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Spider-Man

IMG_6477 Spider-Man

This 2002 film helped revive a genre that—aside from a few other hits like Bryan Singer’s X-Men—sorely needed new life. With Spider-Man, director Sam Raimi helped bring superheroes back to the big screen—and succeeded! This film has a lot of wonderful components that drive it: namely, the remarkable cast, the great story and pacing, and the action sequences. Thanks to remarkable direction and production values, this movie is given a very comic-book feel…in a good way; it does not feel like Ang Lee’s Hulk movie! But it succeeds because the characters and the situations they are placed in make it feel very human, and therefore Peter and Co. are that much more relatable.

Speaking of Peter and the rest of the characters, there were some excellent casting choices here. Tobey Maguire plays the nerd who receives the spider-bite, and perils ensue. Kirsten Dunst is Mary Jane Watson, the young woman he admires from afar (although it should be Gwen Stacy, shouldn’t it?). James Franco plays Peter’s best friend Harry Osborne, who is coincidentally the son of Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe). Power-hungry Norman becomes the Green Goblin, and Dafoe chews the scenery delightfully. He dresses up like a Power Ranger and flies around, terrorizing the city.

Other wonderful casting choices include Rosemary Harris as Aunt May, Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben, and most notably J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, Peter’s grouchy boss of the Daily Bugle. Simmons was born to play this guy, because he nails the character to a T. If there is a problem with the casting choices, it’s that they chose adults to play high school students, and they really don’t look the part.

The story also seems a bit rushed, especially in some places where it should slow down. For instance, after being bitten by a radioactive spider, Peter seems mostly unfazed by his newfound powers. Shouldn’t his reaction to shooting webs and super-strength be something beyond a mere “huh”? Action sequences and special effects are exciting, although some of the effects fall short at times.

Despite some shortcomings, this origins story is still quite solid. Quieter moments of character development really give you a reason to care about them. Cliff Robertson’s Uncle Ben delivers the quintessential speech: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Raimi most certainly understands that, with the reins of not only one film but a potential franchise based on iconic characters, he must use his power responsibly. So far, he has mostly succeeded in this regard and Spider-Man is all the better for it.

Rated PG-13

2 hours, 1 minute

Spider-Man-poster Spider-Man

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