Spider-Man has arrived with a big splash

Rating: 8/10 (15 May 2002)

Spiderman is a well made, ahead of its time, comic book action flick. Some of the footage in this movie is the most exhilarating I have ever experienced. When he jumps from building to building in NyC, you feel like you are along with him for the ride. When I first heard that Tobey McGuire was playing Spiderman, I thought it was a huge mistake, that he wasn't fit for the part. However, Tobey proved me wrong. Though he wasn't sensational and carried the movie, he was good enough, which is all you have to be when the title of the movie is Spiderman. People don't go see it for the acting.
The dialogue was ok, with a couple of very corny, predicable, lines that you can see coming from a mile away. One was when Spiderman just got finished wrestling for money, but the owner shortchanged him. Tobey told the owner that he needed the money, and the owner replied `Explain to me how that's my problem' or something like that. Then, shortly after, the owner gets robbed; Spiderman just let the robber go right past him. Then the owner confronted Tobey telling him that the robber just took all his money, which Tobey replied `Explain to me how that's my problem.' The ending dialogue was also kind of corny, with Dunst spilling her heart.
The acting was decent, despite the presence of Dunst. Willem Dafoe was very good as the green goblin. The best scene of the whole movie was when Spiderman faced Goblin in Times Square. For some reason, they spent too much time showing straight up fight scenes between the two. It would have been better to show more chasing scenes, rather than just seeing the two in a boxing match.
The movie also developed the story at a good pace, not moving too fast or too slow. I would rate Spiderman as the best comic book adaptation since superman. It might even be a better action flick than superman. After the boring dialogue at the end, the movie finishes with a very strong ending, Spiderman jumping through the city, ending up on top of the empire state building. I gave Spiderman an 8/10.