Typically I am not all that fond of movies based on a comic strip. Well, actually I am enthusiastic to see the film, but I am usually left disappointed. Outside of a few slow scenes, Spider-Man starring the recently buff Tobey Maguire (Wonder Boys) as our hero Spider-Man and the nerdy teenager Peter Parker this film is very entertaining.  And for you Zena fans, (I am not one of them) I am told this film reeks of Zena and I guess it would, since it was directed by Sam Raimi who brings you Zena Warrior Princess and oh yeah, Lucy Lawless has one line, she is the punk girl on the street.  Well the theme throughout the movie is with great power comes great responsibility. Oh come on, isn’t Spider-Man one of the superheroes, so of course we would have to have a goody-two-shoes theme. But just like Batman has a dark side ridden with guilt, Spider-Man must too suffer a burden.

The film starts off with Peter being made fun of and mocked, but the love of his life since he was six-years old defends him. She is none other than the girl next-door Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst of Crazy/Beautiful) or MJ in this film. She also has a cool and popular boyfriend whom enjoys taunting Peter. Up pulls a Rolls Royce with the billionaire Norman Osborn (Willem Defoe of Shadow of the Vampire) and his kicked out of every prep school there was, Harry Osborn (James Franco of Deuces Wild). Norman heads up an ultra secret scientific lab that does projects for the military and he is impressed with the nerdy Peter, whom is quite gifted in the field of science. This happens to be a class field trip to a science lab. While taking pictures of MJ for the school paper, Peter is bitten by a genetically enhanced spider. This ends up giving him super human powers with spider-like abilities. Watching him get used to and learn his new abilities is actually very funny. A cafeteria scene with a lunch tray and a web comes to mind. Peter goes through some changes and some turmoil, which puts him on a path of wiping out evil. In the meantime the senior Osborn is being threatened by the big wigs in the military to complete a project or the funding with go to another group called Quest. So Osborn conducts the experiment on himself, something like in Hollow Man, and oh yeah it goes terribly wrong. Osborn now has an alter ego, the Green Goblin a homicidal evil maniac who is after Spider-Man and anyone that stands in his way. The two clash in a good versus evil showdown.

With a few slow scenes, detracting from the overall enjoyment factor, this film is still very good. I think Tobey could get a little buffer and show a little more ass in his leotard and tights costume. Also appearing in this picture is J.K Simmons (The Mexican), Michael Papajohn (The Animal) and Bill Nunn (He Got Game). There is no nudity, but Kirsten is without a bra in a loose fitting dress that is all wet. There is also a kissing scene between MJ and Spider-Man where Maguire is upside down with all the blood rushing to his head as he kisses Dunst, odd yet appealing too. I give Spider-Man an eight on the About-Movies.com scale because I really like Tobey’s hot new muscular chest. Oh and don’t fret, it was left open for a sequel with the young Harry Osborn as the Hob Goblin, a new foe to Spider-Man.

Last updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 02:48:17 AM

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