Review of Spider-Man (2002) by Stevenf — 01 Aug 2013

Before the "Amazing" era began, there was another Spider-Man outing with Sam Raimi at the helm, leaving behind his horror roots to try his hand at the superhero craze that was sweeping Hollywood, and bring the webbed creature to the big screen, and he did so in a big way.

We get an origin tale with a light-hearted tone to show how Peter Parker, played by Tobey Maguire, gets bitten to the an infected spider and starts to develop superhuman abilities such as web swinging and strength, something he keeps secretive from everybody else, his aunt, his best friend Harry James Franco) and the "girl next door" Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst).

But with every hero comes a villain, and the perfect storm is brewing I'm the form of Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), father to Harry and an almost father to Peter, a man obsessed with bettering the human condition, something he does to himself by administering a powerful drug which unleashes another side to the man, and not a very good side.

The concept of Spider-Man was always interesting as the likes of Norman Osborn being a primary villain played very close to the heart, he knows the people he is hurting, making the the pacing of the film much more personal and relevant. Each character has a connection and relationship with the next person and it feels much more fluid for this.

The film itself is a visual marvel, with the scenes of Spidey swinging through the city quite a delight to watch, and this is blended in with a humorous opening that takes a much more mellow and less serious approach which is a welcome change, they have colourful characters including the undeniable brilliance of J.K. Simmons playing J. Jonah Jameson, his wit, loudness and larger than life personality are standout moments of the film, Tobey Maguire also delivers a convincing performance as our masked spider, he is like a little child at Christmas bouncing around the screen, giving a different feel to the average superhuman.

But with the light tone there does come a sense of it being very cartoon-like, with a musical score that reflects this, but there is plenty to be said about the the emotional punch the film has to pack, with very quotable and heart-wrenching dialogue throughout.

It's a real kickstarter to a very successful story, and perhaps one of the benchmarks to the overwhelming craze of superhero films today.