Rating: 
Summary: Spiderman - A great comic book to silver screen adaptation!
Review: Spiderman has to be one of the best comic book to big screen adaptations to come out in quite some time. Everybody of course knows the standard plot line with Spiderman. Peter Parker is the high school student who isn't physically overwhelming and is picked on by other students. He has of course the woman he's seriously in love with in the stunningly beautiful Kirsten Dunst. On a school trip to a museum, he's bitten by a radioactive, DNA hyped up spider and there's your story. We see him going through the learning process of how to become Spiderman and use his newfound powers which is hilarious and amazing. His foe for this first of probably several new Spiderman movies is the Goblin. Willem Dafoe's performance is absolutely wonderful and probably the best acting job I've seen him do in some time. The fight scenes in this movie are right up there with "The Matrix." This is an emotionally uplifting and wonderful movie that you can take your family to and everybody will enjoy! Other reviewers have stated that some of the fight scenes might be a little too much for younger children. The fight scenes in this great movie are no worse than many of today's popular video games and the shows on TV geared towards these same children. For those that want a little more than what is put on the screen, I might also suggest the paperback, written by Peter David. The second disk has scores of extra stuff with something of interest for everybody. This DVD is an excellent addition to your DVD collection. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for the next movie!
Rating: 
Summary: What big-budget adventures should be.
Review: Spider-Man is not a perfect movie. But it does so many important things right that it can be forgiven for its weaker points. Most importantly, it is a fun, kinetic movie that doesn't let up. The most successful element of Spider-Man is its inspired choices in personnel. Director Sam Raimi brings his manic visualization skills to the film, making Spidey's famous "webswinging" as exciting as they can be, without undue showing off. And the casting is simply brilliant. Tobey Maguire was made for this role. Not only does he nail the physical elements (his transformation from thin bookworm to stringily muscular acrobat, the shyness and awkwardness), but he is especially marvellous at expressing Spidey's chatty, self-deprecatory sense of humour. The best performance of his career so far. Kirsten Dunst was a terrific choice for Mary Jane -- while she is sometimes saddled with cheesy scenes (the final scene at the cemetary being especially disappointing), Dunst is never less than lovable. And her kiss in the rain with an upside-down Spider-Man is probably the sexiest moment in movies this year! Willem Dafoe deserves more screen time as Green Goblin; Dafoe is more than good enough as an actor to craft a character akin to The Joker in Tim Burton's Batman, but the script, by red-hot screenwriter David Koepp (Mission: Impossible, The Panic Room) doesn't really allow him to explore the character's depths. That appears to be a conscious chioce on Koepp and Raimi's part to keep the focus squarely on Peter Parker/Spider-Man, so it's forgiveable. The one weak link is James Franco (City by the Sea), who plays Peter's best friend completely at face value, seemingly addicted to a furrowed-eyebrow expression to try to show internal turmoil but falling flat on his face. The comedic elements are delightful; the origins of Spider-Man's name is a hoot, as are his interactions with Mary Jane and the Daily Bugle. The overall sense of fun is infectious, and the story moves along briskly enough that there are never any dull moments. A great movie for sheer entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Great CGi, good movie, mediocre plot
Review: Spider-Man is one of the better comic book adaptations to come to the big screen. I was surprised that Toby Maguire did a great job as the young superhero. Dafoe's sinister green goblin was exquisite as well. Some of the best scenes are Spider-Man swinging from building to building--those are just jaw-dropping awesome. The plot is mediocre though. It is an excellent choice to watch though and surprisingly fun.
Rating:
Summary: Great adaption of a classic comic book hero
Review: With the recent adaptation of comic book heroes for movies with big budgets, I was looking forward to this film. I'd even say I had built it up a little and was setting myself up to be disappointed. But I wasn't.
Spiderman was a great film that had amazing action, a good story, told Spiderman's history pretty close to the original comic and entertained my fiancée with a romance in it we weren't expecting.
The acting was very good, writing superb, and the action was great. A fine film that everyone could enjoy (over 12 years old). I even got the DVD set as a gift from my fiancée and we watched it the other night. She really enjoyed this film too.
The movie draws you in from start to finish like a roller coaster ride. Very much enjoyed it and would recommend to others.
Rating: 
Summary: Great stuff (if you have a 30-second attention span)!
Review: This film is basically representative of modern action hero films: lots of flashy computer effects propping up a predictable and lame story. In other words, it's a perfect example of how Hollywood panders to the lowest common denominator (which keeps getting lower). Those who were raised on video games, live in their Mom's basement with their comics collections, and can't pay attention to stories and characters deeper than a puddle will love it. Thankfully, I didn't have to pay to see it.
Those who want engrossing stories and heroes, sans computerized eye candy, should look elsewhere. Perhaps Spartacus, El Mariachi/Desperado, or Clint Eastwood westerns?
Rating: 
Summary: Extras are really poor
Review: If you're going to buy a DVD, chances are you know enough about the movie that you want to spend $20 to own it versus $4 at Blockbuster to just watch it. So I spend a lot of time reviewing the additional material that comes with a DVD. In my opinion, that's what makes a title worth owning. In the case of Spiderman, the extra material was just bad. The outtakes had no context, the gags weren't really that funny, and the stuff around the comics version of Spiderman was just dumb. Do I really care about Peter Parker's loves from the comic books? Do I want to see the tryouts for the roles? Where is director's commentary? How about interviews with Stan Lee? How about extra and deleted scenes? Production stills? It's not like Spiderman didn't get enough hype before the movie was released or that they didn't have scads of material to draw upon. But Hollywood's baiting of the public by selling 2 DVD versions and 4/6/8/10 DVD versions of the same movie is just pitiful. It seems a rather quantum leap for movie types to think that there are people who want the MOVIE and people who want the EXTRAS. SO why not sell a ONE disk version with movie only for a cheap price and a version with WELL DONE extras for more? At this rate, I'd rather wait for my Blockbuster to sell the already viewed versions and buy my DVDs for $10 rather than paying an extra fee to the greedy Tinseltown execs for the privilege of shrinkwrapped junk.
Rating:
Summary: He's Amazing
Review: There's a reason that "Spider-Man" broke all kinds of box office records in the United States on its way to grossing just over $800 million dollards world wide. For starters, Spider-Man is one of the most popular comic book super heroes of all time. Almost everyone can somehow relate to the struggles that Peter Parker faces. Most of us can associate with feeling like you are living a dual-life. And besides, just how cool would it be to be able to crawl up walls and shoot webs from our hands. Another reason is that "Spider-Man" almost faithfully adapts the story of our hero from the small pages to the big screen. There are minor changes, but nothing that alters what the story is about or who the characters are. Yet another reason is because of the terrific action in the movie. The CGI and special effects in the action sequences were nothing short of amazing. And still another reason is the romance in the movie. It made it easier for the guys to ask their girls to go watch the movie with them. "Spider-Man" is, without a doubt, one of the best movies of all time. Despite initial concerns, Tobey Maguire is very convincing as our conflicted hero. Kirstin Dunst, as always, was excellent, and casting William DaFoe as the Green Goblin was nothing short of brilliant. This DVD edition comes packed with hours of extra, much of which most people won't care about. However, the "making of" and "E! Entertainment" specials are worth watching. And for the fans of the comic books, there is an entire section of the 2nd DVD devoted to the history of the Spider-Man comics, including the loves of Peter Parker.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, not so great special feature section
Review: .
The movie is as close to the Marvel series as you can come and better. The casting of the actors is brilliant as each if them portray the original individuals with convincing performances. My only problem was with J.Jonah Jameson, the editor of the newspaper, played by J.K.Simmons. This part was way over the top and should have pulled back some. The actor is trying way too hard and this brings the movie down whenever he appears on screen. Too bad, as every other personality is very accurate in the movie. As an example, Aunt May and Mary Jane look as though they steped directly out of the comics. The music is cumbersome and uninspired. You will immediately recognize the orchestrations as those belonging to Danny Elfman. He seems to be in a bit of rut since doing his Batman scores, which were very strong. The music for Spiderman sounds like left over compositions from the Batman movie, and this is a shame. The proper scoring could have made the already excellent Spiderman even better. Hopefully, Elfman will not do the sequels to Spidey. It can only get worse if he continues. As far as the DVD edition of Spiderman, the movie is crisp and clear. The accompanying second disk was somewhat of a disapointment. On the second disk are two rehashed tv specials from the Entertainment channel and an HBO special. These segments are interesting, but don't go into the production values of the film enough. They barely touch upon the very fine computer graphics of the film and the associated stunts. The other pieces in the special features DVD are average. There are the typical interviews of the primary actors, director, etc, but the features sections comes way short of really taking us behind the scenes of the movie. Considering how visually striking the movie is, I am at a lost as to why they did not cover this aspect of the film in more detail...unless they are planning on releasing "The Making of Spiderman" or something to make some extra revenue. <shrug> All in all, the movie is great, but don't expect too much in terms of the special features section. This was the only really weak part of the purchase.
Rating:
Summary: MEANINGLESS FUN TRUE TO COMIC BOOK
Review: SPIDER-MAN raked in another ... million in just the first three days of it's home video release. That brings the world-wide gross to about a billion bucks. An off the chart figure. So what is it about this story that connected with a global audience on such a stratospheric level? Was it the marketing, the name recognition from the seemingly endless series of comic book incarnations or something else? If the film does not hold up as well as one might guess on repeated viewings, the metaphors for the frustrations and fantasies of male puberty come though even clearer. Perhaps more than anything, this film is a romantic rite of passage; almost tribal in its subtext (the ritual spider bite and the shamanistic hallucinations of flying and fighting demons) but in a post-modern garb. But does it all add up to anything? Not really. Perfectly directed by super-visualist Sam Raimi (a master of the floating camera), and with nice, understated, naturalistic performances by Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. These two actors exude a rare and apparently authentic chemistry in their scenes together. Inexplicably, Maguire is missing on the entertaining audio commentary with Raimi and Dunst. Interesting but rather ordinary making-of and behind-the-scenes extras on the second disc.
Rating:
Summary: Still My All Time Favorite Super Hero
Review: Spider-Man starring Tobey Maguire is definitely one of my all-time favorite superhero movies. I wasn't certain what to expect of the film, particularly being a huge Spider-Man fanatic as a kid who was hooked on the cartoon. This film pleasantly met all of my expectations as a Spider-Man fan and as a novelist and screenwriter. It is a wonderful story about young Peter Parker who is bitten by a high powered genetically enhanced spider, which transforms him from a nerd into the crime fighting, web spinning Spider-Man. The main storyline is accompanied by a touching subplot that involves the childhood love of Peter's heart, Mary Jane(MJ) played by Kirsten Dunst. As these two storylines interweave, Peter expresses his long overdue affection for MJ in dramatic fashion by springing to her rescue as the high flying superhero. As in all superhero stories, it would not be a good story without a formidable adversary. No one could have played the role of the "Green Goblin" better than Willem Dafoe, who gave an absolutely superb performance. This film pulls the viewer into a nail-biting conclusion as the Goblin and Spider-Man clash in the finale, bringing the audience to a breathtaking and satisfying climax. I recommend this feature to all Spider-Man fans and to those who enjoy a good story. Kudos!
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