SpiderMan Review
by Robin Clifford (robin AT reelingreviews DOT com)May 9th, 2002
"Spider-Man"
For the one or two hermits out there, I'll give a brief description: 98-pound weakling high school student Peter Parker is bitten, while on a school field trip, by a genetically altered spider. The next morning he awakens to find his bod is totally buff and he has the power of an arachnid with super human speed, agility and the ability to shoot webs from his wrists. But, as his beloved Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) would tell him, "with great power comes great responsibility" and Peter learns this the hard way in director Sam Raimi's super slick "Spider-Man."
As the record-breaking, opening weekend box office take of $114 million indicates, "Spider-Man" is a critic-proof flick. If every film reviewer across the country horribly panned the movie it would not have one bit of effect on the fans of the comic book super hero. There are several demographics being played to by the filmmakers here: the millions of dedicated fans of Stan Lee's popular Spidey series; then there is the even larger potential audience of comic-book-super-heroes-brought-to-the-big-screen fans; the sci-fi/special F/X freaks will pay the bucks just to see if their socks will get blown off; and, with the film's romantic side of the story with the pretty Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), the Saturday night date crowd gets pulled in, too.
I, for one, had a rip roarin' good time from beginning to end. Helmer Raimi deftly moves his talented actors across the screen with precision and energy. The casting could not be more perfect from top to bottom. Tobey Maguire is Peter Parker. The young actor utilizes his low-key manner to terrific effect as he struggles with his newfound power and learns that his destiny is to fight crime and uphold justice. Kirsten Dunst is girl-next-door pretty and sexy and, in one scene in particular, provides the reason for 14 to 24-year old males out there to go see "Spider-Man." Robertson and Rosemary Harris are dead on as Peter's surrogate parents, Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Willem Dafoe is the ham in a ham sandwich as the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde like character, brilliant millionaire Norman Osborne who, to save his company, takes an untested human enhancer drug. His turn into the big, bad meanie, the Green Goblin, gives the actor ample opportunity to go over the top and have some fun. Spectacular, in a small but important role, is J.K. Simmons as the publisher and martinet of the town's biggest newspaper (The Daily Bugle), J. Jonah Jamieson. The actor captures the character exactly as I remember him from the days when I read Stan Lee comics.
Techs are very good but not great. There is a noticeable shift from live action to computer-generated F/X. The effects have a slight artificiality, but this is small criticism and I got over it pretty quick. David Koepp's screenplay, with some minor literary license changes, evokes the feel and spirit of Lee's original work. The humor is there and evident and the action is comic book fun.
The high point of "Spider-Man" is the first hour or so as the story of how Spider-Man came to be is presented, including Peter's stint as a pro wrestler. There is a lot of charm and humor in the first half that is supplanted by the requisite good guy versus bad guy yarn as Spidey takes on the Green Goblin. At least two sequels are assured.
It doesn't matter what I or any other critic say about "Spider-Man." From the opening box-office take I suspect you've probably seen it already, anyway. I give it a B+.
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