Delivers a well done comic adaptation

Rating: Null/10 (4 May 2007)

Spider-Man(2002):
Starring:
Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin James Franco as Harry Osborn
Plot: You should know the story by now, but nerdy Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, which gives him all of it's powers. This makes him Spider-Man. Deciding to be a hero after the death of his Uncle Ben, he soon finds his hands full thanks to the Green Goblin, who is Norman Osborn, the father of Peter's friend Harry.
I've been a Spider-Man fan for years. I grew up with everyone's favorite wall-crawler. I watched the 90's animated series, I read the comics. Spidey and I have been through a lot together(like the Clone Saga) but when I knew there was going to be a movie? Directed by Sam "hey I made Evil Dead once" Raimi? I was excited, to say the least. All my childhood memories swelled up and I was a kid again sitting in the theater opening weekend.
I've avoided doing these movies simply because I thought I'd be biased. But here I go, attempting to be unbiased. Doing so, I'll list this movies faults first. For starters, the script can be kind of cheesy. There are some lines here and there that can be groan-inducing. It could be added up to the comic book aspect of it. Because if you've read a Spider-Man comic, that text can get silly. Another problem I had was the Green Goblin. Don't get me wrong, Willem Dafoe was wonderful, but that suit could not have been more wrong. It's been compared to Power Ranger villains, and even though it's not that bad(really, have you SEEN an episode of that?), robotic Green Goblin was not the way to go at all.
Luckily they had a strong actor in Dafoe to pull off the maniacal Goblin or the whole thing wouldn't have worked. He played crazy well and made Goblin a strong nemesis for Spidey. And what of our webbed hero? The character, along with everyone else, was fully fleshed out and made you care for them. That went a long way to getting you involved in the story.
Tobey Maguire does a credible job as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Kirsten Dunst is cute and has a strong character. James Franco does well as Harry Osborn. And the supporting cast(chosen perfectly, in my opinion) is really what holds this thing together. JK Simmons as J Jonah Jameson? PERFECT! I never thought Jonah would be my favorite part of the movie but the way he was casted and the way he pulls off the character make him a welcome addition.
Last, but not least, the special effects were top-notch. But they'd pretty much have to be to pull of a Spider-Man movie of this epic proportions. The suit looks good, the fight scenes are spectacular, and the movie itself flows together nicely.
When everything was said and done and all the webs were spun, Spider-Man delivered a well-done comic adaptation. I'd say Spider-Man is definitely worth your time, in spite of some flaws that were present in the movie.
Rating: **** of *****