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Spider-Man (2002)
Reviewed on 2011 May 22
So far, the only problem I have with the Marvel movies is that seeing a good one induces a reaction kind of like eating one potato chip: one makes me crave another. Since seeing Thor I’ve wanted to re-watch the first two Spider-Man movies. Being movie geeks, we put them along with a bunch of other DVDs in a storage box and it took a while to locate them, but today Mr. Shukti found them for me, and I settled in to enjoy them again.
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is the worst species of nerd in the high school hierarchy: a geeky, sweet, and completely brilliant kid. These combined with some serious birth-control glasses are all unforgivable sins amongst his jock peers, and if that’s not bad enough, one of them is dating Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), the girl of his dreams. About his only friend is Harry Osborn (James Franco), the son of wealthy magnate Norman (Willem Dafoe). Harry is still trying to deal with his dad’s wealth and alpha-maleness, so he understands his bud, even if he kind of wants Mary Jane for himself. It looks like Peter will be resigned to being a gamma male, albeit a very scientifically-gifted one, until a fateful accident during a school field trip: a genetically engineered spider chomps Peter on the hand, giving him a slew of new powers. Now he has to learn how to handle his gifts.
The acting in this is good to excellent, and the parts where Peter are trying out his new Spidey toys are hilarious. The special effects are wonderful, and the chemistry between Dunst, Maguire, and Franco was believable: they seemed like people that grew up together. The other thing I liked is the fact that they didn’t turn Peter into this perfect character. Despite his new strength and abilities, he was still a kid; a very good but flawed kid. All that, coupled with a good script and story line, make this a movie worth owning. If that doesn’t tempt you, there’s a Bruce Campbell cameo too, for all you movie lovers.
Three chocolate morsels and a glass of Aunt May’s sherry.
— Shukti
