obtained powers he finds himself caught in a war that a fiendish super criminal called the Green Goblin has declared against him . The Green Goblin is a maniac who wreaks havoc and kills innocent people using military equipment and weaponry . He believes that Spider-Man is the only real threat and wants to bring him down . The Green Goblin is actually the alter-ego of Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) a very wealthy businessman / scientist who has started developing a split personality and the deranged Green Goblin becomes more and more dominant driving him to madness . Norman's son is Harry (James Franco) who coincidentally is Peter's best friend and classmate . So Spider-Man will try to stop the Green Goblin before he kills more civilians and simultaneously will try to get Mary Jane's attention .
That's it folks . The film spends much more time on the love story between Peter and Mary Jane and less on action . I always like character development and human relationships unfolded in superhero films but a little more action wouldn't heart either . Basically we see Spider-Man beat up some random thugs on alley streets and that's it . The balloon sequence in the middle of the film is nice but awfully reminiscent of Batman (1989) . I wish there were more epic battles between Spider-man and Green Goblin with more explosions . Some other things I didn't like either were :

1) Even worse CGI SFX than the robot soldiers in the Phantom Menace !!! I never thought it could happen but here it is . The shots of Spider-Man in the beginning of the film jumping from the top of a building to another is a lame cartoon that will not convince even a 3 year old viewer . I cannot describe how laughable and fake this Spider-man cartoon is : you will have to see for yourselves .
2) The acting is average from all the actors . None of them manages to deliver fully the dramatic depth of the characters as scripted by the writer. The worst performance belongs to Willem Dafoe . His mirror communication scene was nicely scripted but Dafoe is extremely bad and unconvincing . What exactly happened here ? I liked him in Body of Evidence and Speed II but his talents seem to have been erased in this film . I will have to admit that some of the Green Goblin's lines gave me the creeps but can anyone assure me that it was really him under the suit (or his voice for that matter) ? Maguire's and Dunst's acting is better but still mediocre . Speaking of the duo , one other flaw is that they don't have enough chemistry together (like Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder) . If they made a more fitting pair the screen time spent in their romance would be more worthily used . And if James Franco has the most impact screen presence is because his character requires for him to sit back and look calm and cool (and it is obvious that's the reason why they cast him) . The secondary characters like Peter's uncle and aunt act OK but that newspaper editor was too annoying to like him.
3) The Green Goblin is never developed and is not much of a formidable foe . Maybe it was intentional to give him little screen time in order not to pull another scene-stealer (a la Joker) and give all the focus on Spider-Man . Unfortunately a great action film always needs a powerful evil character to be the opposition AND the driving force for the hero's existence .

Aside from these flaws the movie has all the features of a good blockbuster . The red suit of Spider-Man is faithful and really convinces us that the character has come to life ! There are some good scenes like the one where Peter finally beats up one the bullies in school . My favorite scene in the movie is a great surprise and that's why I cannot give it away. All I can say if you haven't watched the film , is the sequence where the Green Goblin sings `The itsy , bitsy spider.' . I also digged the final duel between Spider-Man and Green Goblin . Without being too violent it is an exciting fight , larger-than-life and worth our money . I just wish the rest of the movie reached the same adrenaline levels . Despite a lackluster performance , Tobey Maguire was perfectly cast as Peter Parker . He suits the geeky looks the character has and convinces as a 17 year old with continually growing power (physical and personal) . The film has an obvious open end as a set up for the sequel . Much like some recent blockbusters like the Matrix or X-Men the first film is clearly an introductory chapter wanting to lure the audience to a whole franchise . You wait for more action in the next film , more exploitation of the potential of the story and you have a curiosity to find out where the relationships between the protagonists will lead . Spider-Man however manages to rise above the aforementioned films . Why ? Because it is a GOOD introduction . Where X-Men made the mistake of under using 10 characters without any success , Spider-Man has ONE main character . This is what I like most about Raimi's film . We follow Peter Parker from the very beginning . We have a taste of his life before the drastic change occurs and then we have the transformation in front of our eyes full play ! There is not a single superhero film that bothered to show us the beginning of the character . Obviously they thought it would be dull for the already initiated comic book fans but they were wrong . Yes there are other films with scenes were the motives were explained like Batman and some opening establishing scenes like the first Superman . But Raimi's Spider-Man is unique : we SEE Peter Parker training with his super powers , trying to control them and we even get to see him pick his costume . Now I will keep my reservations because I have yet to see the recent batch of Marvel comic-book adaptations like Daredevil or Hulk but for now Spider-Man is the best introducing film you will find . The metaphor about the responsibility of a teenager turned into a mature adult is also explored . The realistic approach is successful here . First of all the first thing Peter does with his powers is to try earning money . Only later he decides to use them for the city 's good and safety . Secondly despite some nitpicking from fans it is quite logical that Spider-man's web-shooting is an organic power . Peter is just 17 and as much as he is supposed to be a science genius he wouldn't have the money or the technology to invent some synthetic web shooters . The Green Goblin outfit sure looks like a Power Ranger suit but it is also realistic as it is a piece of military equipment and not a Halloween costume . New York City is depicted as a shiny town and establishes a truly existing environment for the story to take place .
Spider-Man (2002) for all its weaknesses is a good film with some of the best narrative I have seen . The voice-overs by Maguire help us identify with him even more . The film is better than some other comic book flicks like Phantom or Spawn (not entirely their fault since these characters are less appealing and therefore less known) Dick Tracy , The Mask or the Shadow (good idea but mediocre script / execution) or over hyped blockbusters like the X-Men . It will not be a classic like Superman II or Batman but it is one of the best of the bunch of the `comic-book' genre . I rank it up there with the 3 Batman sequels , Judge Dredd and the original Superman .

SPIDER-MAN (2002) 8 / 10