Not Your Average Comic Book Translation...

Rating: 10/10 (5 June 2002)

When first presented with the idea of going to see "Spider-man," I was more than a little leery. After the plague of Comic Book Heroes Turned Movie Heroes movies over the years, I was expecting nothing less than a depthless action movie flooded with the usual stream of implausible villains, hopelessly-doting females, and muscled heroes spewing out witty one-liners that only draw us more into the realms of the unreal.
What I found myself faced with, however, was nothing less than one of the most excellent, engaging, and entertaining movies I've seen over the last few years. There are, naturally, certain aspects of "Spider-man" that may be seen as slightly unrealistic. For example, the movie is riddled with coincidences and events that make the viewer say, "Hm, well, it's a small world, isn't it?" Additionally, certain aspects of the plot are extremely predictable, not to mention that it's fairly obvious when the images of Spider-man are computer-generated.
Yet, despite all this, and despite the fact that the outfit of the Green Goblin is vaguely comical, "Spider-man" is an amazing work of art, which appeases so many movie-going needs that it seems to fall into the stereotypical "something for everyone" category. Even being able to recognize the movie's flaws did not detract at all from thoroughly enjoying it, and I must say that I left the theater with the desire to go stalking through the streets in search of someone in need of rescuing.
As for the wary parent, there is some minimal swearing, a moderate amount of violence, and death. There is also a scene where young Mary Jane's lack of frontal support is made obvious by an unfortunate rain storm, but aside from that and a great deal of muscle in spandex, there is no nudity, and certainly nothing even bordering on lewd. As someone else mentioned, young children may find that Green Goblin frightening, but most likely not so frightening that it would taint their movie-going experience.