Spider-Man

That movie starts the string of the spider man that I'm grown with and raise the bar really high for the next super hero movie which comes soon after it. This part is really good synthesized. I can tell much more good thing abouy the movie but you can make them on your own.

Poignant, fun and a faithful adaptation to the original comic book. I am very critical of comic book movies since I am a huge fan of the medium and was tremendously disappointed in the Superman and Batman movies (all of them, some greatly!). This film however has again demonstrated that an adaptation of a comic book story can be fun and faithful to the story, yet be a film for all ages and those who may not have ever even read a comic book. The Crow was the only other good comic book movie in my opinion, but it was not an all ages fun ride as this is!

I had the privilege of seeing the film last night, 4-30-02, in SF with the press and 300+ other folks for its "Bay Area Premiere".

The acting is the finest portion of the film with the leads giving us depth that I was unsure would be allowed by the style of story chosen. Maguire was outstanding at being a guy who can rarely catch a break, but attract difficulty with ease and aplomb. He is awkward with the woman he loves, but eloquent when dealing with the familiar, just as most teenagers are even today. He gave us wonderful joy at the prospect of "web swinging" and kicking some much deserved ass! Dafoe is wonderfully scary as the man who has succumbed to the power games of the corporate world that drives a decent man mad striving for perfection in himself while trying to hard to please all the wrong people to no avail and then being consumed by guilt that has built over the years of family neglect which finally helps to push him over the edge when an opportunity to make a huge mistake presents itself.

The rest of cast is nearly as spectacular with the J.K. Simmons turning in the best performance in the film as J. Jonah Jamason. When he appeared on screen things lite up even more and he was on fire making everyone in the audience laugh and myself nearly p** my pants. Harris as Aunt May and Robertson as Uncle Ben were excellent choices and gave the film a great deal of its credibility and finesse. Letting what happens to Ben and Peter (I am not telling) was wonderful and the best punctuation to what makes Peter do what he does and brings complete credibility to the story. I am not a huge Dunst fan, but she was just fine as the love of Peter Parker's life and a person much like Peter only neither was conscious of the fact. This to me is a more real version of "true love".

The script was far stronger than I expected with some wonderful dialog; verbal exchanges, solid plot points and pacing. Many a good parenting lesson can be found in this film as well as interesting thoughts about the choices that we make in life that we might think are no big deal when in the heat of passion, but may well come back to haunt us if we don't think before we act/speak: which is the trust of the film in my humble opinion.

The direction from Raimi was also much better than I anticipated coming from someone who is known (and loved) for his over the top camp and action. Many of the fight and action sequences where more "over done" than I like, but they were solid and much like a comic of the Silver Age from whence the story comes so it fit the film fine. Nice cinematography without the CGI taking over and detracting from the realism, in fact it made much of the web swinging truly believable. A few points made things a bit hard to "believe", but over all I think most folks will be able to suspend their disbelief.

Danny Elfman. Need I say more? He is the man when it comes to "super hero" music and is the closest thing to John Willams and the late great Bernard Herman there is today. He subtly sets the mood and most of the audience probably doesn't even realize it. Tomorrow is my day off and I will be purchasing the score to add to my collection!

One of the most successful translations of "comic book to screen" has fine results in SPIDER-MAN, a handsomely produced version of the comic book classic with a sprightly score by Danny Elfman and some incredibly realistic looking CGI effects.

The simple plot of good vs. evil begins when Peter Parker is bitten by a spider while touring a local museum with his high school class. The plot thickens when he develops webs and the ability to soar over rooftops and vehicles with ease--as well as climbing walls. Toby Maguire plays the nerdy teen-ager with a wholesome air of innocent charm, his open-eyed expression never concealing the delight he takes in the role. As his girlfriend, Mary Jane, Kirsten Dunst does a likable enough job even if the costume department decided to dress her like a teen hooker.

Everyone else is in fine form. William Dafoe deserves top praise for his Green Goblin--evil enough to frighten the wits out of the faint-hearted. J. Jonah Jameson is excellent as the bombastic newspaper editor who takes advantage of his most famous client. Rosemary Harris and Cliff Robertson, in quieter roles, are warm and human. James Franco is believable as Peter's best friend.

Admirers of the comic book tales should have no trouble liking the movie with its amazing CGI effects. It's heart-warming and funny, with some terror thrown in for good measure. Good escapist entertainment even if the message seems a little vague. Message??

"With great power comes great responsibility".These words, spoken by Peter Parker's uncle Ben(Cliff Robertson)during their last conversation and which have become Spider-Man's motto, also perfectly represent the challenge Sam Raimi was facing when asked to bring one of America's most loved superheroes to the screen.

You can relax, fellas: Raimi's movie is definitely worth a look.Loosely based on the origin story and the Stan Lee/John Romita Sr. run, it's a fascinating mix of spectacular action and powerful drama, as it chronicles Peter Parker's(Tobey Maguire) transformation into a superhuman and the responsibilities deriving from said metamorphosis: while fighting crime to avenge his uncle's death, he also has to deal with his feelings for Mary Jane Watson(Kirsten Dunst) and his friendship with Harry Osborn(James Franco); add Harry's father Norman(Willem Dafoe), who's become schizophrenic psycho Green Goblin, and you've got a quite complicated situation.

Raimi's excellent at showing us the hero's pain, as well as the one he causes to others, and he gets terrific performances from the entire cast, particularly Maguire, Dafoe and Robertson.

On its own, it's a very good superhero flick, alongside the sequel, it's an absolute masterpiece.

Recommended even if you don't care about the comics.

Having seen the trailers for this film I have to say that I didn't walk into the cinema with high hopes. The computer effects looked badly integrated, the Green Goblin's costume looked awful and comic book adaptations usually have such painful scripting and plotting. Thankfully I was wrong on most counts (The Goblin still looks rubbish).

As it turns out, this is probably the best super-hero film I've yet seen - certainly up there with Superman and Batman. People seem to automatically comment that the script and acting was bad because they expect it to be the case in these films; and indeed it usually is. But if you go into Spider-man without this prejudicial attitude you'll be pleasently suprised. The acting is generally great - there is never a time when anyone is not believable as their character and you think "Hey, that's an actor, not Peter Parker". The effects do look artificial but the pace of the movie means you don't have time to dwell on this and the script is fine! What do people want, Shakespearian soliloquies? That would sound incredibly out-of-place in modern day New York. There are few of the painful cliches or dreadful dialogue that plague films like The Phantom Menace and the catchphrases like "friendly neighbourhood spider-man" are fully in-keeping with the character.

The comic turns from J.J. Jameson hit the mark, the snarling facial contortions of Willem Defoe were suitably evil-looking (and the conversation with his mirror-image was a great touch). My only gripe was with the Green Goblin's costume. Very monotone green and not very scary.

All-in-all a great film that I wouldn't hesitate for a second in recommending.