Spider Man: Classic Tale of Good vs. Evil, and oh yes Love!...

As a child no other superhero captured my imagination quite like the reluctant, everyday guy, superhero Spider Man. When he was not fighting the local baddies, he was just like everyone else, struggling to balance relationships, school, and work; he even flirted with poverty and unlike so many superhero’s, he struggled to make ends meet, and felt real human emotions.

Any self-respecting long-time reader of Marvel Comics knows Spidy’s tale: bitten on the hand by a genetically altered uber-spider, mild mannered nerd, Peter Parker begins to manifest spider-like powers. His hands grow spider-like hairs that allow him to climb building, he develops a sixth “spider sense” that warns him of the close proximity of danger, and of course he develops super strength. The only difference in manifested powers between the comic book Spider Manand the movie version is that this new Spider Manis able to shoot webbing from his wrists. In the comic book version Parker uses specially designed web packs under his Spidy suit, which occasionally run out.

Tobey Maguire (The Cider House Rules, Pleasantville) plays the movie Peter Parker/Spider Man, a nerdy, bright high school senior who is in love with his next door neighbor Mary Jane Watson played somewhat convincingly by a red headed Kirsten Dunst (Crazy/Beautiful, Bring it On, Interview with a Vampire). He has been smitten since the age of six, but unfortunately, Mary Jane shows no interest in poor Peter, and he is too shy to make his true feeling known to her.

Maguire does a masterful job as our reluctant hero, his large blue eyes always seem to have a sense of wonder and innocence in them that make his character likable and believable. And while his reasons for becoming the crime-fighting wall climber in red and blue, are totally contrived (he fails to prevent his uncles death by a carjacker) they work for the movie. Hey, high drama and edge-of-your-seat suspense this movie isn’t, a rolling good time and a timeless love story with action to spare, it is.

As the movie unfolds and Peter becomes Spider Man, Willem Dafoes’ Norman Osborn becomes his arch-nemesis The Green Goblin. The Goblin’s road to insanity and evil is not well explained in the movie, or in the comic book, for that matter, but Dafoe (Last Temptation of Christ, Shadow of The Vampire, Body of Evidence) does a masterful job depicting the green monster who fly’s around on a very cool metallic sled that shoot missiles and fires bullets! Norman Osborn’s son, Harry Osborn and Peter Parker’s best friend is played with boring forgetfulness by James Franco. Most of the time he is in the frame, he is not really there, he blends well into the background, but is so doing I felt nothing for him, despite the fact his father ignores him and he’s basically a loser, in love with a woman who doesn’t want him.

J.K. Simmons (OZ, Law & Order), turns in an inspired performance as J.Jonah Jameson the publisher of the Daily Bugle, the newspaper Peter Parker works for as a freelance photographer. Simmons captures the high-energy rantings of Jameson’s comic book persona with pleasing accuracy and stunning aplomb; in two words, loved it!
The visual and special effects in this film are outstanding. There were a few times when the use of computer enhanced effects was evident and transparent, but I don’t think their use took away from the overall feel of the film. Most of the action was live action, and the sequence where Spider Man flew and glided on spun web over the city, in between building and leaped from object to object, were superbly done.

Like all films adapted from books, or comic books in this instance (and this is especially true with action films), not all story lines can be carried forward to their logical conclusions; loose ends are the norm, and we never get truly complete character development. But despite this, I found myself caring about Peter Parker/Spider Man. As I was supposed to I was rooting for him and Mary Jane’s eventual union, so the ending of Spider Man surprised me at first, but upon further reflection I surmised that it was calculated to set up the sequel. So be it I say, I will be will be there in May 7 2004—or shortly thereafter—to see if Peter Parker can master his competing sides and truly get the girl.

~The Bard~

Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12