Dave2112
Level of Cherry Feather
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- Apr 17, 2001
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Sitting in an over-packed, sold-out theater this afternoon...kids yapping, people milling around to find seats, I remembered what we go to the movies for. To be entertained and forget about all the crap that permeats our lives from day to day. Spiderman succeeds on this level. The anticipation for this film was like that of only a few others, and with good reason. Spiderman is an icon to the down-trodden, the wanna-be hero and the Joe-Six-Pack in all of us.
For a superhero movie, a film based on a comic book, this two hour romp goes where others should have. Unlike the deep mythology of Superman, the film-noir style of Burton's Batman and the high-tech indie style of X-Men, Spiderman is presented like its origin...a comic book. The entire film is like watching a comic unfold on a thirty-foot screen. The pace is fast and uncluttered with a lot of background, which is good overall, but does give the film an excuse to smooth over some things that could have been explained a bit better.
Toby MacGuire is Peter Parker. No one else in Hollywood pulls off the "cool geek with a secret" better, and it reminded me of his previous roles in Wonder Boys and Cider House Rules. I hope that this franchise (and it will be a franchise, mark my words) doesn't follow the Batman mold and cast a new actor to fill the red and blue suit every time. I really believe that MacGuire is the only one who can bring the neccesary innocence, angst and off-beat humor to the role.
Kirten Dunst as Mary Jane did a much better job than I thought she would. However, she played the role with much more vulnerability and directionless confusion as the Mary Jane we've become familiar with in the comics. That Mary Jane wouldn't have taken half as much shit as this one did. I also thought that the fleshing out of her character as the child of an abusive father could have been played up more, if that's the direction Sam Raimi was going to take. That angle was dropped just when it might get interesting.
Willem Defoe was perfect as Norman Osbourne...but perhaps less suited to his alter-ego, the Green Goblin. My problem with the villian in this film was the green body-armor, which came across as a bit kitchy. Far better would have been to use prosthetics on the already goblinesque Defoe to transform him into the twisted nemesis, much like the superb transformation of Jack Nicholson into the Joker. Also, while the Goblin's glider was explained as a project that Osbourne's company was working on for the military, as was the strength-enhancing serum he was subjected to...the body-armor simply showed up. No explanation, no reason. The acting itself, however, was very good. My complaint about the villain was that, again like the Joker in Batman, the hero's most famous nemesis is killed off in the first film. Yes, the door is left open for Osbourne's son....but it's still the same all too early death as the Joker's.
The character of J. Jonah Jameson has thankfully little screen time. I don't know how much more I could take of his ranting like George Stienbrenner on Seinfeld. He was true to character, however, and did bring the colorful character to life.
Cliff Robertson actully gave some of the film's best acting, giving Peter his tag line ("With great power comes great responsibility"), and even though you know his fate, it would have been nice to see him have a little more interaction with Peter.
The action scenes were fantastic, and I was impressed to see Spidey faltering all over the place, trying to get used to his new abilities, during his first chase of a criminal.
What I did like about this fim was the accesability of the hero. He's not some alien Superbeing or a multi-billionaire playboy with a science lab and too much time on his hands...but a kid struggling like any of us. And what really makes Spiderman stand apart from the rest of the superhero films is that it takes place in a real location. While Metropolis and Gotham City have their heroes to defend them...Spidey belongs to New York. Especially at a time like this, it was a rush to see him swinging through the familiar streets and standing for something that we see every day. The final battle scene, which included New York citizens coming to Spiderman's rescue may have been a little hokey ("You mess with one of us, you mess with ALL of us"), it stired up a sense of pride that New York needs. Maybe another subliminal patritic boost? Perhaps, but in a film that tries to be nothing more than a live-action comic...that's a good thing.
My favorite scene was the wresling arena, where Peter takes on Bonesaw (played by a still-very-buff Randy Savage) for $3,000. In a cage, no less. The announcer inadvertantly gives him his nickname as the Amazing Spider Man, there's a huge build-up and you expect to see Spidey in all of his red and blue glory come charging down the aisle. Instead, we are treated to Peter's prototype costume, little more than a red ski-mask and sweater with a spider pained on it. Kind of a cute moment, and at least we get another glimpse into Parker's humanity.
So, all in all, this was a pretty damn good film. You can have your indestructible demi-gods, your high-tech detectives and your team of genetically altered misfits...
...I'll stick with the kid who has to foil a robbery and still finish his term paper by Monday.
He's more like me.
😎
For a superhero movie, a film based on a comic book, this two hour romp goes where others should have. Unlike the deep mythology of Superman, the film-noir style of Burton's Batman and the high-tech indie style of X-Men, Spiderman is presented like its origin...a comic book. The entire film is like watching a comic unfold on a thirty-foot screen. The pace is fast and uncluttered with a lot of background, which is good overall, but does give the film an excuse to smooth over some things that could have been explained a bit better.
Toby MacGuire is Peter Parker. No one else in Hollywood pulls off the "cool geek with a secret" better, and it reminded me of his previous roles in Wonder Boys and Cider House Rules. I hope that this franchise (and it will be a franchise, mark my words) doesn't follow the Batman mold and cast a new actor to fill the red and blue suit every time. I really believe that MacGuire is the only one who can bring the neccesary innocence, angst and off-beat humor to the role.
Kirten Dunst as Mary Jane did a much better job than I thought she would. However, she played the role with much more vulnerability and directionless confusion as the Mary Jane we've become familiar with in the comics. That Mary Jane wouldn't have taken half as much shit as this one did. I also thought that the fleshing out of her character as the child of an abusive father could have been played up more, if that's the direction Sam Raimi was going to take. That angle was dropped just when it might get interesting.
Willem Defoe was perfect as Norman Osbourne...but perhaps less suited to his alter-ego, the Green Goblin. My problem with the villian in this film was the green body-armor, which came across as a bit kitchy. Far better would have been to use prosthetics on the already goblinesque Defoe to transform him into the twisted nemesis, much like the superb transformation of Jack Nicholson into the Joker. Also, while the Goblin's glider was explained as a project that Osbourne's company was working on for the military, as was the strength-enhancing serum he was subjected to...the body-armor simply showed up. No explanation, no reason. The acting itself, however, was very good. My complaint about the villain was that, again like the Joker in Batman, the hero's most famous nemesis is killed off in the first film. Yes, the door is left open for Osbourne's son....but it's still the same all too early death as the Joker's.
The character of J. Jonah Jameson has thankfully little screen time. I don't know how much more I could take of his ranting like George Stienbrenner on Seinfeld. He was true to character, however, and did bring the colorful character to life.
Cliff Robertson actully gave some of the film's best acting, giving Peter his tag line ("With great power comes great responsibility"), and even though you know his fate, it would have been nice to see him have a little more interaction with Peter.
The action scenes were fantastic, and I was impressed to see Spidey faltering all over the place, trying to get used to his new abilities, during his first chase of a criminal.
What I did like about this fim was the accesability of the hero. He's not some alien Superbeing or a multi-billionaire playboy with a science lab and too much time on his hands...but a kid struggling like any of us. And what really makes Spiderman stand apart from the rest of the superhero films is that it takes place in a real location. While Metropolis and Gotham City have their heroes to defend them...Spidey belongs to New York. Especially at a time like this, it was a rush to see him swinging through the familiar streets and standing for something that we see every day. The final battle scene, which included New York citizens coming to Spiderman's rescue may have been a little hokey ("You mess with one of us, you mess with ALL of us"), it stired up a sense of pride that New York needs. Maybe another subliminal patritic boost? Perhaps, but in a film that tries to be nothing more than a live-action comic...that's a good thing.
My favorite scene was the wresling arena, where Peter takes on Bonesaw (played by a still-very-buff Randy Savage) for $3,000. In a cage, no less. The announcer inadvertantly gives him his nickname as the Amazing Spider Man, there's a huge build-up and you expect to see Spidey in all of his red and blue glory come charging down the aisle. Instead, we are treated to Peter's prototype costume, little more than a red ski-mask and sweater with a spider pained on it. Kind of a cute moment, and at least we get another glimpse into Parker's humanity.
So, all in all, this was a pretty damn good film. You can have your indestructible demi-gods, your high-tech detectives and your team of genetically altered misfits...
...I'll stick with the kid who has to foil a robbery and still finish his term paper by Monday.
He's more like me.
😎
