Spider-Man (2002)
US 121m, Colour
Director: Sam Raimi; Cast: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, J. K. Simmons
Spiderman is the first in a series of entertaining movies based on the Marvel Comics’ character of the same name. This first film begins with Peter Parker’s pre-Spider-Man senior high-school days and the genesis of his super powers after being bitten by a genetically altered spider whilst on a school outing. Despite his preposterous origin, Spider-Man is the best of the series to-date, particularly with regard to Peter’s process of self-discovery and his efforts to master his new-found powers. Likewise, Maguire has excellent on-screen chemistry with Dunst who plays Jane – the girl next-door and love interest. Great special effects, a faithful adaptation to the original comic, and a good balance between action and comedy lay the foundation for one of the finest comic book adventures brought to the big screen (Klaus Ming April 2011).
7 comments on “Spider-Man (2002)”
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ming movie reviews 
I’m out of step with this one. I should like it. I’ve been a Tobey Maguire fan since The Ice Storm and a Kirsten Dunst fan since Interview with a Vampire and Mother Night. I’ve read comic books since they cost twelve cents. But this one left me cold. I loved the guy who played J. Jonah Jameson, but that was about it. I feel the same way about the Christopher Nolan Batman movies. I’d take either of the Bryan Singer X-Men movies in a heartbeat (flawed as they were). Maybe it was because the ground was too familiar from the comics. Maybe it was that Maguire didn’t show me anything I didn’t already know about Spidey. Maybe too much angst-ing and not enough super-ing.
I recall liking this movie a lot in theaters, and still quite enjoyed my re-watch this past week – despite the fact that i’ve never been a big comic fan. J. K. Simmons was pretty funny as Jameson and was equally entertaining in the sequels.
Maybe it’s the superhero movie for people who aren’t comic book geeks. That would explain why Roger Ebert liked it so much. 🙂
I think you’re on to something there! 🙂
This is why I hold out hope that the upcoming Burton/Depp Dark Shadows movie might be good. Depp is apparently a major DS geek, grew up watching the show (as I did), so maybe they’ll do it right.
It doesn’t always help. The guy who made the Daredevil movie was a DD fanatic, but the movie still sucked.
Daredevil was indeed awful. I’s not even heard of the comic and still disliked the movie.
The coffee shop scene where he picks her up (exploiting his blindness) and the playground fight after that are okay. And of course I liked Kevin Smith’s cameo. But it would have been a far better movie if Smith had written it, too.