If rated 1 out of 10, this movie deserves a 7 or higher.

Rating: 10/10 (14 May 2002)

When I heard that Spider-man was going out in theaters, I didn't really expect a great movie. After all, the current adaptations haven't been the best in the world; Harry Potter, for example, was a huge let-down because of the enormous missing chunks and dullness. I've been a Spider-man fan for as long as I can remember, and I guess I didn't want to see some director screw up my favorite super hero's reputation by making a below-average movie. I'm just that kind of girl who can't stand a disappointment. And so, on opening day, I listened to my friends talk about how they wanted to see the movie so badly, and when they asked if I wanted to go with them, I refused the offer. But one of the movie-goers later told me it was an excellent movie and I should watch with him (he wanted to watch it again. I was surprised) again. And so I did, and my reaction was one of pure amazement.
First of all, the casting is excellent. Tobey Maguire made a great Spider-man, much to my surprise. He played Peter Parker like Peter Parker should be. I don't mean the sharp-tongued witty sort of guy most super heroes are, but just a regular person who, of course, can mess up. I thought Kirsten Dunst wasn't the right type of person for the part of M.J., but she played the role pretty well. Her little speech at the end was corny and mushy, and I didn't like that too much. The Green Goblin was the best of the actors and actresses. When you watch him, you can see that he isn't acting out his part well; he IS his part. I really hated the people who would go, "Oh! It's Spider-man!" or a stupid line like, "Oh gee! What's that in the sky?" It got really annoying after a while and I was thinking, "Yes it's Spider-man, you idiots." The people in this movie were great nevertheless, whether they made the audience laugh, scream, cry, or fall off (or jump out of) their seats.
The plot was a bit off. It's just sort of the regular good against evil sort of theme and everyone knows how that will end. I did liked how the director didn't make the entire movie about the action and the explosives and the kicking and the leaping from bombed buildings and all that extra action stuff some people add to their movies to increase an audience's excitement level. There was actually a back story and mixed in tid bits that gave this movie a harder punch. But augh! The special effects were really bad! The scenes where Spider-man is swinging around the city in his costume were okay, and most of the action sequences were okay, but otherwise, they stank. The impression the audience gets in certain parts is, "Wow. That was really fake," and the people watching the movie won't believe the story anymore.
These are only some of the points. I do think though, that this movie definitely deserves at least, if rated one out of ten, an 8 (I think it'd have to be one heck of a movie to get a ten ;-P)
~Bonnie *huggies and kisses* Email me!~