Spider-Man

I remember when I saw the first trailer for this movie. The reaction it got from everyone in the theater was priceless. The preview featured predominantly the World Trade Center and months later for obvious reasons; the trailer was pulled from the advertizing campaign. The movie itself underwent corrections after the terrorist attacks but today, you almost forget that. The success of "Spider-Man" can be seen in the amount of superhero films that were released over the next ten years. Marvel's success with "X-men" two years earlier ensured that Spider-Man would finally find his way in live action onto the big screen. "Spider-Man" is one of my favorite superhero origin films. This is due to the acting, music and direction.

When the movie came out, I was somewhat bothered by the drama of the story. I understand now how important that is to the Spider-Man story that fans love and to the film itself but back then, it just got in the way of the fun a little bit. The movie does a great job in setting up Peter Parker as an underdog. This classic story motif was very useful in "Superman" from 1978 and other than that movie; this was my first superhero origin film. Other comic book films that I liked such as "Batman" or "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" depicted the origins of their main characters by way of flashback. It is important that we see Peter's muscularity before his transformation so that when he wakes up, there is an obvious change. I enjoy the depiction of Peter developing his spidey sense at school. I love the slow motion shot during the fistfight where Peter takes a long look at Flash's arm. The subsequent sequence with Peter climbing and jumping buildings is a lot of fun thanks to Tobey Maguire's performance. It is fun to watch because he is having so much fun. As he jumps from building to building, one shot appears to reference "The Matrix". I also love the comedy of Peter learning to shoot webs. The "thumbs up" is quite hilarious. On the dramatic side of things, there is great contrast between Peter's family and Mary Jane's family. The audience's desire for Peter and Mary Jane to end up together is much stronger because of it. Probably the biggest impact this film has on pop culture is the quote "With great power comes great responsibility." This phrase has always been part of the Spider-Man lexicon but this movie popularized it. The line is moving because of Cliff Robertson's performance and what happens later in the story. I really get a good laugh when Peter registers to fight the wrestler. That female actress registering him is pretty funny. I love how the name "Spider-Man" comes about in that the announcer doesn't like the nickname Peter chose for himself. Peter's costume reveal is great because we are fully expecting to see the costume we all love. Instead, it is like a homemade Halloween costume. Ironically, Peter goes on his first heroic adventure with this suit to avenge his uncle. Peter doesn't kill the robber but he is still left with the guilt that he could have prevented his uncle's death if he did the right thing earlier. His uncle's message becomes cemented in his head and he is set off on a quest to never let the next criminal get away. The World Unity celebration is fun to watch because this is in broad daylight. There is a wonderful tribute to "Superman" when Peter removes his coat to reveal his outfit underneath. We think Peter is going to reveal who he really is to Mary Jane after he saves her but instead identifies himself as "your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man". That is great screenwriting for this genre. Another scene that has become part of pop culture is the first kiss between Spider-Man and Mary Jane. It is memorable because of the use of the rain and original due to the fact that Spider-Man spends a good deal of time upside down. Preceding the kiss, I love how Spider-Man disappears in a continuous shot when Mary Jane tries to see his face. I wonder how the filmmakers did it because it doesn't appear to be special effects. The shot where Spider-Man dodges the flying drones in slow motion in the burning building is definitely special effects and a great use of them. The climax was well written and directed. The New Yorkers throwing stuff at Green Goblin is a great moment but borders on cheesy. A really memorable part of the climax is Ozborn's reaction to his glider missing Peter and about to stab him instead. It is almost as if he saying, "Whoops, I forgot about the Spidey sense." Because of the direction and editing of that moment, it is both funny and climactic.

Those involved in this movie are all quite talented. When you look at the list of directors that were being considered for the job of creating "Spider-Man", it is fun imagining the different ways this film could have turned out. Roland Emmerich, Tim Burton, Chris Columbus and David Fincher all have unique styles. James Cameron did so much in the development of this show earlier on and then left the project. Sam Raimi got the job instead. He has experience in the horror genre and it shows. He and his editors created some very memorable montages such as the creation of the costume and Spider-Man coming to the public's attention. The direction he gave to Osborn's transformation was such that I think I fainted during that part when I saw it for the first time. It was quite psychologically overwelming for me. Sam Raimi has a cameo as a spectator in the wrestling arena and speaking of that scene, "Macho Man" Randy Savage did a great job doing what he does best. This movie introduced me to quite a few actors such as Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe and future Oscar nominee James Franco. Other actors who were considered for the role of Peter include Leonardo DiCaprio (what was he not considered for during this time period), Freddie Prinze Jr. and Heath Ledger (that would have been interesting). Even Franco auditioned for the role of Spider-Man. Dafoe's Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde scene is so well acted. I had seen Kirsten Dunst in "Jumanji" and to see her now grown up was cool. J. K. Simmons was amazing as Jameson. He really portrays the essence of the character I remember from TV when I was a kid. "Spider-Man" acknowledges that 1960's TV show by way of the phrase "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" and the song that the guitarist sings in the subway. Stan Lee's cameo is quite quick as he helps a little girl in costume in the World Unity celebration sequence. Danny Elfman was more than able to provide the musical score of this movie and he did a good job during plot points and action sequences. The screenwriter who eventually got all the credit for writing this movie was David Koepp. I enjoyed his work on the "Jurassic Park" films and "Mission: Impossible" before this movie. The special effects as supervised by John Dykstra are still pretty good (Dykstra would later win an Oscar on the sequel). I will say however that the shots of Peter wall climbing in his wrestling outfit are a little phony nowadays.

At the time of its release, "Spider-Man" was the most successful movie based off a comic book. It was nominated for two Oscars, including Visual Effects, and it is one of my favorite comic book movies. This movie modernized Spider-Man really well and I believe it to be the most important comic book movie in between "Batman" and "Iron Man". After its huge success, Marvel was able to make other films on the path to becoming their own studio. DC Comics undertook reboots of its Superman and Batman characters over the next decade to compete with Marvel. The ending of "Spider-Man" clearly hints at a sequel and it didn't disappoint either.

4 Stars