Subject: Review: Spider-Man (2002)

From: Jerry Saravia <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 18:13:42 -0000

SPIDER-MAN (2002)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
RATING: 3 stars and a half
May 7th, 2002

The Spider-Man comics were always my favorite comics in my childhood. The 
reason was because it dealt with a superhero who was more nerdy than Clark 
Kent, and less adept socially, even with dearest Mary Jane Watson. The fact 
that he lived with his aunt and uncle, practiced web-shooting at night, and 
paraded around New York City fighting crime only to return to his bedroom is 
what made it click with me on a personal level. I have been waiting for many 
years for a real movie about good old Spidey, and finally it has come. So how 
is it? "Spider-Man" is one of the best superhero movies since the original 
"Superman" with Christopher Reeve. Yes, it is loud and frenetic but so were 
the comics, and it never loses sight of its human dimension. 

The central human dimension is in the character of Peter Parker (Tobey 
Maguire), the socially inept high-school senior who is always bullied and 
tormented by his peers. He has a special fascination with arachnids and with 
his next-door neighbor, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), a red-haired beauty 
with sunny smiles who slowly becomes attracted to Peter. One day, on a class 
trip to a lab, Peter is bitten by a radioactive spider. He gets pale and 
collapses once he gets home to his Uncle and Aunt Parker (both played by 
Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris). The next day, he notices he has 
rippling muscles, an ability to scale walls and jump from one rooftop to 
another, and to shoot spider-web from his skin. Naturally, he keeps these 
superhuman abilities secret, and hopes that they may increase his chances 
with Mary Jane. Of course, she is interested in Harry Osborn (James Franco), 
son of the troubled tycoon Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe). 

While Peter discovers his powers and obtains them accidentally, Norman Osborn 
is about to lose his corporation and subjects himself to dangerous green 
vapors that split his identity. Hence, the Green Goblin is born, a maniacal 
sociopath intent on exploding half of New York City with his gizmos and 
bombs. Outside of losing a corporation he created, I was never clear why 
Norman was so willing to destroy everything in his path. Now that Spider-Man 
is known in the news for his heroics, Spidey has to fight the Green Goblin 
and stop his menace to society. 

I cannot resist discussing this film in light of September 11th, but in a 
strange manner, "Spider-Man" is almost a heroic nod to that horrible tragedy 
in New York, establishing the hero who must save New York from a terrorist, 
and what else could Green Goblin be? A thrilling sequence where Spider-Man 
tries to save a cable car full of children and Mary Jane at the same time is 
followed by New Yorkers on a bridge chanting and raving to the Green Goblin, 
literally saying, "We are all New Yorkers and will stick together. You fight 
one of us, you fight all of us!" Well, it is not verbatim but you get the 
idea. I have a feeling this scene was shot post-September 11th. And there is 
the last shot of good old Spidey swinging through New York past a prominently 
displayed American flag. The "Superman" movies focused on these patriotic 
images because they dealt with a superhero of the world, not just of a 
metropolitan city. Spider-Man has always been a New York hero, but enough 
digressions. 

"Spider-Man" has lots of goodies in store for the audience. I really sensed 
(a spidey sense?) that Peter Parker, as played by the perfectly cast Tobey 
Maguire, enjoyed his newly discovered powers and has fun with them as if he 
was a kid who got a brand new toy. Maguire shows the feckless and determined 
charisma of Peter Parker and how he shapes himself into being strong and 
devoted to saving others, not to mention his love for Mary Jane. If there is 
one problem with the character, it is when he dons the red and blue costume. 
Spider-Man can't possibly show emotion behind that mask. We hear him talk and 
we imagine he is horrified during many horrifying sequences where the people 
of New York are put in harm's way, but there is little sense of individua
lity. He swings through the streets with such lightning speed that it may 
well be a video game or an animated cartoon. If nothing else, this has always 
concerned me about a big-screen adaptation because we all know what 
Spider-Man can do, so how do you show him in action if it doesn't necessarily 
look plausible? Maguire is at his best without the costume, sharing his 
complete sincerity and love for everyone else he meets (he is so sincere that 
he makes Tom Cruise blush). 

We begin to understand how Mary Jane takes a liking to Peter as well, and how 
can she not? Kirsten Dunst is breezy and sweet as Mary Jane, exuding all the 
giggles and loving smiles one expects from the character. I would have loved 
if there was more of her character's home life (she lives with parents who 
are always shouting at each other) but it is a genuine pleasure seeing her 
onscreen (she has certainly matured since "Interview With a Vampire" - an 
actress I never thought could tackle Mary Jane but she delivers here). 

Willem Dafoe is as menacing and sorrowful as he can be in the best tradition 
of Jekyll and Hyde as Green Goblin. The mask is also fearsome to look at, and 
could easily give the Joker a run for his money. His cackle and brooding 
mannerisms are really something to behold. I also loved a mirror sequence 
where Norman switches from Green Goblin to his normal self, aiming to stop 
himself from doing more harm. 

"Spider-Man" is not as good as "Superman" if only because it is not as richly 
layered or as complex with its human characters (compare how many scenes 
there are of newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson to Perry White, and you will 
get a rough idea). However, this Spidey is superior and more fun than 
"Batman" or "X-Men" and is consistenly entertaining and expertly staged and 
acted. Director Sam Raimi is having lots of fun here, as he did with another 
comic-book type character, Darkman. All I can say is that I am glad Spidey 
finally made it to the big screen. 

Post any comments, complaints or questions at http://moviething.com/m
embers/movies/faust/forum.shtml or email me at [email-masked]

For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at 
http://moviething.com/members/movies/faust/JATMIndex.shtml 

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X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 311805
X-RT-TitleID: 1112310
X-RT-SourceID: 875
X-RT-AuthorID: 1314
X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/4