With the rights to a great franchise comes great responsibilities... and Raimi is up to the job!

Rating: 8/10 (15 May 2002)

I always loved comic book super-heroes, like the X-Men, Batman, Superman and, of course, Spider-Man. So the fact that so many Marvel movies are going to be released is great news for me. After the very good but a bit disappointing X-Men, I couldn't wait to see what Sam Raimi would do with Spider-Man. And I must say the overdose of CGI that was the preview of this movie made me fear for the worst, and I didn't see Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. But what Sam Raimi delivers is an excellent super-hero movie that will also entertain regular moviegoers! Raimi's love of the main character is undeniable and he approches the Webslinger with the light entertaining touch required, dosing funny moments and action scenes perfectly while not forgeting to devellop the storyline, which the movie does very well, dealing with the origins of Spider-Man in a way that wont bore anyone, even those who came to see loads of nonstop action and can't wait for something to blow up... He also deals with the death of important characters very well. But the two biggest surprises came from Tobey Maguire and the special effects. Maguire was perfect in his role and the special effects were not an overdose of high-budget but cheap-looking CGI we have been getting recently. It seems some people think that if it is CGI, people can only think it looks good, although some creatures in movies like The Lord of the Rings weren't very convincing. Well, in Spider-Man, the job is well-done. Of course, Willem Dafoe was amazing as the Green Goblin... But can Willem Dafoe be anything else but great? JK Simmons is the J. Jonah Jameson everyone wanted and as anyone who loved the Evil Dead movies, I was pleased to see Bruce Campbell! Kirsten Dunst was cute and that is the only thing she had to do and the rest of the cast was good. Now, of course, the movie wasn't perfect and some of the dialogue was cheesy. But apart from the dialogue, Spider-Man is everything it had to be: an incredibly entertaining movie that will please people who love comic books and people who just want to see a good summer movie, with great characters (although the Green Goblin ain't the best Spidey villain ever and I will be more than happy to see a Venom/Carnage or Mysterio movie) and a good introduction to what is sure to become a very popular franchise.
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