Blockbusters are Back!!!!!!!!

Rating: 8/10 (18 July 2002)

Having grown up on the classic event blockbusters of the 70s and 80s like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future et al and then having to sit through the 90s blockbuster tosh (Godzilla and Batman and Robin come to mind) this film has everything I could wish for.
First the characters, Maguire is perfect as Peter Parker the reluctant hero who we can all root for, he grounds the character so well that you feel a much greater connection to him than say Bruce Wayne as Batman. Dunst plays Mary Jane as everything the girl next door should be; smart and sexy but never too far out of reach, it's easy to see why Peter obsesses about her. Their romance never feels tacked on (unlike The Matrix or Lord of the Rings) and the dialogue walks the fine line between sweet and corny very well, its played with so much charm and heart that even the most granite hearted cynic will be suckered by it (how it should've been in Attack of the Clones). Dafoe as Norman Osborn is one of the best baddies for years, his menacing expression is so good he's less scary in costume. But he also gives his character depth never forgetting his human side, the strained relationship he has with Harry is believable and not over done. The confrontation between the Goblin and Osborn in the mirror is like OTT Shakespeare but it keeps right in the spirit of things. The support is bang on too, Aunt May and Uncle Ben dispense their philosophies with out sounding cheesy (in any other situation they would be) and Franco gives Harry Osborn more depth than it first appears and the relationships he has with his dad and Peter are more interesting than they should be. J.K Simmons is brilliant as J.J.Jameson, giving one of the best comic relief performances in years.
The story is simple and by concentrating more on the characters the film appears richer than most blockbusters (even Lord of the Rings). When the action takes place it might not be visually stunning but it feels more important than the eye candy from the Matrix or Attack of the Clones, the final showdown has more in common with Fight Club. The film feels like it was lifted straight form the pages of a comic book, at some points you could pause the film and put it straight into print. It's the same with the dialogue with lines like 'We'll meet again Spider-man' and 'I could crush you like a bug' fitting perfectly with the atmosphere of the movie and never sounding ridiculous.
This movie gives you the over excited feeling the new Star Wars films try and fail to create. This and Lord of the Rings are the only action-adventures of the past decade that stand up to the old school classics of 10 to 20 years ago and is probably in my top ten blockbusters of all-time. 9/10.