Best film adaptation of a comic book I've ever seen!

Rating: 9/10 (6 May 2002)

An exhilarating joyride. Through great acting, direction, and a carefully crafted script, the film lures you into the central character's head so that you experience almost firsthand his amused discovery of his powers, his awkwardness and tentativeness at learning to control them, his rage toward the criminal who murders his uncle, the pain of every punch and blow he receives, his tentativeness at assuming the responsibilities of a superhero, and his ultimate joy as he transcends gravity, leaping and swinging above the streets of New York. And then there's the romance: Kirsten Dunst is just right as your Queens girl-next-door. She never comes off as a movie star, as anything less than genuine. Tobey Maguire's eyes and silences speak volumes as he gazes at and tries to speak to her. I've never been in a movie theater before where the audience cheered and clapped when the boy and girl kiss. How amazing that this film pulls this off, that action and romance enhance each other and never detract from the whole.