Review 58: Spider-Man
Based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Peter Parker (Toby Maguire) is an average teenager who lives with his beloved Aunt May and Uncle Ben (Rosemary Harris and Cliff Robertson) and quietly pines for the girl next door, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). But when a genetically altered spider bites him while on a school trip, Peter develops unusual powers such as fantastic acrobatic strength, supernatural awareness and a talent for web spinning. It's not until tragedy strikes at home that Peter decides to use his newfound powers to fight crime under a secret identity: Spider-Man! When the super-villain Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) attacks the good people of New York and endangers the life of Mary Jane, Peter commits himself to ultimate test: to thwart his arch-enemy and to win the heart of the girl that he loves.
The plot is beautifully detailed and sticks with the comics. Director Sam Raimi dedicates the first third of this film to telling the origin and it's impeccably told with intelligence and an eye for detail. Without giving too much away, we all know Spider-Man's origin story: Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider, a personal tradgedy motivates him to become a superhero and that's pretty much it.
The original Spider-Man comics dealt with real, everyday problems; Peter Parker was a real kid in high school and those comics were about how his powers and responsibilities affected his life and this film remains remarkably faithful to the spirit of those comics.
Sam Raimi's directing is sharp, the cinematography is brilliant and captures the beauty and naturalism of New York, the score by Danny Elfman is catchy (a great combination of traditional orchestration, ethnic percussion and electronic elements to create an worthy of , the special effects are fantasticaly seemless, deftly blending CG with the practical). The action scenes is captivating: the scenes where Spider-Man is spinning his webs are exhilarating and very akin to panels torn out of a comic book , the production design is excellent, the costume design is fantastic (the Spider-Man costume is looks terrific), the make up is rich and the effect of the closing scene is breathtaking.
The cast is brilliant, Tobey Maguire was born to play Peter Parker/Spider-Man. This version of the web crawler is very much inspired by the Lee-Ditko Spider-Man comics run of the 60's.
At the start of the film, Peter is pretty much the classic Peter Parker from the comics, he's insecure, uncomfortable, mild-mannered and not very good with girls. When he gets bitten by a radioactive Spider on school trip, he goes through a variety of changes; Initially feeling sick, he wakes up the next morning feeling invigorated and part of that confuses and scares him but on the other hand gets him excited
From Peter's point of view, Norman Osborn is the perfect picture of success. A brilliant scientist who is also a successful businessman and has a family. Unfortunatly, that falls apart when Osborn becomes his nemesis.
One of the most defining characteristics of Spider-Man has always been his quips and while they're kept down to a minimum and sporadic throughtout the film and Maguire's delivery is fairly low key, it works pretty well
Kirsten Dunst is the perfect Mary Jane Watson. Dunst captures the girl-next-door vibe that the character is supposed to embody, impecably.
As a result of her abusive upbringing, M.J. has low self-estem inspite of her popularity and uses a cheery persona to hide her insecurities. She has little faith in her talents or lack of and is very self-conscious about what she does for a living and who she dates. She runs with the stereotypical popular crowd in school, being surrounded by people who have enticing physical features and great skills in ways of performing arts or sports. She also has an urge to impress people she deems important.
Sam Raimi's directing is sharp, the cinematography is brilliant and captures the beauty and naturalism of New York, the score by Danny Elfman is catchy (a great combination of traditional orchestration, ethnic percussion and electronic elements to create an worthy of , the special effects are fantasticaly seemless, deftly blending CG with the practical). The action scenes is captivating: the scenes where Spider-Man is spinning his webs are exhilarating and very akin to panels torn out of a comic book , the production design is excellent, the costume design is fantastic (the Spider-Man costume is looks terrific), the make up is rich and the effect of the closing scene is breathtaking.
The cast is brilliant, Tobey Maguire was born to play Peter Parker/Spider-Man. This version of the web crawler is very much inspired by the Lee-Ditko Spider-Man comics run of the 60's.
At the start of the film, Peter is pretty much the classic Peter Parker from the comics, he's insecure, uncomfortable, mild-mannered and not very good with girls. When he gets bitten by a radioactive Spider on school trip, he goes through a variety of changes; Initially feeling sick, he wakes up the next morning feeling invigorated and part of that confuses and scares him but on the other hand gets him excited
From Peter's point of view, Norman Osborn is the perfect picture of success. A brilliant scientist who is also a successful businessman and has a family. Unfortunatly, that falls apart when Osborn becomes his nemesis.
One of the most defining characteristics of Spider-Man has always been his quips and while they're kept down to a minimum and sporadic throughtout the film and Maguire's delivery is fairly low key, it works pretty well
Kirsten Dunst is the perfect Mary Jane Watson. Dunst captures the girl-next-door vibe that the character is supposed to embody, impecably.
As a result of her abusive upbringing, M.J. has low self-estem inspite of her popularity and uses a cheery persona to hide her insecurities. She has little faith in her talents or lack of and is very self-conscious about what she does for a living and who she dates. She runs with the stereotypical popular crowd in school, being surrounded by people who have enticing physical features and great skills in ways of performing arts or sports. She also has an urge to impress people she deems important.
M.J. initially goes for guys who are safe and 'important' in some way, like Flash (whose popular) or Harry (whose rich) because they make her validated by proxy and because she wants to prove something to herself. But what they have is shallow and loveless.
She later falls in real, genuine love with Peter Parker because he's one of the few people who loves her for who she is and takes an interest in the real her, trying to support her as she tries to support him. She catches little glimpses of Peter's love for her but it doesn't register and is just kind of lingering in the back of her mind and he's always endearing to her, makes her smile and makes her feel good about herself.
Living in New York, she grows up and realises who she cares about
James Franco is very likeable as Peter's best friend Harry Osborn. He's very loyal to Peter and has protected and stood up him in high school. He has also never allowed his wealth to make him spoiled or arrogant.
James Franco is very likeable as Peter's best friend Harry Osborn. He's very loyal to Peter and has protected and stood up him in high school. He has also never allowed his wealth to make him spoiled or arrogant.
Harry also looks up to Peter and respects him because he wishes that he had a life closer to his where family feels like family and there're answers to problems besides throwing money at them. Over the course of the film, some jealously stems from him because his father, Norman seems to respect Peter more because of his intelligence and because he can do certain things that Harry can't do such as
Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris are wise as Peter's Aunt May and Uncle Ben.
Willem Dafore was an excellent villain playing Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. Starting out as a commited, driven, gifted but put-upon scientist whose also the CEO of Oscorp and is struggling to balance the business side with his scientific acumen coupled with trying to secure an important military contract.
In a desperate effort to protect his company's future due to its dependene on government funding, he makes a bad choice and tests an unstable serum on himself creating a split personality he can't control.
Norman recognises good qualities in Peter which makes him feel good about himself because someone notices and recognises him and sees potential in him.
Norman and Harry have a complicated relationship to say the least, while its clear that he loves Harry and tries to be a good father to him, he tends to be emotionaly distant with him and has a tendency to belittle him when he doesn't meet his expectations. It established pretty early in the film that don't have the most amicable of relationships.
J. K. Simmons is also of particular note playing J. Jonah Jameson, editor-in-cheif of the Daily Bugle and Peter's boss. He is one overbearing, blustering, bombastic, obsessed, hyperactive, loud, obnoxious cartoon character
Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris are wise as Peter's Aunt May and Uncle Ben.
Willem Dafore was an excellent villain playing Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. Starting out as a commited, driven, gifted but put-upon scientist whose also the CEO of Oscorp and is struggling to balance the business side with his scientific acumen coupled with trying to secure an important military contract.
In a desperate effort to protect his company's future due to its dependene on government funding, he makes a bad choice and tests an unstable serum on himself creating a split personality he can't control.
Norman recognises good qualities in Peter which makes him feel good about himself because someone notices and recognises him and sees potential in him.
Norman and Harry have a complicated relationship to say the least, while its clear that he loves Harry and tries to be a good father to him, he tends to be emotionaly distant with him and has a tendency to belittle him when he doesn't meet his expectations. It established pretty early in the film that don't have the most amicable of relationships.
J. K. Simmons is also of particular note playing J. Jonah Jameson, editor-in-cheif of the Daily Bugle and Peter's boss. He is one overbearing, blustering, bombastic, obsessed, hyperactive, loud, obnoxious cartoon character
Joe Manganiello, Bill Nun, Ted Raimi and Elizabeth Banks round out the films ecclectic cast with
Spider-Man is a great superhero movie and for me is a leading example of superhero debuts, 4.5/5.
The Anonymous Critic
Spider-Man is a great superhero movie and for me is a leading example of superhero debuts, 4.5/5.
The Anonymous Critic
Comments
Post a Comment