Trailer:
"This is my gift and my curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man."
With the X-Men in the bag as a critical and financial success, Marvel really broke out the big guns by introducing to the big screen what many people consider their flagship character. Spider-Man was near impossible to do before the advent of modern CGI in films. There was just no way make a man swing convincingly from building to building in the way in does. But with Sam Raimi at the helm and an entire effects team behind him, they hoisted up the mast full sails.
Now the film itself is undeniably a little cheesy. It harkens back to those older superhero classics like Superman and Tim Burton’s Batman. Hell, it even had Danny Elfman, the composer of the 80’s Batman theme, at work on the fantastic score for this movie. As a result many parts are similarly played over the top, but it works for the most part within the world constructed by Raimi.
But let’s talk about the man in the director’s chair for a moment. Raimi seemed like an odd choice after James Cameron dropped the project. Though he did have experience with superhero films (Darkman) he was mostly well known for horror, and it shows a bit in the film with unnecessary jump scares. Yet Raimi, being a fan of the comics, was passionate about the material and though he didn’t remain completely true to the classic mythology and mixed multiple adaptations together, he still succeeded in giving the audience a fast paced introduction to the character on his first time around.
The story centers on, of course, Peter Parker, a down on his luck, nerdy high school student with a crush on one of the more popular girls. During a field trip he is bitten by a genetically modified super spider. Now I’m not sure why they felt like changing it from a radioactive spider. Maybe because they realized that would just give him cancer. But genetically modified makes even less sense. I eat genetically modified food all the time but I have yet to turn into the Amazing Carrot Man.
Anyways back to the plot. The bite gives Peter all the powers of a spider. He can climb walls, shoot webs out of his wrist and has greater strength and agility. Most importantly though, it gives him the confidence to stand up the bully Flash Thompson and compete in a wrestling match for money. Money he needs to buy a car and impress the gorgeous Mary Jane Watson. When he allows a criminal to escape, his Uncle Ben is murdered and Peter makes the choice to follow his words of wisdom. With great power comes great responsibility. With that he becomes Spider-Man.
Now unfortunately the story is kind of broken up into two parts. The first an origin, and the second the actual story of Spider-Man’s conflict with the Green Goblin. They don’t really intertwine very much before that point and almost feel like two completely separate films (or at least stories) smushed into one. Unfortunately I find the second half a little less interesting as it dissolves into a grudge match between the two superpowered beings. The Green Goblin doesn’t really have any super evil schemes, he’s just kind of pissed that Spider-Man refused to be his sidekick. Now this IS what the Green Goblin is like in the comics, but the second half still needed a little more in the way of story whether it came from the Goblin or another source. As it was it became a grudge match with little motivation of Goblin’s side.
Speaking of the Goblin, Willam Defoe does a great job in the film as the main antagonist Norman Osborn AKA The Green Goblin. As a corrupt businessman Norman attempts to save his company by testing an experimental strength enhancement formula on himself. The formula drives him insane and he steals Oscorp equipment to become the Green Goblin, hunting down those who would wreck his company.
Now this would have become a good plot point, unfortunately Osborn murders all his colleagues early on in the film….so there really isn’t anything more to build on besides his grudge with Spider-Man. The second act might have been more interesting if it involved Spider-Man attempting to stop Osborn from murdering Oscorp employees. Maybe. But I’m not here to talk about what they should have done.
An unfortunate reality is that Defoe is way more intimidating with his mask off than he is in the Goblin suite. Many people have compared him to a “Power Ranger” villain and that isn’t too far from the truth. Though Osborns relationship to Peter as a wanna-be surrogate father, makes their battles more interesting. He just looks a little silly. Especially when has to walk around with bent knees due to how the costume was designed.
Then there is Toby McGuire as the title character. This is perhaps my least favorite casting in the film. McGuire was the reason I initially walked out of the theater hating the film. But after a while the movie grew on me and I learned to accept McGuire’s interpretation of the character even if it wasn’t the Peter Parker I knew from the TV series and comics. Yet there is still the lingering issue that Raimi chose the easy way out with the character.
Rather than showing a socially awkward teenager Raimi makes Parker overly goofy in a kind of Clark Kent kind of way. It was unbelievable at times and other times insulting to that well developed character from the comics who deals with real issues both as a superhero and as a coming of age teenager. To top it off he skips one of the biggest times in the comics mythology, rushing Peter out of high school and into college as quick as possible. This might be due to McGuires age as he did not look as young as the character he was playing.
Mary Jane Watson was also a minus for me. Not because she was written as a Mary Jane- Gwen Stacy hybrid, but more due to the performance of Kirsten Dunst. Dunst is just kind of dull in the roll and doesn’t breath much life into it. However James Franco did a great job as Harry Osborn, son of the main villain and best friend to the hero. He is kind of caught in the middle and seemed to be repeatedly shafted as his best friend get the affection of both his father and girlfriend. His character complicated the relationships in the film and helped make them more dynamic.
Perhaps the best casting though was in the roll of JK Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. He plays the roll perfectly as both comedic relief and a nuisance to Spider-Man, feeding him bad publicity while simultaneously paying his bills as Peter works as a photographer for him. He is funny, fast talking, and enjoyable every moment he is on the screen. Rosemary Harris as Aunt May also does a s fantastic job as she can easily and naturally pull off the kind- yet wise old woman.
So the film may have a few issues but it is pulled together by the great supporting cast, steller effects (even ten years later they look pretty damn good), and a well crafted coming of age tale. Whatever faults that it may have had in the way of story and the main character are more than made up by those. But the film also undeniably works well in introducing to the general audience a very simplified look at Spider-Man’s mythology and central characters.
FINAL RATING: 7/10- 70%
Previous DAY 41- Blade 2
http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/100superherodays/news/?a=54316
NOTE: polls are used later in ranking so PLEASE VOTE if you have seen it.