Not since Superman has a comic book film had this much impact.

Rating: 8/10 (13 July 2006)

Spider-Man, based off the Marvel comic book, tells the story of geeky high school student Peter Parker, who is bitten by a genetically altered spider, and wakes up the next morning with amazing new powers. At first he attempts to use these powers for personal gain. When a wrestling promoter screws him over, he lets a criminal rob him. Later, his Uncle Ben is shot and killed by the same man. He realizes that he can't let that happen to anybody ever again, so he becomes Spider-Man. Not long after, his first big threat arrives, the maniacal Green Goblin, who, unbeknownst to Peter, is the scientist father of his best friend.
The reason Spider-Man was such a big hit is because it had the same epic potential as Superman. The fan base was huge to begin with, so hype for the movie was unequaled by anything else. The reason I liked it so much was because it followed a perfect superhero movie formula. Adequate time was spent on all the aspects of the story. The origin, the honing of his special powers, a few fights with petty criminals, the first fight with the villain, a small confrontation in between, and the final climatic battle. In between all of this is the personal drama. Sam Raimi was able to successfully tie all that in and make it work in the 2 hour time frame. He was able to show how Peter Parker's life changes when he becomes Spider-Man.
Raimi set the world of Spider-Man in a realistic world. A lot of people didn't like the Green Goblin in this movie, stating he looked like a Power Rangers villain. I disagree. Norman Osborn created an armoured flight suit for soldiers to wear, so the armoured green suit was perfectly fine with me. Spider-Man is, in my books, the most accurate comic book movie out there, besides Sin City at least. Another thing some fans missed was Spider-Man's trademark wisecracks toward his enemies. While this is a part of his character, I thought it made him more serious. I mean, who can really think up that much stuff to say while deep in battle. Also, the situation isn't that funny, so why make jokes? What disappointed me most about the movie was the campy dialogue in some scenes. Some of the lines that come out of characters' mouths in this movie are way too cheesy. Also, the CGI is really underdeveloped. Other than that, this movie has nothing wrong with it.
The acting is really good. I hated the idea of Tobey Maguire playing Spider-Man until I saw the movie. Now there's no one else. He really shocked me with how well he played the role. I didn't know he could be tough when he wanted to! Willem Dafoe is great as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. He plays the perfect bad guy, and plays a great nut case too.
Overall, Spider-Man is a great comic book film, and if the dialogue was 100% cool throughout the movie and the CGI was flawless, it would get a 10 out of me. I recommend this movie to anyone that was ever remotely a fan of Spider-Man.
8/10