My Opinion

Rating: Null/10 (4 June 2004)

I went to see this movie on the back of a somewhat biased attitude to actor playing Peter Parker, aka Tobey Maguire. In fact, I was more than shocked to discover in the fall of 2000 that this usually unconventional, low-budget actor had decided to sign onto what was rightly expected to be the blockbuster of 2002.
In turn, I was reluctant to see the movie, thinking it would signal the end of Maguire's charm as an emotional, empathetic character that he had displayed either intentionally or not in his other films (Wonderboys, Cider House Rules etc).
I need not have worried. In spite of the fact Peter Parker is cast as a vulnerable, retiring character at the start of the movie, and although he always maintains this sense of selflessness throughout, Tobey, in my humble opinion gave the role something that perhaps another couldn't. I felt he took the fiction of Peter Parker and his characteristics and made them into reality - Tobey adopting the actual personality he would have considered Peter to have if he were a real life person. I feel Tobey didn't just "act" the role, but he "became" it. I felt his on screen performance was totally believable and coming from someone who has seen his previous movies on several occasions, this is no small feat. I thought Spiderman would be the demise of Maguire as an actor, and although the hype since has somewhat clouded many judgements, he has proved he is still in tune with his emotional connection to characters he plays (Red Pollard in Seabiscuit, for example) in roles since.
My bone of contention with the movie is the slightly unorthodox Green Goblin. Spiderman was, although not realistic to the point of true life (after all it is a comic book adaptation), plausible. Although Da Foe was cast well, I felt the overall attitude of the Goblin was somewhat embarrassing. True, he was set to become Spiderman's rival, and I suppose one could argue this had to be set at an overall age (therefore, in spite of the age certificate, teenagers had to be able to relate in some way) but I felt some of the "comical" moments made the movie seem too tongue in cheek. In some ways it is hard to "connect" with a movie if the plot line is removed from real life (i.e., somehow I don't think we will get a teenage boy strip down to a spandex suit and save the world) but the script behind the action scenes (Parkers ongoing conflict with his feelings for Mary Jane, his initial shock at realising the potential of his power, Norman's duel personality and helpless denial against evil) was well done if slightly cliché. However, although the ending was somewhat predictable (Mary Jane confessing her love for Peter) I liked the fact Peter was able to distance himself knowing the feats and responsibility upon him, and able to quash the potential relationship. Had they fallen into bed and gone on from there the movie would have certainly been ruined under contradiction and it has set things up well for the sequel.
I also liked Mary Jane's reaction to her kiss with Peter. Many of my peers who watched the film at the same time as me didn't understand the relevance to what she had done, other than she had just kissed the man she loved. But to me, I feel Mary Jane knew that kiss somewhere, and although she doesn't recognise the deja vu to the point of pinning that person down, there is a very interesting realism to take into Spiderman 2.
So, overall, I enjoyed the film mainly for its casting. You might not get a deep sense of life from it, but as far as action movies go, I think it's pretty decent.