The long awaited journey of Spiderman from the comic books to the big screen.

Rating: Null/10 (15 November 2002)

After years of watching superheroes like Superman and Batman make their way to the big screen, Spiderman fans have finally got their turn with Director Sam Raimi's 'Spider-man', a big budget adventure with all the makings of a successful superhero film that captivates the viewer with state of the art digital wizardry, excellent acrobatic stunt work and fine acting. BUT, like most films of the superhero genre, this film falls prey to some of the more common 'pitfalls'.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS-
I realize finding an actor who matches the characteristics of these comic book characters must be a daunting task for the film-makers since fans expect the actor to look and talk in a certain way. I am still two minded about the casting of Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spiderman. On the one hand, he shows a very deep, emotional side to the character of Peter Parker through his inability to blend in with his fellow students at school, the emotional turmoil and guilt he feels over his uncles death and his secret love for his neighbor, Mary Jane. On the other hand, as Spiderman, he lacks the physical prowess necessary to intimidate his enemies and stand as a figure of strength and justice. He appears to simply enjoy swinging from building to building, laughing and spitting out witty one - liners, occasionally preventing a few minor crimes and trying hard to impress the girl of his dreams. All in all, his portrayal of the masked web slinger is somewhat adolescent, as he seems more like a child with a new toy than a man who's coming to terms with a powerful gift and his obligation to use it responsibly. Another negative aspect of this film is the running time. Although it is necessary to give the audience enough time to relate to and understand the characters and plot, there were many scenes here which the film could have simply done without (or edited versions of ), such as the drawn out hospital scenes with Peter and Mary Jane / Aunt May as well as the numerous scenes at the Osborne house in which Norman SLOWLY realizes what is happening to him.
Overall though, this was a great movie, which shows just how far the movie industry has come in way of visual effects and imagery. No doubt, the film - makers will ride on the wave of this films success by churning out a few sequels in the near future, and hopefully they will pay attention to what is really important and not be completely blinded by high profits and movie executives. The acting and direction is good, with Sam Raimi's vision doing justice to the long awaited journey of Spiderman from the comic books to the big screen.
A rating of 7 / 10.