It's like watching a live action comic book

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 2002)

There have been mixed results for comic books turned into movies but Spiderman is one that definitely delivers. There is a lot to admire about this film. The cinematography from Don Burgess is stunning, credit also has to go to the editing and (despite my doubts) Tobey Maguire is brillliant as Peter Parker AND Spiderman.
However, this movie was far from perfect. While Kirsten Dunst put in a solid performance as Mary Jane Watson she was nothing more than fodder for Spiderman's heroics. In this day and age it's a bit disheartening to see this `damsel in distress' tactic still at the forefront of mainstream Hollywood. Also the rescue sequence bore a strong resemblence to the payoff in `Batman Forever'.
One area that I think will cause much debate between movie fans is the way the dialogue was used. Instead of going down the route of attempting sharp witticisms (something used to disastrous effect in `Batman and Robin' and `Blade 2') the dialogue was similiar to what you would read in one of the Spiderman comic books. While this will thrill `Spidey's' original fans it may become irritating to fans of movies who are looking for a solid screenplay.
All in all, a good effort to the comic book/movie fraternity. While I look forward a lot more to `X-2', Spiderman was still a great deal better than Star Wars.
P.S: At the end of the movie Spiderman is on a New York skyscraper with an oversized American flag in the background. I suspect that this was a scene added at the last minute because the scene involving the World Trade Centre was cut because of the September 11th attack. Fair enough, it was a terrible occurance but, as I am English, I can guarantee that it was a major turn-off for viewers not in America. But as the film has smashed box-office records, I don't think the distributors will care much anyway.