"Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man"
A geeky high school kid, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is on
a field trip to a genetics laboratory when he is bitten by a genetically
engineered spider. Soon after he feels unwell but wakes up the next morning to
discover that he is feeling better than ever, can see without his glasses and has
new muscle tone in place of his once scrawny physique. Peter also discovers
that his reactions are greatly heightened and that he is stronger and faster
than ever before. After the untimely death of his Uncle, Peter decides to put
his new found attributes to the test and adopts the moniker Spider-Man. This is
just in time it seems as
I saw this film ten years ago when it was first released and
although I’ve never been into Comics, even I knew the Spider-Man origins story
at that time. At the time I remember thinking that it was really good but after
ten years I’ve changed my mind. Perhaps it is because the film has aged, maybe
it’s because I’ve seen it before or maybe it’s just because it doesn’t match
recent Comic book adaptations but this time around I was unimpressed.
The film’s tone reminded me of the mid 90s Spider-Man
cartoon and is much more child friendly than more recent Marvel films. Although
it might be unfair to compare it to Nolan’s dark Batman or Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, these are a high water mark for super hero films and Spider-Man pails in comparison. Even
though the tone is cartoony there is little of the knowing humour from Director
Sam Raimi’s TV work such as Xena or Hercules and I was reminded of Power Rangers. The film manages to be,
either on purpose or not, cheesy, but there isn’t enough comedy to go along side
it. As for the action, the few action scenes were over in a flash and it never
felt as though Spider-Man was in any real danger. The CGI is a bit mixed, with
some scenes still looking great while a lot of it looks dated and quite video
game like.
Where the film is at its best is in the central characters
unmasked interactions. Peter’s infatuation with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) is
explored in some detail and is for me the highlight of the film. Their upside
down kiss was pretty much the only thing I remembered from ten years ago. Their
friendship and affections rise and fall, never quite reaching the same point at
the same time while there is a love triangle in the shape of Peter’s best
friend Harry (James Franco). It’s no surprise that all three actors were bought
back for a sequel. Personally I’d like to have seen more of the pre Spider-Man
Peter as it was around the 18 minute mark that he transforms into his
alter-ego. I find the background to the story interesting and a little more
context would help to further explain the reasons behind his actions.
I think that Tobey Maguire makes a very good Spider-Man and
manages to be both believable as the geeky school kid and the super-hero,
something which isn’t an easy task. Kirsten Dunst and James Franco are both
fine and very watchable but they don’t really stand out. Willem Defoe wasn’t
very believable as a Scientist but was excellent as the schizophrenic Green
Goblin. His task was made very difficult by a poor suit with mask that he was
unable to show expression emotion through. Despite this he was good. I would
like to have seen what first choice Nick Cage would have done with the role
though. Another stand out for me was J.K. Simmons as the cranky Newspaper Chief. Elizabeth Banks and Octavia Spencer also popped up briefly and made me go “ooh,
look!”
Overall I was disappointed with my return to Spider-Man. I’m trying not to be too
harsh and compare it to more recent films but I just kept thinking to myself “I
could be watching Thor or Batman Begins right now”. This film does
not fair well by modern standards but there is still a nice story in there and
some decent CGI in amongst some that has aged. There wasn’t enough action or
humour to go along with the predictable but engaging plot.
4/10
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