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Visitors since
April 1999.
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SPIDER-MAN
 
Starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James
Franco, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons and Cliff Robertson
Director Sam Raimi
Canadian Rating PG
Released by Columbia Pictures - 05/02
The movie industry is thick with superhero adaptations these days. Two years ago, everyone’s favorite mutants received big screen representation in “X-Men”. The sequel is due in 2003; ditto for Ang Lee’s much-anticipated version of “The Hulk”. I can never honestly judge whether these films are faithful to their source material or not, because in my younger years I was never a comic book geek -- I was more enticed by action figures and Saturday morning cartoons. One of these cartoons was, of course, “Spider-Man”, the latest Marvel superhero to get the Hollywood treatment in director Sam Raimi’s terrific and entertaining cinematic confection.
There are three well-defined acts in David Koepp’s trim and efficiently packaged screenplay, and the first finds the hero being introduced to his super powers. Our hero is Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), a hopeless, lovestruck dork who has harbored a mad crush on his next-door neighbor, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), since the age of six. On a high school field trip to a science lab, Peter is bitten by a genetically-altered spider. He begins to undergo some unique changes. For instance, his senses are enhanced, he discovers new levels of quickness and agility, and micro-hairs sprout from his fingertips that allow him to scale walls and ceilings. This is the most purely enjoyable segment of the film, as Raimi and Koepp turn Peter’s sense of wild discovery into our own. Let’s face it: if you’ve ever had a trace of nerd in your system, you’ll understand the appeal of suddenly being able to upstage the school bully and leap tall buildings in a single bound. It’s the fantasy that Peter Parker is living.
The second act is about Peter finding the higher purpose with which to apply these incredible super powers. Enter local scientist Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), who has a late-night lab mishap that leaves him somewhat mentally unbalanced. Norman’s alter-ego emerges in the form of the Green Goblin, a villain in a cheap plastic suit who surfs around on a military issue glider, causing mass destruction with little pumpkin bombs. Peter accepts his destiny of protecting the innocent and becomes the city’s savior in red and blue, soaring through the maze of buildings to catch criminals in his web. This eventually leads to the third act of the film, when Spider-Man battles the evil supervillain. There’s a thrilling climactic rescue atop a bridge and lots of colorful action set-pieces, but the closing segment of “Spider-Man” is the weakest link in the film because the Goblin lacks a clear method to his madness, and Spidey in costume isn’t as interesting or compelling as Peter without. If this third act was as solid as the preceding two, “Spider-Man” would be the best superhero movie ever made, bar none. As it stands, it still ranks near the top alongside “Superman” as the purest of pure comic book entertainment.
The movie has a lot of heart, and a rare devotion to its characters. Tobey Maguire is perfect as the affable, innocent Peter Parker, and he gives the film a firm emotional center. Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris are ideal as Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and the lovely Ms. Dunst, despite not being a natural redhead, is radiant as Mary Jane. Other supporting players nearly steal the show, while others yet seem to lack conviction. J.K. Simmons (a Raimi regular) is absolutely spot-on great as J. Jonah Jameson, the obnoxious editor of the Daily Bugle newspaper, but the down-to-earth James Franco is merely adequate as , Norman’s son Harry, who is also Peter’s good friend. Which brings us to the bad guy. In sort-of a schizophrenic dual role, the reliable Willem Dafoe is fun to watch, but the Green Goblin is the main problem with the movie. The Goblin is intended to be menacing, but with a costume that would look more at home in a “Power Rangers” episode and chintzy CGI in place of a real human presence, the character is a near-disaster and a failed arch-nemesis for our web-slinging hero. I’m willing to forgive all this, however, because “Spider-Man” is bound to be just the first chapter in a long-lasting franchise, and it serves mainly to introduce Peter to his special abilities and us, the audience, to the principal characters from the comic. And it does all this extremely well, while showing us a real good time.
Overall, the special effects are solid, even if some are quite obviously computer-generated. The scenes of Spidey slinging his way around buildings and through traffic are dizzying and cool. Director Sam Raimi, whose “Evil Dead” movies I love beyond words, achieves a wonderful comic book tone with the picture and delivers some of his typically kinetic camera work. “Spider-Man”, in the end, is a complete breeze of a summer popcorn flick: exciting, colorful, fast and funny. I’ll be eagerly awaiting more Spidey adventures knowing that the series is in such good hands.
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©2003, 2002 Jamey Hughton |
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