The Amazing Movie

Rating: 9/10 (5 March 2005)

I've watched both Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man, and it's only now that I can say how good of a film Spider-Man originally was. While I have little respect for the actor Tobey MacGuire, I am compelled to admit that he did a fantastic job in this role. Likewise, I had very little (positive or negative) to say about Kirsten Dunst since her performance in the Tom Cruise vampire flick eons ago, but Dunst does a terrible job as Spidey's love interest.
However, it really is the director's care in nurturing a very solid (and not so cheery) story that makes the film last behind its final frame. Like the first Batman (and if you've read any of the Dark Knigh/Frank Miller's work) it's the human-aspects of the superhero that make an intriguing tragic hero, much in the classic depictions of Jay Gatsby.
The second time around, after watching the disappointing SM-2, Spider-Man feels even richer. Kudos to James Franco as the tortured son, and while I'm a big fan of Defoe, he does just enough in the film. (I'd rather just see him again in Platoon or as a vampire, though)