I liked what I saw, even though I'm not a fan of comic books

Rating: 7/10 (21 February 2005)

Comic books like Spider-man, Superman, Hellboy,... have always been a part of the American popular culture, but aren't well known by the biggest part of the European public. So when a movie, based on one of these comics (we've seen several passing by in the multiplexes in recent years) is released, its main audience will be American as well. Unless they make something spectacular out of it of course, and that's exactly what the makers did with this movie. Spider-man is a movie full of spectacular computer animated graphics, plenty of action and symbolism and, much to my surprise, with a decent story (even though that's not the main reason why you should watch this movie).
Peter Parker is a nerdy high school student who gets bitten by a genetically modified spider. Its DNA gets mixed with Parker's DNA and gradually he finds out that he now has capabilities he could only dream of before. He's strong, he can scale walls and ceilings without any help or appliances and he has some kind of sense that allows him to avoid dangerous situations. At first he only uses his powers to make money as an amateur wrestler, but when his uncle gets killed by a criminal, he decides to use his powers only to fight crime and to help society and to win the affections of his classmate Mary Jane Watson. In the meantime Norman Osborn, a scientist and businessman is exposed to some kind of nerve gas that he was developing for the military and develops an alternative personality: the evil Green Goblin.
Despite the fact that the Green Goblin looked more like a bad guy from the "Power Ranger" and wasn't very original or impressive to me, the entire movie wasn't as bad as I feared. I actually had a good time watching this movie that, let's be honest, wouldn't get much attention if the stunning computer graphics weren't in it. So, despite the fact that I'm not a fan of comic books and the fact that the Green Goblin wasn't the most successful character, I liked what I saw. That's why I give it a 7.5/10.