Review of Spider-Man (2002) by Sharku T — 29 Jul 2017

Spider-Man (2002) - might seem like a cheesy superhero flick but in actuality.......well okay it is a cheesy superhero flick but it's a lot of fun and does have all the essential elements of a comic book movie adaptation.

The Story is very simple to follow and the flow seems to always bounce from being campy fun to surprising action packed drama. Some of the ideas they throw in may seem ridiculous and over the top, but in a strange way it works. They play out all the stereotypes you would expect a cheesy superhero movie in such a passionate way. Yet with all the goofiness that happens it still manages to be very thought provoking and down to earth at times. There are surprisingly a couple of moments that feel very dramatic and shocking. Theses moments can have many affects on some of the characters regardless of the situation.

The characters have a good amount of time dedicated to making them likable and fun to watch. Spider-Man (AKA Peter Parker) himself is the likable doofus that has to learn about responsibility of his powers. He does get into a lot of goofy situations but I also like how they take time to actually develop his personality. Mary Jane is the damsel in the distress and yes she does need to be saved all the time. You'd think it would get old very fast but the character just feels so in the moment that you got to give her kudos for putting her all into what is essentially a basic character trait. The Goblin is over the top and funny and Willem Dafoe really embraces the silliness of what it means to be a goofy comic book villain. The secondary characters like Aunt May also embrace Comic book Stereotypes while also giving them interesting personalities.

The Cinematography goes for a comic book style by incorporating fast paced motion with some great action sequences. I can tell the people went all out of their way to make the action as fun and immersive as possible. The shots of New York can be pretty to look at sometimes and all the characters look like comic book characters that have sprung to life. This is the most noticeable in the costumes of Spiderman and the Goblin. I can also tell the people went all out of their way to make the action as fun and immersive as possible. It may seem a little phony sometimes when they use CGI for the character stunts, but it still works because the action is so exciting and fast paced. There is sometime about seeing spiderman swing through the city that in a strange way feels satisfying to me.

The Music is done by Danny Elfman the same Composer who has scored a lot of Tim Burton's films. His dramatic choir and fast paced music match with how action packed the movie is. It also really works whenever the movie gets slower or really dramatic.

As a kid, I remember liking Spiderman a lot but only for the merchandise. I've never seen the movies because I was still very young at the time. After a decade and a half of waiting I can gratefully say that this movie does provide great action and a lot of fun campiness, but it manages to sneak in some clever character building and thought provoking themes. It's no wonder why everyone likes this movie and I'm happy to say that it's definitely worth seeing (A-).