Who Am I? I'm Spider-Man

Rating: 9/10 (7 April 2013)

If there is one superhero I relate to the most, it's the web slinging Spider-Man. Ever since I was a kid, this red and blue, wall crawling arachnid has also been the superhero I saw myself in, the superhero I can see myself portraying. When the 2002 film starring Tobey Maguire came along, I was as excited as a leprechaun locked in a chamber full of beer. This superb superhero flick is up there on my favorite superhero film list and even if sequels have come along as well as a stellar reboot, this film still holds a special place in my heart. This is a shining jewel in the comic book based movie category and when it comes to Spidey films, this is a feast fit for any Spidey fan.
The comic book look and feel of the film must be praised. Sam Raimi and his team surely came through in delivering a great comic panel to silver screen transition and making us feel like we were watching a comic book come to life. From the New York skyscrapers to the abandoned warehouse to the film's web slinging scenes, you really feel like your sucked into the motion picture and every, jaw dropping moment. You feel like a piece of the pie, and this film is a pie that will make any comic book guru go bonkers. This film hearkens back to the great Steve Ditko stories of the golden age of comics and really delivers a scope and feeling of epicness. Spider- Man is mighty and the actor portraying him is radical.
Tobey Maguire gives us a more serious Spider-Man than the wise cracking one seen in the panels of the comics, but he still has a touch of humor here and there and really fits in Spidey's shoes perfectly. When it comes to playing Spidey's alter ego, Peter Parker, Tobey also hits a home run and really portrays him as an average ordinary everyday teenager. Many people, including myself can relate to Maguire's take on Parker/Spidey, for he plays him as a realistic, determined fellow just trying to make his way in the world. William Dafoe is great as the Green Goblin, giving us a menacing and hilarious villain who loves being villainous. I will admit, his costume is a bit ridiculous, but it's not the worst I've ever seen. It's a lot better looking than Halle Berry's Catwoman, that's for sure!
The other actors are also good in their aliases. James Franco is a rebellious, yet headstrong Harry Osborn and Rosemary Harris is a sweet, grandmotherly Aunt May (More wheat cakes, Petey?). Kirsten Dunst is as Mary Jane as you can get, although she can be a little petulant at times, especially in the later films. And of course, the great Bruce Campbell in all his glory makes an appearance. Him and Sam Raimi are like peanut butter and jelly, and Campbell always knows how to make his cameos work, giving us brief, yet funny and memorable moments. Did anyone see his cameo in the latest Oz movie?
Overall, Spider-Man is a fun, whirling and twirling action packed suspense thriller that will have you entangled in it's awesomeness ever second. Honestly, I could sit here for countless hours talking about the grand action scenes, the iconic dialogue, and the cheesy, yet comic book inspired special effects, but IMDb has a limit, and I gotta keep it short. Spider-Man is just a head spinning ride of unexpectedness and epicness, but doesn't hold a candle to the sequel that would follow two years later. We'll get to that one some other time.