Review of Spider-Man (2002) by Moviemaniac83 — 21 Apr 2015

Recent times have been good to Marvel comics, and the long-anticipated arrival of Spider-Man represents the latest step up the ladder. Long the underdog in the motion picture arena, Marvel has at last been able to catch up to rival DC comics by placing a trio of its superheroes into multiplexes - Blade, the X-Men, and Spider-Man. DC may have struck first with Superman and Batman, but, these days, the comics-to-cinema summit belongs to Stan Lee's corporation. The second X-Men movie is on its way, as are Daredevil, The Hulk, and, a little farther into the future, The Fantastic Four.

The first hour of Spider-Man is unquestionably better than the second. This is the segment of the film where Peter discovers his newfound powers and tentatively explores them. Covertly, then with more confidence, he stands up to the school bully. He also has to deal with his unrequited love for Mary Jane and cope with the responsibilities and consequences of using (or not using) his abilities. An exhilarating sequence in which Spider-Man first employs his webs to swing from building-to-building is filmed in such a manner that we can sense how close he is to losing control and plunging to the streets below. The latter half of the film is more action-oriented and features an excessive reliance upon special effects. The CGI work is not clumsily done, but it is evident when the movie switches from live actors to computer-generated ones. Peter Parker has a lot of appeal and emotional depth. Those qualities do not always remain in force once the mask is donned.

Spider-Man's greatest strength is Tobey Maguire. The Cider House Rules actor, who has never given a bad performance, is an inspired choice for the role. Not only is he capable of handling the role of nerdy Peter, but he has bulked up enough that he looks good under the spider-suit (that is, when it's him under it). Maguire never overacts the part, nor does he view this as camp. It's a quiet, serious performance, and it doesn't take us long to believe in Peter. And, when tragedy strikes, it's genuinely moving. Added to that, Maguire can make some extremely dopey lines of dialogue sound convincing. With this everyman interpretation, Maguire shows us what could have been with Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader, but never was.

Aimi's direction is solid, although not as involving as it was in the Evil Dead movies or his other superhero yarn, Darkman. He avoids an overabundance of trickery, but chooses his shots in a way that often gives us the sense of being on a journey with Spider-Man, rather than standing to the side as detached observers. The special effects may not be entirely convincing, but they do not eclipse the characters. Danny Elman's score is workmanlike and somewhat reminiscent of the music he composed for Batman.

Spider-Man gets the 2002 summer movie season off to a satisfying start. This is a pure popcorn movie - the kind of film one can unabashedly enjoy for what it is. There's plenty of visual flash and dizzying action, but not at the expense of the other qualities that make for a complete motion picture experience. As a character in a comic book, Spider-Man is four decades old. His leap into this new medium has rejuvenated the legend, and offers movie-goers an opportunity to sit back and enjoy the birth of a new cinematic superhero.