Awesome responsibility handled with great power

Rating: Null/10 (4 May 2002)

"With great power comes great responsibility." Every Spider-Man fan knows well Ben Parker's words of wisdom to his nephew Peter; they are the very motivation that drives the gawky teen to become the superhero Spider-Man (and here you thought it was a radioactive spider!).
Well, apparently, director Sam Raimi and his crew also heeded Ben Parker's words. Good thing for us moviegoers that they did, as the awesome responsibility of bringing this American pop culture icon to the big screen is here handled, fortunately, with great power.
Sure, the spectacular CGI action sequences are sometimes a bit plastic - just like Tobey Maguire's too frequent tears and oft ill-timed delivery - but Spider-Man is nonetheless (excuse the pun) a marvel. The story is faithful in spirit to Stan Lee's and Steve Ditko's vision (the naysayers out there really need to get out more); the fight scenes are truly amazing; and excellent supporting performances are given by a menacing Willem Defoe as the main heavy (Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin), and a hilarious J.K. Simmons (yes, Law & Order fans, that's Dr. Skoda!) as Daily Bugle Editor J. Jonah Jameson. Seriously, Skoda, I mean Simmons steals the show!
If the film can be faulted, it is in the overwrought soap-operatic love triangle that exists among Peter/Spidey, the love of his life, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), and his best friend/roommate Harry Osborn (James Franco). Yes, this conflict is taken, for the most part, straight from the comics, but what took years to develop in print appears forced and subsequently rushed when compressed into the confined space of a single film. Unlike Brian Singer's brilliant (and superior) X-Men from two-years ago, Spider-Man fails to develop its characters' conflicts very well. When we do get glimpses into Peter's sense of guilt, Mary Jane's self-esteem issues or Harry's love/hate relationship with his father, the attempts at pathos are a little silly.
For any filmmaker, it's a tremendous responsibility to have to compress that kind of character history into what is supposed to be an action movie; if Spider-Man ultimately falls somewhat short, it's not for lack of trying. Then again, this ain't Shakespeare, and poor Peter Parker's life should, perhaps, be presented as a soap opera - with emotions heightened just like those of any teenager. Maybe the conflicts are genuine enough, when judged through the bug-eyed lenses worn by a nerdy boy becoming a man.
Perhaps that's what has made Spider-Man an icon for so many years to so many generations of kids and kids at heart; it's the story of an awkward teenager finding in himself not only the spider, but the man.
Maybe it's something as simple as this: Spider-Man appeals to that part of us that wants to be a hero, but feels like a nerd, an outsider. We can never be Superman (the guy's an alien), and Batman is pretty much out of the average man's reach (who has the cash?). But Spider-Man? More than the accident that made him, this hero is the product of courage and sacrifice. That could be me. That could be you. We identify with poor Peter Parker, because we've all been him at one time or another.
Or maybe this guy's popularity is even simpler than that: you see, Spidey's just plain cool. And, for this reason alone, Spider-Man is sure to be a hit with audiences.