Two legs bad, eight legs good

Rating: Null/10 (24 June 2002)

Although only nominally based on it's original source material (Manuel Puig's 'Kiss of the Spider Woman') this new film has much to commend it. Dealing with the often harrowing and sadly all too common story of human-arachnid transformation Tobey MacGuire plays Peter Parker, the High School nerd who is transformed into a superhero with spider-like abilities (eating flies, laying eggs etc.) after an everyday visit to a science lab goes awry - with hilarious consequences!
The film is generally very entertaining and has a fine cast. MacGuire gives easily his best performance since his Grange Hill days. Equally Kirsten Dunst (Bring it Up, Get it Off) gives a performance comparable to her memorable debut in Tim Rice's 'Interview With A Virgin' even if her character does seem a bit stupid not to connect Spiderman with Parker's new found arachnid acrobatics performed at High School. Willem Dafoe is similarly strong as the Green Goblin despite becoming sadly typecast. His character - a billionaire tycoon tormented by a malevolent Hyde-like alternate persona is practically a straight reprisal of the Vietnam vet 'Sgt. Elias' and 'Jesus' characters he played in Platoon and Monty Python's Last Temptation of Christ respectively. Overall though, certainly the best film I've yet to see this year so far.
If you like this film I'd also recommend Jeff Goldblum in David Cronenberg's Cold War classic 'The Fly Who Came In From the Cold' (1988).