Great movie, renewed my faith in comic book translations to film!

Rating: 10/10 (11 July 2002)

Definitely one of the best I've seen in awhile, probably since X-Men. I think Toby Maguire was a GREAT Peter Parker/Spiderman (Sorry if that's a spoiler, kids, if you didn't know Parker was Spiderman before the movie, go buy a comic or three =), and while Kirsten Dunst isn't my favorite actress by a long shot, she fit with Mary Jane's profile very well.
I have to admit out of all the comic books, Spiderman was the one I knew the least about, still do. However, even for a Spiderman-Stupid person as myself, I was able to quickly fill the gaps of what I knew and what was going on just by watching the film.
I think the camera work was fantastic. Having Willem Dafoe argue with himself using the mirror was a nice touch of cinematography. Maguire managed to deliver the classic "Silly-Spidey" lines with just the right intonation and effect.
Showing how he was CONSTANTLY looking for work and money to support himself whilst NOT saving MJ gives the story a lot more realism than Batman (Of course Bruce Wayne was filthy rich) or Superman (who, though he worked, didn't seem to really need the money).
As for the scenes that show things EVERYone knows about Spiderman - I found myself cringing, wishing Peter Parker would move when the spider was going to bite him. I found myself wincing when I saw Norman Osborn becoming the Green Goblin in the lab.
Overall, this by far gives me a new hope for comic book or even video game to film translations. Keep up the consistency for Spiderman II!
10/10, two thumbs up, good work!