The Amazing Spider-Man... You will be pleased true believers!

Rating: 10/10 (4 May 2002)

Wow. Sam "Evil Dead" Raimi has crafted, what may be, the greatest film adaptation of a comic book to date. Tobey Maguire does an absolute perfect job of presenting Peter in a form that is fairly accurate to the comic books (sadly, Peter's sharp quips are almost completely absent). Willem Dafoe's performance as the Green Goblin truly captured the image I saw in the comic - a completely mad genius manifesting as pure evil... the perfect villain. Kirsten Dunst provides a decent representation of Mary Jane. Although she was not exactly as I pictured her when I read the comics, she does a great job with the material. J.K. Simmons was perfect as Jameson. The yelling, high strung, was conveyed perfectly exactly as I had pictured him. The cameo by long-time Raimi associate, Bruce Campbell, was a nice addition and garnered some applause during the film. The CG effects were a tad too fluid in some parts, but it fit perfect for the picture. It was almost as if you were going frame-by-frame through an old comic book. The action scenes were engrossing and very fun to watch. This combined with a perfect digital sound mix (Dolby Digital), made for a very entertaining experience. I have two grips with the film, one the blatant marketing shot (you will know it when you see it), and the theme by Danny Elfman. The theme was almost completely forgettable. The direction from Sam Raimi was great. Lots of decent shots and it fit perfect. It was nice to see a nod to Superman and a couple Evil-Dead style camera moves as well. Despite my two minor grips, I am giving the film a 10. I think this movie is easily the greatest comic book film to date. Thank you Sam. I know many other long time Spider-Man fans will be greatly appreciated. Nuff said.