Spectacular Spider-Man Movie

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 2003)

A few liberties were taken with the origin of the web slinging hero, but a dated character will need a little help making it in today's world. This created a modern day Spider-Man that took block-buster to a whole new level, shattering box office records in it's opening week. Adults and kids alike could finally experience a big screen adventure with Spider-Man. He's a character that's been in comic books for decades. It even crossed gender lines as many girls flocked to the theater, perhaps because of the kookie little love story. Spider-Man's CO-creator Stan Lee had a cameo in the film. The special effects were great and the action was almost nonstop. Don't analyze the movie just enjoy it. Millions of dollars in sales can't be wrong. Lets hope the sequels turn out to be half as good.

Superman and Batman were products of DC Comics, Marvels biggest competitor. Did anyone notice that only the 1st Superman and 1st Batman films were really big hits and their sequels all were huge disappointments? Hopefully this curse will not befall the Amazing Spider-Man. Spidey has a few things going for him though. First of all he is Marvel's flagship character and not to take anything away from DC, but Marvel super villains have always been a whole lot cooler. Second advances in special effects can do almost anything today so we can expect to see spidey do a lot of really neat stuff. Finally Tobey McGuire actually looks like Peter Parker making him a perfect fit. Batman suffered changes in 3 lead actors throughout 4 movies which got consistently worse and none resembled Bruce Wayne the man behind the mask.
Spider-Man appears on the screen exactly the way you would expect him to be in the comics. They captured that image perfectly. The liberties I already mentioned, work a lot better in an updated version recreated for the BIG screen. This must be Marvel's decade as we await more super powered action flicks such as, The Incredible Hulk, X-2 and sequels to Spider-Man. Keeping comics cool with movies is a great way to enjoy your favorite childhood super-heroes all over again!