Tobey VS Willem

Rating: Null/10 (9 June 2004)

Big screen adaptation of the much beloved comic book character finds shy, lonely teen misfit outcast Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) getting bitten by a radioactive spider that gives him super strength, super stamina, the ability to climb walls, a danger sense and even the ability to shoot web out of his wrists (in the original comic book he had to make the webbing himself, though why his body didn't inherit the ability to make the webbing is a mystery). After his uncle is murdered by a criminal he ignored stopping, Parker dedicates himself to being Spider-Man, a high swinging super hero. The only problem is that he still pines for Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and is drifting away from his troubled pal Harry Osborne (James Franco; who originally tested for the lead role). To make things worse, Harry's dad, businessman/inventor Norman Osborne (Willem Dafoe) turns himself into an unstable lunatic villain known as the Green Goblin. How long before Spidey and the Goblin clash? Not too long at all it seems...
Many have criticized Maguire for being stiff as Peter Parker. Maybe he is and maybe the flatness of his voice is annoying, but in a way that's kind of the idea: Peter Parker is not a bad ass like Wolverine. Peter Parker is a downtrodden underdog who never seems to come out on top. Once he pulls on the Spider-Man mask though he's actually quite engaging. Maguire, however, along with the capable Franco and Dunst, are all easily outshone by Willem Dafoe as the film's villain, despite the stupidity of his costume (the energy in his voice manages to overcome the lack of his unique face hidden behind that goofy mask). Willem steals the movie in a manner similar to how Jack Nicholson stole the show in 1989's "Batman". Special effects are wildly uneven though. The guy who plays Parker's boss is also quite funny and dead on in capturing that character's likeness.
One of my favorite moments is when Maguire tries to voice activate his wrist webbing.
"Think of what we could create... or we could destroy. Maim. Kill. And battle each other selfishly again and again and again and again until we're both dead!" - Green Goblin/Norman Osborne