Subject: Review: Spider-Man (2002)

From: Shannon Patrick Sullivan <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 06 May 2002 22:02:28 -0000

SPIDER-MAN (2002) / *** 1/2 

Directed by Sam Raimi. Screenplay by David Koepp, based on the comic book 
by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Starring Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten 
Dunst. Running time: 121 minutes. Rated PG for frightening scenes by the 
MFCB. Reviewed on May 4th, 2002. 

By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN 

Synopsis: When nerdy high school student Peter Parker (Maguire) is bitten 
by a genetically engineered spider, he finds himself developing 
spider-like abilities. He can climb walls and spin webs, is 
preternaturally strong and agile, and even has a precognitive sixth sense. 
Peter sees his newfound powers as a way to make a fast buck until his 
irresponsible behaviour results in a tragedy he could have averted. 
Forging a costume and christening himself "Spider-Man", Parker seeks to 
make a name for himself as a hero. His first challenge is the Green 
Goblin, the psychotic alter ego of millionaire scientist Norman Osborn 
(Dafoe). The Goblin plans to strike at Spider-Man through those he loves 
most, including his elderly Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Mary Jane 
Watson (Dunst), the girl next door Peter secretly loves. 

Review: The super-hero genre has long trod a rough road at the cinema. 
Past examples have run the gamut from the downright awful ("Batman And 
Robin") to moderately good pictures hamstrung by poor casting choices 
(Margot Kidder in "Superman", Kim Basinger in "Batman") or mediocre 
scripts ("X-Men"). Indeed, the best comic-to-film transitions have mostly 
been those which eschewed the graphic novel's men-in-tights tradition -- 
"Ghost World", for instance. 

With a flood of new super-hero movies on the horizon, we can only hope 
that "Spider-Man" heralds a reversal of this trend, for it may well be one 
of the best examples of the genre ever. It's not perfect by any means, but 
as both a faithful adaptation of one of comics' most successful 
characters, and as an early-summer crowd pleaser in its own right, 
"Spider-Man" is on target. 

What made the early issues of the first Spidey comic title, "Amazing 
Spider-Man", so successful, was that the eponymous hero was not just a 
bland, square-jawed good guy. Creators Stan Lee (who cameos in the movie) 
and Steve Ditko sought to craft a character who was more complex than 
that -- one who not only saw his incredible powers as being as much a 
burden as a gift, but also one whose super-heroic travails were 
counterpointed by the same day-to-day problems which afflict any teenager. 
Not only would Spider-Man have to go out and fight Doctor Octopus or 
Mysterio at night, but then Peter Parker would have to wake up the next 
morning and figure out how to pay for Aunt May's medical bills. 

Raimi and Koepp have not lost sight of this fundamental element of the 
"Spider-Man" legend in composing their feature film. Whereas Bruce Wayne 
was little more than a convenient cipher in the "Batman" movies, Peter 
Parker is just as important in "Spider-Man" as his costumed alter ego. 
Fortunately, Maguire is more than up to the task of portraying this key 
inner conflict. His Peter is extremely sympathetic, skillfully evoking the 
same turmoils which many of us faced as teenagers. At the same time, he 
makes Spider-Man a delightful character who is easy to cheer for. Indeed, 
it's just a shame that we aren't exposed to more of Spidey's trademark 
witty banter. 

Similarly, another attraction of those early "Spider-Man" stories was the 
fluid artwork of Ditko. Spidey is not a muscle-bound grunt who can easily 
batter an opponent to the ground. He relies as much on his nimbleness as 
his enhanced strength. Hence it is very impressive that Raimi's depiction 
of Spider-Man's heroics concentrate principally on this very facet. Scenes 
of him bounding from rooftop to rooftop, or swinging along the streets of 
New York on his webbing, are thrilling to behold. 

Although Koepp and Raimi have diverged to some degree from the character's 
four-colour origins, the changes and updates are smart and logical. For 
example, one of the reasons Lee and Ditko had Parker bitten by a 
radioactive spider in his comic book origin was because radiation was a 
key concern for the general public in the early Sixties. That's not really 
the case any longer, so to maintain a similar sense of relevancy, in the 
film the spider is genetically engineered. 

As the Green Goblin, Dafoe is very good, crafting a villain nearly as 
memorable as Jack Nicholson's Joker in the first "Batman". The Goblin is 
scary enough to be a potent menace, but maniacal enough to retain the 
spirit of the comic book character. Dunst is rather less successful; her 
Mary Jane is unfortunately somewhat bland, and we're never quite convinced 
that she's as incredible a girl as Peter clearly thinks she is. 

Of the supporting castmembers, by far the best is JK Simmons, who embraces 
the notorious J Jonah Jameson with evident relish. Jameson -- a 
cigar-chomping newspaper editor who decides that Spider-Man is really a 
menace who must be brought down -- is an inspired character, and Simmons 
is a lot of fun to watch. It's too bad that he doesn't get more scenes in 
which to strut his stuff. 

Harris does a good job as Aunt May; as in the comics, the frail but loving 
May is both a boon and a hindrance to Peter, and Harris finds the right 
mix of these aspects. James Franco, who plays Harry Osborn -- Peter's 
roommate and Norman's son -- is a tad featureless. Consequently, an effort 
to show a sudden strength of character in the movie's latter scenes rings 
rather false. 

The story as a whole hangs together well, skillfully blending character 
moments with adrenalin-pumping super-heroics. The second half is not quite 
as impressive as the first: it's unfortunate that the Green Goblin doesn't 
really have much of a plan besides "get Spider-Man", causing the film to 
lose some of its dramatic impetus after Peter has established his costumed 
identity. The climactic showdown between Spider-Man and the Goblin, in 
particular, comes across as rather perfunctory, although it certainly has 
its share of thrills. 

Caught up in legal tangles and studio wrangling, "Spider-Man" has had a 
long, tough road to the silver screen. It was worth the wait. This is a 
comic book super-hero brought to life like you've never seen before. 

Copyright © 2002 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. 
Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, 
  http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html 

  |     Shannon Patrick Sullivan    |         [email-masked]          |       
  +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+ 
/  Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel)   go.to/drwho-history  \ 
\__ We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars __/

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X-RT-ReviewID: 311357
X-RT-TitleID: 1112310
X-RT-SourceID: 886
X-RT-AuthorID: 1699
X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/4