"With great power comes great responsibility"

Rating: 8/10 (9 July 2017)

A nerdy high-school student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) gets bitten by a genetically modified spider and wakes up the next morning with a completely new lease of life; he has perfect vision, is stronger and faster than he was before and can also swing through New York City due to his ability of firing webs from his wrist. However, Spider-man isn't the only person in New York with superpowers and he finds himself fighting against the Green Goblin (the alter ego of brilliant scientist Norman Osborn - Willem Dafoe) who will stop at nothing to destroy both Spiderman and everyone around him that he cares about.
Perhaps it is the sweet nature of this origin story that makes it such a winner; we have Peter Parker who is perhaps one of the most unassuming comic book anti-heroes to grace the screen. As Parker, he has a nerdy-goofy charm about him that endears us towards him and as Spider-man he is cool and a great action hero. In the same vein as The Fantastic Four, Peter Parker struggles getting to grips with his super powers and it takes a bit of time for him to adjust to what he has become. This transition is fun to watch and the scene where he kicks that bully's ass was brilliant.
The real story here kicks in when Spider-man isn't paid properly for defeating a fearsome wrestler; he is only paid $100 dollars rather than $3,000 dollars. I won't say anymore than that, but this incident sets off a chain reaction which makes Spider-man the beloved anti-hero. The only minor negative with this story set-up is that you do feel that he becomes who he is out of a sense of guilt more than a sense of duty, but this is minor and is something that I was prepared to overlook in this film.
I normally hate love stories in film, but the blossoming love between Parker and Mary Jane Watson was quite endearing; Watson is a little misguided and can't really see what is right under her nose, but she is never unlikeable and the blossoming relationship between Watson and Parker did feel quite natural.
There are some minor flaws with this film such as there being no investigation into the death of Osborn's colleague after he performs the experiment on himself; they say he was murdered and that someone stole Osborn's prototype, but then that thread is conveniently dropped - we learn the truth later, but it still makes no sense that no-one would follow-up this crime with an investigation. It's also terribly convenient that Spider-man happens to be around to save the day with every crime committed in New York (which is incredible), but again I can suspend disbelief for these things due to how involved I was in the main story.
The acting is also of the highest calibre; Maguire is very good as both the nerdy-geek and as everyone favourite anti-hero. Dunst is good as the female heroine; she has a nice naïve charm about her, but is also good at playing the damsel-in-distress. The likes of Dafoe and Simmons both have fun chewing the scenery, but the latter comes off as the best putting in a brief, but memorable performance. Franco is perhaps the only weak link in the film, but that's mainly because he is given so little to do.
Spider-man is one of the best superhero films out there and contains a great origin story, a believable romance, an impressive villain and good anti-hero. Despite its two hour running time, it moves at a lightning fast-pace, is never dull and boasts some pretty good special effects.
Brilliant stuff