Its rare that you find those moments where you get that same wide-eyed feeling that you had when you were a kid, when everything was new and fun. Now, even in our entertainment, a deep cynicism is abundant. Most movies nowadays are filled with deep irony and self-concious awareness. Not that irony is a bad thing, but every once in a while it is refreshing to see a movie that brings back that feeling of wonderment where anything is possible.
That is probably why “Spider-Man” was such a achievement at the box office. To any one who grew up with the comic book, the movie’s success comes as no surprise. Another aspect of its success is that anybody can identify with the Spider-Man backstory. Teenage Peter Parker is familiar to everyone who has been an underdog at one time or another. He has trouble with women, is annoyed by relatives and friends, has trouble finding and keeping a job, etc.
The biggest charm of the “Spider-Man” comic is that he is not invincible like Superman, nor dark and brooding like Batman, but has all the foibles of an everyman.
And like real people, he changes. After he recieves his powers from a radioactive spider bite, he grows in strength and naturally becomes more confident. He loses the insecure nerd persona, but his new powers bring a whole other set of complicated problems.
To directer Sam Raimi’s credit, they did not mess much with perfection. The majority of the plot is taken directly from Spider-Man’s origin story as it was presented in the early issues of the comic book. Only a few minor changes were made in order to make the story and look of the movie more contemporary. If there is any movie that could aptly be described as a comic book come to life, then this is it.
Raimi is self-proclaimed Spider-Man enthusiast, but that could be easily figured out just by watching the movie. The careful attention to detail and good directing proves that Raimi has deep love and respect for these characters.
The choices of the actors are also exceptional. Tobey McGuire is Peter Parker, he embodies the character. He also convincingly makes the transition between pre-spider bite Parker with all of his awkwardness and shyness, and Spider-Man’s alter ego Parker, who is subtly growing more confident and mature.
Then there is his love interest Mary Jane Watson played by Kirsten Dunst. When Parker starts getting googly-eyed over the girl he has loved since he was six, we get an impulse to slap him out of it. But one look at Mary Jane as embodied by Dunst, and we can see what all of the enchantment is about. Dunst plays the apart with great sex appeal and charisma.
The chemistry between her and McGuire is also right on the mark. It is no surprise that these two had a relationship in real life. It also makes “Spider-Man” one of the few superhero movies where the love story is just as interesting as the one between the antagonists.
But that story is fascinating as well. Spider-Man’s arch enemy is the Green Goblin, whose secret identity is Norman Osborn, played with sheer delirium by Willem Dafoe. Dafoe does more than an exceptional job as Osborn/Goblin.
Admittedly, many of the Goblin’s lines are comic book cliche’, such as “We shall meet again, Spider-Man!” after their first battle. Under many other actors, the character would become a cartoon cut-out, but under the helm of Dafoe he moves way beyond two-dimesions.
Some of the best Dafoe scenes occur when Osborn talks to the Goblin identity that it is slowly taking over his mind. In one of the most brilliant moments, Dafoe talks to a mirror, and simultaneously plays the parts of the Goblin and Osborn, perfectly symbolizing the character’s split psychosis.
And a complicated twist is added to the opposition between the two adversaries: Norman Osborn is father to Peter Parker’s best, and only, friend, Harry Osborn. Harry is plated with somber effectiveness by James Franco, a talented young actor who begun his career on television’s “Freaks & Geeks” and has also played James Dean.
By the end of the movie, something happens that makes us believe that Harry will take up the mantle of the Green Goblin (and anyone who has read the comic knows the outcome of this). Franco would make an interesting villian, and it will be exciting to see how this develops in the sequel.
To Raimi’s credit, he made the special effects and action scenes subservient to the storyline, and not the other way around, as in most big blockbuster movies. But that doesn’t mean that the movie does not wow in this area as well: a computer generated Spider-Man swings freely through countless skyscrapers, while a armored Green Goblin rides his jet-powered hang glider through the same glittering metropolis. Every special effects shot and action scene is well choreographed and it almost gives one an adreniline rush just to watch.
Not that the movie is without its flaws, however. It is important to remember that this is not great drama nor fine art. Many of the lines are cheesy, the situations are contrived, and the fight scenes unbelievable. When Spider-Man elastically flails himself across New York, we can easily tell that it is no real human being performing these stunts. This is a comic-book movie in the truest sense, a little suspension of disbelief is necessary. Once you leave that at the door, you can have some fun.
And this movie is unadulterated fun, it is pure entertainment that makes you forget reality. It is escapism, and that is something that is in short supply these days. Yet “Spider-Man” delivers it with great energy and excitement, well worth the price of admission.DVD Features.

The release of “Spider-Man” on DVD takes more than advantage of all the features the format has to offer. The package has two discs packed with special features, and at more than just five more dollars than the VHS release, is at a great value.
Included are commentaries from director Sam Raimi and the special guys involved in the movie, subtititled factoids and music videos for Chad Kroeger’s “Hero” and Sum 41’s “What we’re all about.”
However, it is the second disc that has the funnest features. There are several specials, including ones from HBO and the E! channel.
To their credit, the producers of the DVD did not forget about the people that have been Spider-Man fans all along. A historical documentary on the artists who have drawn the web-crawler throughout the years is included, as well as comic book archives and a rougues gallery along with a feature on the loves of Peter Parker.
Obviously, the movie companies are aware of the oncoming technological threat of people being able to easily download movies straight off of the ‘net. That is why they are starting to pack DVDs with so many extras. As long as most have as many as this “Spider-Man” release, the big whigs do not have to worry about movie afficiandos wandering too far away from the market.