rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2002
Directed by Sam Raimi; produced by Ian Bryce, Laura Ziskin; screenplay by David Koepp
Starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'Spider-Man' is a nice comic book film, a perfect first part to the better
'Spider-Man 2'. This film is flawed in a couple of ways and all those flaws
are taken out for the sequel. The film starts with introducing Peter Parker
(Tobey Maguire), his aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and uncle Ben (Cliff
Robertson), the love interest Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), the best
friend Harry (James Franco) and Harry's father, Norman Osborn (Willem
Dafoe). He is a great scientist and will become the villain known as the
Green Goblin. Parker turns into Spider-Man after he is bitten by a
genetically modified spider.
The parts where he finds out he has the powers belong to the most fun of the
film. Parker reacts any of us would probably do when you find out you can do
anything a spider can do, including climbing walls and create webs. He
develops a costume for himself, but only after his uncle is killed he
decides he has to take his responsibility; he becomes Spider-Man. He finds
it hard to combine his private life as Peter Parker and the life of a
superhero. An extra problem that occurs is J. Jonah Jameson, the boss of the
Daily Bugle who does not see Spider-Man as a hero.
Enough for the story. The film itself looks pretty nice, but compared to the
sequel or 'X2' it looks pretty cartoonish. Especially when Spider-Man is in
the air he moves not correctly and he is too obviously animated. The same
for the Goblin when he is in the air. But I have to admit the action
sequences are pretty spectacular and that is what most people want to see.
The human story behind the hero is what makes this film better than most
comic book films. Parker some real issues, with his aunt and with Mary Jane
who starts dating Harry.
For a first part 'Spider-Man' sets the tone, perfectly continued with the
second part. Maguire and Dunst already prove here they are the perfect Peter
Parker and Mary Jane Watson. The film is entertaining the entire time, not
boring a single second. I had a lot of fun watching it and it made me want
to see, back in 2002, the second part right away.