image courtesy of IGN
Rating:
6
Year of release: 2002
Company: Sony/Columbia
Genre: action
Running time: 121 min.
Director: Sam Raimi
Action directors: Chuck Jeffreys, Ching Siu-Tung (uncredited)
Script: David Koepp
Producers: Avi Arad, Ian Bryce, Grant Curtis, Heidi Fugeman, Stan Lee, Steven P. Saeta, Laura Ziskin
Cinematography: Don Burgess
Editors: Arthur Coburn, Bob Murawski
Music: Danny Elfman
Stars: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, Randy Savage
Rated PG-13 for violence
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Spider-Man
Tobey Maguire in full Spidey regalia. Image courtesy of IGN.
When I was a kid, I was a huge Spider-Man fan. I watched the cheesy cartoon show religiously. In fact, one of my earliest memories was traveling to a local mall so I could get my picture taken with some guy dressed up in a Spidey costume. However, as I grew up, I lost interest in Spider-Man and comics as a whole, and it's with that (admittedly more jaded and cynical) point of view that I approached this film.
And just to let you dear readers know, I'm aware that this movie made a billion dollars and some of you think it's the best thing since pop-tops on beer cans, but quite honestly, I was bored during most of this film. Don't get me wrong -- the action is great, especially the final confrontation between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe, in the most "normal" role he's played in some time, despite the fact that he's under a suit of armor most of the time) which was co-ordinated by the action god known as Ching Siu-Tung. Hell, there's even a good fight between Spidey and one of my heroes from the wrestling world, Randy "Macho Man" Savage.
Spider-Man and Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) in the "money shot" of the movie. Image courtesy of IGN.
But, goddamnit, can we please not have an action movie where the romantic sub-plot totally dominates the second act? Yes, I know the relationship between Spider-Man and Mary Jane (played by Kirsten Dunst, who does admittedly does look very good here) is a central part of the comic book, but enough with the attempts to cash in on the love-starved teeny-bopper crowd already. At many points, I was expecting a Celine Dion ballad to start cranking up, and the romantic cheese in the movie's middle hour nearly killed it for me.
In its' defense, Spider-Man does look great, the acting is solid and there is a good amount of action. Admittedly, it is better than many comic-book adaptations -- but that's not saying too much. If I wanted to see some socially inept geek try to woo the woman of his dreams, I'll watch "Blind Date". Hopefully, the sequel will offer more web-slinging and less woo-flinging, but I'm not holding my breath. Once Hollywood gets a hold of a formula that generates cash at the box office, they're not going to let it go anytime soon.
