Swinging Fun

Rating: 8/10 (8 May 2002)

I've never left a movie saying "I sure would like more explosions and punching!" but the action was very appealing in this movie and I actually thought there could be more.
I remember Batman coming out in 1989 and the way it made a superhero fresh, new and exciting. I'm not a comic book fan but I was glad to see Spider-Man getting the same treatment.
With what little I know, this movie did do the comic justice. Now that effects allow more superhuman powers for the actors, Spider-Man's jumping and swinging come off very well done. Think about it, Spider-Man isn't just flying straight ahead. You can't put some guy on a table in front of a blue screen to pull off the dramatic arcing motions of swinging from building to building 20 stories off the ground. The effects here were well done. It was especially impressive that the movie's action often took place in broad daylight with no dark shadows available to hide wires or distract the viewer from mediocre tricks.
The story was clear from the start when Peter Parker said it's about a girl. This is a love story and it doesn't suck like the love story that bogged down Independence Day and other Hollywood "blockbusters". The plot is full of soap opera like twists and triangles (though "soap opera" is not a fair term). Tobey MacGuire is convincing as a superhero because he's convincing as the alter ego, Parker, from the start. Willem Dafoe is a great villain. His hard features and gravely voice are perfect for a comic book bad-guy.
Hey, I liked the action scenes and the overall look of this film. It's a very pretty movie with a cool story!