Spider-Man (2002)

Starring Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco.
Directed by Sam Raimi.
Written by David Koepp.
Based on the comic book characters by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
Distributed by Columbia Tristar.
121 minutes.

LVJeff's Rating: 10/10

A Movie Worthy of the Webhead

Finally, it's here, after years of waiting. After we were given a highly flawed series of Superman movies in the '80's; after we were given a refreshing yet flawed Batman movie; and after we had just been given an X-Men movie that re-set the standard of respect for the comic-book-translation movie, Marvel Comics' most famous hero, Spider-Man, finally gets his turn. And his movie tops them all.

I loved it. It's exactly what I hoped it would be: a straight, unironic, unhurried story of a character that has been an American icon for generations. Thank the movie gods for director Sam Raimi, who keeps the story entertaining and flowing smoothly, deftly interspersing bits of humor and melodrama. His movie contains darkness balanced by scenes of splendorous comic-book color. He gives us, in turns, wonder, horror, anger, and puppy-eyed love at the appropriate times. He breaks the movie in to two acts -- the hero's origin and the hero's personal challenge -- and doesn't pace it as if it is in a hurry to get to its inevitable sequel.

Raimi and screenwriter David Koepp wisely chose to focus the film on the maturation of nerd-turned-hero Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), who is bitten by a genetically-mutated spider and gains the powers that allow him to become Spider-Man. Because the story concentrates on Peter's growth, his alter ego doesn't fall in to the trap of being a plot-driver in his own movie. In other words, Spider-Man wasn't forced to Save the World, or even to Save the City. This movie was about something more relatable -- Peter coming to terms with himself.

Raimi keeps the attention on that theme so well that, after watching the movie, one could easily get the feeling that although an abundance of scenes were about Peter, action scenes involving Spider-Man were relatively few. Actually, this isn't true -- the film includes plenty of high-flying sequences of the deeds of the "Web-Slinger," including a car chase, a set piece in Times Square, and a final battle. But throughout these scenes, we, the audience, never forget that Spider-Man really is just good ol' Peter Parker in a costume and mask. Raimi never lets us forget that this is Peter's story, and that we live the story through him -- his amazement at his new abilities are our amazement, his dilemma of retaining a hero's agenda in the face of adversity is our dilemma, his unrequited love for Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) is our unrequited love. Thus, when Spider-Man is on the screen, we still feel we are watching Peter and not a separate persona.

Even the villain, The Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), exists mainly as a symbolic representation of Peter's inner struggle. Story-wise, the Goblin starts out as a scientist who heads his own corporation supplying weapons for the government, but whose adversaries openly seek his ousting. That he achieves vengeance on these adversaries is not important; he is there because he eventually presents a force dangerous enough to offer Spider-Man a temptation -- give up the hero routine because, frankly, it's too much pressure and in the long run the people you protect won't appreciate it. The Goblin is Spider-Man's biggest challenge not because he has his own evil agenda that needs to be stopped -- he doesn't spend his time trying to take over the city or cause mass destruction -- but because he forces Peter to consider more carefully the identity he has chosen. The villain's job in this case is to get under the hero's skin, and I find that marvelously refreshing.

The sub-plots and dialogue of the movie are presented with such a gosh-darn honesty that some viewers may regard them as corny, but what better way to tell the tale of someone who has been in the American conscience for decades? This is a story that has survived healthily for the better half of a century, and to give it a modern hipness or too much personal directorial style would have been a mistake. Spider-Man is part of this country's mythos, and his movie needs to capture a timeless quality. This is why George Lucas chose to use such literal verbiage for his "Star Wars" movies -- it allows them to be viewed in any decade and not feel dated. Spider-Man achieves this as well with simple situations and straightforward exchanges. This was also one of the strengths of Superman, and Spider-Man's effort is easily on par.

And the movie had little things, so many little things, for me to smile about. I liked the superb design and look of the Spider-Man costume. I reveled in J.K. Simmons portrayal of J. Jonah Jameson. I laughed at the several references to other comic books. I liked the depiction of Spider-Man's early warning "spider sense" power. I thought that the "thwip!" sound effect of Spider-Man spinning his webs was the best sound effect I had heard for it. And speaking of his web spinning, I'm glad the filmmakers decided to make that ability one of his natural organic abilities, rather than having it come from mechanical gadgets as it did in the comic books -- it was the one thing that never did sit too well with me, and I like the movie's method much better. Finally, I cheered when the old '60's Spider-Man cartoon theme came on during the credits: "Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can..."

Raimi and his team couldn't have done any better in bringing the story of Spider-Man to the big screen. The movie does the beloved hero justice, and it gives the audience the correct feel for the character, a character who describes his powers as "my gift, my curse." Whatever idea any casual fan had of Spider-Man, this movie tells the story that sets it all straight and reminds us all of the kind of hero he was always envisioned to be -- a young man who suddenly discovered that he had incredible powers and the path of responsibility he chose to follow afterward.

©Jeffrey Chen, May 4, 2002

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