Excellent escape from reality

Rating: Null/10 (3 May 2002)

Yep, I'm a former comic book nerd. Yes, I read Spider-Man and countless other Marvel Comics. Yes, I thought the movie was freakin' awesome! I can hear other people now: "They used too many computer effects," "That's not the way Spider-Man is in the comics," and other worthless statements designed to bring down the movie. Remember this people: MOVIES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FUN! I hate when people bash movies because the plot was bad, or the camera work was awful, because the point of movies is to watch them and escape from the real world for a while. You are supposed to identify with the characters as they go through their struggles, and this movie does that extremely well in its serious manner. No, wisecracks were not heard from Spider-Man, because this film is more serious than the cocky kid in the comics. Because this film is about struggles, and how we mature into the people we're supposed to be.
That said, I can get to the real meat and potatoes. In my opinion, Tobey Maguire is the only person that could have pulled off both the geeky Peter Parker and the super-slick web-slinger the way this film demands. I would not believe someone like Ben Affleck as Peter, because most other actors considered don't have the soul in their acting that Tobey does. Nor would I have believed another actress could play Mary Jane Watson as well as Kirsten Dunst. Any other redheads (Alyson Hannigan of Buffy fame comes to mind, for one) just wouldn't have been as good as showing emotion and making the part so believable. Yeah, anyone can scream, but it's the small scenes between the action that give this movie its good marks, and the actors selected did their jobs better than anyone else that I can imagine in those roles.
Yes, there is some humor in this serious flick. The typecasting of J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson was an extremely good choice. I could not stop laughing during these scenes, because they both portray the comic character so well and provide the needed breaks in seriousness. Every movie needs a little humor, and the few scenes Simmons did saw him stealing the show.
OK, so maybe you're skeptical. No, the plot wasn't straight out of the comic books. It wasn't supposed to be. Yes, they modified the story. But would you believe a high school science could make a web fluid from common materials that surpasses even our industrial technology forty years after the comic was written? No, don't delude yourself. And don't bash the movie because it may not live up to your expectations. It satisfies its purpose: it reaches the audience emotionally and teaches them a certain point: "With great power comes great responsibility."