"You're not Superman, you know".

Rating: 8/10 (13 August 2011)

My summary line above came from Aunt May (Rosemary Harris), spoken from her hospital bed to nephew Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) at her side. It was a great line and a cleverly playful shot at DC Comics, who haven't had as much success in adapting their super-heroes to the big screen the way Marvel Comics has. Back in 2002, this one was the 'make or break' film that would propel Marvel into future projects if it was successful, and history bears out the results. I saw the picture when it came out, but wasn't writing these reviews back then, so I'm a little late to the party. But I have to say, watching it again some nine years later leaves me with some of the same feelings I had back then. I thought the condensed story of Spider-Man's origin was neatly done, along with the way Peter gradually learned to use his new found powers. By the time Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) has his heart to heart talk with Peter and advises - "Just be careful who you change into" - we're already in on Peter's amazing secret with a sense that big things are ahead for the teen-age hero.
One of the great kicks I get out of watching the Marvel franchise films is waiting to catch comic book writer and legend Stan Lee in one of his now ubiquitous appearances. Lee is seen in this one during the Green Goblin's attack on the Unity Day Festival when he pulls a young girl away from some falling debris. I was surprised today to see how quick that scene played out, so if you're not attentive you're bound to miss it. I see that Lee's appearance in the picture is uncredited as the 'Man in Fair', but a better clue to help pick him out would be 'Man who saves girl', but as I say, it was a pretty quick scene.
The other great memory I had while watching the picture again today was the appearance of Randy 'Macho Man' Savage portraying the wrestler Bone Saw McGraw. Savage, who along with Ric Flair, was one of those pro wrestling villains that had a way of attracting a fan base because of his cool style. He displays his classic finishing move, the flying elbow drop off the top ropes on a hapless opponent before Peter enters the ring as the Human Spider. I was saddened to learn of his untimely and tragic death earlier this year, as he was a colorful character in his own right, and seemed to finally have found some measure of peace in his hectic life.
Aside from the reminiscences, the picture itself is a nice balance of character development for the principal players, and action scenes involving Spider-Man and his chief nemesis, Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). I have to admit, the Goblin get-up seemed cheesy to me, looking like a static green robot, especially when the eye-guards were in place. But hey, it's over and done with, so no sense quibbling now.
So overall, I thought this was a pretty good and entertaining kick start to the Marvel Universe in cinema, and certainly for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Subsequent pictures would reinforce the idea that with great power comes great responsibility, a line that has come to epitomize the super-hero genre.