An Enjoyable Sclockfest

Rating: 6/10 (6 June 2002)

Spider-Man is a movie that watches like the start of a franchise rather than a film of its own. We sit, watch, laugh a little, and leave happy, if a little less than satisfied.
I'll skip the plot synopsis, you already know.
Tobey McGuire makes great use of his famous face in creating the Peter Parker character. We love the fact that he is a dork in any role, and this is no exception. He is believable as a nerd, and his unmasked scenes are effective, and genuinely enjoyable. When he gets swept in to action is when we lose interest a little.
Kirsten Dunst gets the job done as Mary Jane, or M.J., her terrible androginous nickname in the movie. She can act, but doesn't need to try very hard to fill the role.
Willem Dafoe is surprisingly endearing when he needs to be, as the Green Goblin. He could have used a better mask though. Perhaps one that won't so obviously turn into a Halloween mask this fall.
The scenes with interaction between the main characters are nice, sweet, sometimes a little touching... blah blah blah.
When it comes to the action scenes, once the novelty wears off you almost forget you're watching anything. The fact that that you know you're mostly looking at a CGI Spider-Man shooting through New-New York (Post 9-11) doesn't help the movie keep your attention. But oh well that doesn't really repel audiences does it?
In the end you find that more than just the Twin Towers got changed. The people of New York emerge as the real heroes, awwww. And I didn't think it was possible to end it with an American flag, but director, Raimi, manages.