You'll Definitely Get Caught In The Web

Rating: 9/10 (3 November 2002)

Firstly, my only major complaint is James Franco as Harry Osborn. He is a total Dawson's Creek reject who's terrible at acting. He talked in one tone the entire movie: "Whatever.". Hate him.
Otherwise, a great movie this is. James Franco mercifully has a minor role. Tobey Maguire was an excellent choice for Peter Parker, and if you don't like him as Spider-Man, too bad, because he really pulled back the troubled yet determined Spider-Man we all knew and loved, and he's coming back.
As you may expect from a super-hero movie, this film had a big budget, special effects, known, if not major, actors and actresses, and great sets.
But Spider-Man has been known to push the envelope a lot in the comics, and the same is said here. The special effects, though mostly good, lacked in realism when it was replacing a human figure. It immediately changed colour, speed, and stuck out when it went to CGI. Other than some web-swinging, the special effects lacked when they were really 100% necessary, and the screen tests on the DVD show that they were not really improved as the movie was made. It seemed like as they darkened the scene it was all supposed to look better, and it did, but only to a limited extent.
The acting is the core of this movie. Tobey Maguire was an excellent if surprising choice, really bringing back the days of the new, teenage Spider-Man compared to the expected major action of today, yet modernized it effectively, one of their goals, so we believed the movie happened in present day, not the swinging sixties. Kirsten Dunst was another surprising yet excellent choice as Mary Jane, improving on the damsel in distress character with a new flair to make the relationship with Parker more believable. I'll just skip the paragraph or two on James Franco.
I unfortunately had never heard of Willem Dafoe before this movie, which is a shame, because he's an excellent actor, especially his voice difference. Uncle Ben was strangely modernized to the 21st century, apparently with a great sports interest. Aunt May was perfectly played, except for the shocking introductory scene when she calmly tells Ben not to fall on his a**. J. Jonah Jameson, slightly taller but with the exact same personality that made him such a joy to hate, is greatly played, and half of you wanted more footage of him, and half of you were glad his jerk character was short. Unfortunately, I forget all these wonderful actors' names.
The sets were grand, big and detailed, and Times Square(also apparently a set!) really brought the webbed wonder to 2002. I didn't like the eventually annoying marketing gimmicks, with everything from Dr. Pepper to Cingular Wireless network.
The action scenes were well choreographed, always in the right mood or atmosphere and never repetitive or boring. But it could've been a little better. It still suited Spidey well. The wardrobe was one of the best of a movie I've ever seen, and thank God they rejected the clothes from the screen tests. The main costumes focused on, Spidey and the Green Goblin, don't disappoint.
Sam Raimi should be really proud. A grand movie worth whatever you paid to see it. Please, though, keep it safe and don't make any risks for "The Amazing Spider-Man"(the second movie). We don't want this to be another Batman. The 4 decades of risk-taking, moral-teaching, twist-and-turn-stories of the Spider-Man era should not be let down. No pressure, though!