Spider-Man - Review

Spider-man will always have a special place in my heart as being the first superhero film I would ever see. As a seven-year-old kid, I was just blown away at the special effects of Spider-man swinging through the streets of New York City and thought the mere idea of superheroes fascinating. I saw Spider-Man as this awesome hero that had just the coolest powers ever. Everybody I knew at school was pretending to be Spider-Man on the playground jumping from platform to platform making the web-shooting motion with our hands. So back then, I was hooked, but like any trip down nostalgia lane, does this film hold up. I really think it does. With the over-saturation of superhero films coming out now in the 2010's, it's nice to see a story that is so streamlined and isn't worried about setting up future movies. The story focuses on the movie it is currently in, not building for the future sequels like some of the newer Marvel movies are doing. This film actually tackles the question, "What does it take to be a hero?" or even the bigger question, "What is a hero?" This film takes it's time developing Peter Parker as this quiet nerd who doesn't really have a place in the world and him being given powers beyond his imagination. What he does with that power is where I believe this film should still be seen today. Not many Marvel Cinematic Universe films dive into topics like this. Peter Parker is a kid who initially uses his power for money and to attract women. The whole reason he designed the Spider-Man suit was to enter a wrestling match to make enough money so he could buy a car to impress Mary Jane, the girl next door. Obviously with the guilt of (spoilers... but who am I kidding. If you know anything about pop culture, you know about,) the death of his Uncle, Ben Parker, he has a change of heart and realises that his powers can be used for helping and protecting people from harm, especially when insane power hungry maniacs reek havoc around the city dressed as a goblin on a glider. It's not so much about this one generic villain wanting to take over the world with a giant doomsday device that shoots a giant blue beam up into the sky, its about a boy who is given these amazing powers and his struggle on how to use them and for what purpose. Tobey Maguire is my Spider-Man. People love Andrew Garfield but I am sorry, there is no way a guy that good looking can pass as a loser that nobody likes in highschool. Tobey Maguire definitely captures the essence of Peter Parker as this shy person who would blend into a crowd without being noticed. James Franco and Kirsten Dunst are good as Harry and Mary Jane, but the show stealers are J.K. Simmons as Jonah Jameson and William Dafoe as Norman aka the Green Goblin. You can tell that they are having so much fun in their given roles and it really shows. What I didn't notice back when I was a kid was that Sam Raimi directed this movie and he was known for making horror films and that really shows as well. The extremely intense scene where Norman transforms into the Green Goblin, there are quite a few jump scares and the final battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin is extremely intense and violent. Like, I'm not kidding when I say that Green Goblin gives Spider-Man one of the biggest beatings in a major superhero film. I mean, he just gets his ass handed to him. As a kid, I was pretty scared of these scenes, but the solid story, great action sequences (although somewhat dated) and an amazing score by Danny Elfman kept me watching. As an adult watching this film over 15 years after it's release and after four years of film school, I still love this movie. That's right, I love this movie. Sure some of the dialogue can be a little George Lucas-y between Peter and Mary Jane and the effects may not have dated the best, especially during the Times Square fight, but this movie might have one of the best origin stories for any superhero film and it teaches us all, "With great power, comes great responsibilty." One of my favourite movies of all time.

Video Review Here: https://youtu.be/MgGVM6HVjyU