'It is my give and it is my curse'

Rating: 9/10 (27 June 2009)

Spider-man, Marvel's most popular superhero was finally made into a film in the early part of the 2000s after years of development hell. Many people were attached to the project, from the great and good like James Cameron, David Fincher and Tim Burton, the average Chris Columbus, to down right awful Yoram Globus. It was horror expert and Spider-man fan Sam Raimi who got the go ahead for the Spider-man project.
Spider-man tells the origins of our favourite web-slinger. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is the high school geek who is bullied had has a unrequited love for Mary-Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). After a school trip to Columbia University our hero is bitten by a genetic modified spider and as a result he ends up with spider powers. He uses his these newly required powers to try and raise power for a car to impress Mary-Jane. He ends up fighting in a wrestling tournament where the promoter screws him over. As a result Peter's beloved Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) is killed. After that tragic event Peter pleads to fight crime as Spider-man. A new super-villain also comes to being, the Green Goblin. He is a major industrialist Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), the father of Peter's best friend Harry (James Franco). Norman struggles with the guilt of his evil deeds, but is a man who is facing the lost of his company. After Spider-man gets involved he develops a hatred for the super-hero.
There are a lot of positives to this film. They is a decent storyline which is a much for any film. They is great action scene and Sam Raimi has a flair for the direction for this superhero film. But the winning feature is character development, from Peter's early reluctant and his longing for Mary-Jane, to Norman Osborn's guilt and duel personality. The supporting characters are also great, Mary-Jane, Harry, Uncle Ben, Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson. The casting is fantansic. Raimi pick actors from indie backgrounds. Tobey Maguire is excellent as Peter, playing his geeky qualities and has a good dose of humour. He is an excellent actor. Willem Dafoe is also an excellent actor and makes a great villain playing the Green Goblin. Kristy Dunst and James Franco are good actors and grow into their roles in the later films. J.K. Simmons was perfect as J. Johan Jameson, adding humour to the film and Cliff Robinson and Rosemary Harris are great as Peter's aunt and uncle. David Koepp is a man who knows how to write blockbusters and excels himself here and Sam Raimi is a man who cares about the story and characters.
Sadly some of the CGI is a little ropey, but Spider-man is a great start to the series and Spider-man 2 is even better.