Rating: 
out of five
The Cast
Peter Parker/Spider-Man: Tobey Maguire
Norman Osborn/Green Goblin: Willem Dafoe
Mary Jane Watson: Kirsten Dunst
Harry Osborn: James Franco
Ben Parker: Cliff Robertson
May Parker: Rosemary Harris
Columbia Pictures presents a film directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp. Based on the Marvel comic by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Running time: 121 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for language, stylized violence and action).
Written By: Kelvin Hui
There is one perfect word to describe the new Spider-Man film: amazing! It is absolutely dazzling with state of the art special effects, it is intriguing with superbly well cast actors/actresses, and it has a director that knows what kind of film will make audiences happy while staying true to the classic comic book at the same time. I sat in the theatre and from the first shot of the movie I knew that it was going to be awesome and that I was going to love it to death. There are so many other things that this film has going for it, but I will describe all of these later on in this review. All you have to do this summer is make sure that you “Go For The Ultimate Spin" and “Turn Your World Upside Down!"
The plot synopsis is that a nerdy high-school student named Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is an orphan living with his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson). His life is changed forever after a class field trip to a science laboratory where he's bitten by a genetically altered spider, giving him all of the incredible abilities that the ‘super spider' has. He is also in love with Mary Jane Watson his neighbour and a classmate from school who he has been yearning for a very long time now while he only has one friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco). After his uncle is involved in a terrible accident, Peter realizes that “With great power there must also come great responsibility." He then uses his gift and becomes a superhero, later facing off with the villain of the movie the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe).
This comic book adaptation has really delivered the goods in my mind, it isn’t everyday that a sure-fire blockbuster lives up to the hype that the media creates for it but I believe that this film will exceed people’s expectations because it did for me. The film is just as good if not better than all of the other comic book adapted movies that have been made in the past. I think that it’s better than Superman, Batman, and the X-Men because it has more heart and brains than any of the three film franchises. I just love the fact that Peter Parker is a nerd (not that I’m one or anything) and he certainly is one of us, he is a normal young man who has the same problems that many teenagers go through in their lives. Being in love with a girl who doesn’t particularly notice you or like you back, being a nerd, and facing people who make fun of you everyday at school. Many people go through these things and I think that it’s because of this fact that you can relate to the film more than any other superhero movie out there and that definitely makes the film a real winner.
I could relate to Peter Parker very much so and I’ve always liked his character in the comic books and I enjoyed his character in the movie as well. It is this character that really makes the film surprisingly funny; it was actually on the verge of being hilarious. I never expected it to be humourous but it is and not only that, it is also charming, clever, and witty at certain parts of the film. I was laughing and smiling with such pleasure at Peter’s attempts to be recognized by Mary Jane. The acting in the film is terrific, Tobey Maguire is well cast in this role and he fits Peter perfectly while doing a surprisingly good job at being Spider-Man as well. Maguire is sweet, sensitive, cute, and innocent as Peter Parker; I thought that it was entertaining to see such a character as this one and I truly enjoyed it. Kirsten Dunst does a surprisingly good job of being a convincing Mary Jane; she also adds sex appeal to the movie, which I thought was well…appealing. These two characters are both attractive and easy on the eyes, they have a good chemistry together on screen. The antagonist of the film, the Green Goblin played by Willem Dafoe was also quite good. It’s a tricky role and it’s not exactly easy to be an insane murderer and a successful businessman but he pulls if off nicely. The supporting cast is also excellent; Peter’s uncle and aunt are exactly what I imagined they were going to be while Peter’s friend Harry was funny and entertaining throughout the movie.
The special effects are fantastic, they really do bring the film alive and I don’t think that the movie could have been done a decade ago when it was first considered to become a feature length picture, at least it wouldn’t look as good as this one. It is a visual feast and I really liked watching Spider-Man swing around from building to building. It was very graceful and beautiful how he moves with agility and flexibility. The director, Sam Raimi does a remarkable job on creating the film the way that he has, it is very good with impressive fight scenes and interesting dialogue (this should be credited to the writer, David Koepp) between the characters. There was one scene where Peter and Mary are speaking to each other in a hospital and all that was going through my mind during the whole romantic speech by Peter is that I should be writing it down!
Overall, I believe that this film was amazing. It had a great story and it is very realistic to peoples' lives today, I think that’s the reason why it has been such a popular comic book for the past 40 years. I truly enjoyed this movie, it was funny, smart, dramatic, romantic, sweet, action-packed, and most importantly it was entertaining. I would recommend anyone to go and watch this film. You will not be disappointed by it at all; it is a great movie. So the next time you’re in New York, look out for your “friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man" because after seeing this movie I know that this superhero is going to be around for years to come.
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