Rating: 
Summary: A story about a girl
Review: This is the first over-hyped blockbuster in ages that was actually better than I had anticipated. Its effectiveness lies not in a reliance on digital effects and explosions (although there's plenty of that) but in its emotional appeal. As Peter Parker (Maguire) tells the audience in the film's opening narration, this is a story about a girl. The maturation of Peter's unrequited love for Mary Jane Watson (Dunst), the troubled girl next door, is the heart of the film. The rest is merely a means to achieving that end.Particularly poignant is a monologue that Peter delivers to Mary Jane when she asks him how Peter described her in a "chance meeting" with her recent savior, Spider-Man. I don't know whether Maguire was performing David Koepp's script verbatim or not. But it is incredibly romantic. Willem Dafoe was a no-brainer to play the Green Goblin. The script and his performance bring humanity to what could have been a cartoon (pun intended) villain. Many of the effects are spectacular (I want to see it again and try to detect when the costumed Spidey is Maguire and when he's computer software). Some are only a cut above mediocre. But they aren't the reason to see 'Spider-Man.' It's the "boy-meets-girl" that took me for the ultimate spin.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost Perfect
Review: Almost...in the sense that it is not my belief that the creations of human beings can be perfect. Having said that, there are several human creations that approach perfection: the Tao Te Ching; Van Morrison's Astral Weeks; those incredible paintings Van Gogh did right before he died; Jack Daniels bourbon. Spider-Man is on that level. No, really. For what it is, it's just that good. Okay, I can hear a couple of criticisms to such (seemingly!) ridiculous hyperbole, so I'll take a shot at answering them. #1: "It's a friggin' super-hero movie!" And your point is...? That's like saying The Searchers is a friggin' Western, or that 2001 is a friggin' sci-fi flick. Guys, I'm gonna say this one more time: quality IS NOT a function of genre. Just because an artist chooses to work within a given generic framework does not mean he doesn't have anything to say. Not all the great filmmakers have unpronounceable names or have been dead for 20-plus years (many of them have, but that's a subject for another review). #2: "It's a friggin' soap opera!" Sure it is. So's the book of Genesis. So are many of Shakespeare's plays. As one of Spidey's co-creators used to put it, "Nuff said". **** Listen, here's what I know. Spider-Man is, hands down, the best super-hero movie I've ever seen, both in terms of faithfulness to its source material and simply as a piece of cinema. It is, for lack of a better (or more appropriate) way of describing it, like BEING INSIDE OF a super-hero comic, which, fine films that they are, is more than I can say of either Tim Burton's Batman or Bryan Singer's X-Men. It's one of the best sf/fantasy films I've ever seen in my life. Hell, it's one of the best films I've seen in the last ten years, of ANY kind (and I've seen A LOT of films in the last ten years). It's a (literally) wonderful parable for our time and, I think, for all time. Aw, just go see it. Then you'll know what I'm going on about.
Rating:
Summary: A Comic-Book Movie Done Right.
Review: SPIDER-MAN rocks! It has something for everyone in the family: some action, cool effects, a little romance, and even a couple of moral messages. Most people are at least familiar with the origins of Spider-man and since that's a large part of the movie's plot, it isn't worth discussing here. The movie stays fairly true to those origins. Granted a few minor adjustments have been made to make the movie flow better in it's modern setting, but those differences aren't worth quibbling. There are only a two flaws I could see with the movie. To begin with, the action sequences weren't long enough especially the climatic battle at the end. The movie would have flowed a little faster with some more action. The other flaw is that Tobey Maguire and Kristen Dunst just didn't have any chemistry between them. It appears as though their characters were acting like they were attracted to each other instead of appearing as though their characters were in love. Sam Raimi has been a Spider-man fan for years and his passion for the comics is what lead to his being hired to direct SPIDER-MAN. He hasn't let anyone down. Other than ARMY OF DARKNESS, SPIDER-MAN is probably his best movie yet. The acting is extraordinary for a comic book movie and Tobey Maguire is right on the money as Peter Parker. Kristen Dunst is a great Mary Jane Watson, except when she and Maguire share romantic scenes. I was also impressed by the actor who played Harry Osborne, his portrayal was superb. Overall a great movie that the entire family will probably enjoy. There isn't any sex, only one bad word, and the violence is almost cartoony so I really don't know why this is PG-13 instead of PG. The MPAA really screwed up with the rating of this one.
Rating:
Summary: Above average comic-book story
Review: I just saw "Spider-Man" the movie today. It is a well-made, exciting motion picture. Tobey Maguire is well cast as Peter Parker/Spiderman. IMO, the best part of the movie is when Peter discovers his new powers and the amazing things he can do with them. It really changes his life. Supporting cast is fine too. Fans of the comic book will know several of the characters, such as Flash Thompson and J. Jonah Jameson. The Green Goblin is an interesting villain, although I didn't like his costume in this movie. I thought the Goblin's comic-book appearance was more impressive. The end of the movie clearly hints at a sequel, if not several.
Rating:
Summary: Just (almost) like the comic
Review: First off, the movie is awesome. Now, time to address something... I've heard a few people complain that the dialog in the movie is cheesy or whatever. The thing is, if you don't like Spider-Man, you probably won't like the movie, and if you've never read a Spider-Man comic, you might not know what to expect. Part of Spider-Man is his one-liners, his sarcasm, and his little jokes thrown in during the fights. I personally felt that the movie was done wonderfully, like watching a comic book. If you don't understand that SPIDER-MAN IS BASED ON A COMIC BOOK, it might not be your cup of tea. OK, enough of that. All the acting was great, the costumes were great, and the ending left a nice opening for a sequal. I have to say I felt a little sad, but it leaves you hanging, and that's the point. Go see it, it's good.
Rating:
Summary: Spiderman always win
Review: I've waited for so long for a movie to made about spidey, and it was worth the wait. Great story, great action , and great special effects. I have to say this movie far passes x-men, which i thought was very good. I can't wait for the sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: hammier than boar's head
Review: After waiting in anticipation to see this movie and hearing how great this movie was I finally got to see it. At the end of the movie I had to double check if this was the same movie everybody was talking about. the special effects were cheesy! come on atleast put some effort into trying to make it look real. How could you make the jumping from building to building scene look fake. Hello! Matrix pulled it off why couldn't it be done in this movie just as cool? The only cool special effects parts that seemed decent was when spidey was swinging through NYC buildings and the Green goblin looked all around good. The bad part that I found with the green goblin was for a high tech battle suit why was there mesh where his mouth is? in anycase the spidey outfit looked cool in the special effects part but, the parts when it was an actual person wearing it made me feel nostalgic of the cheesy 70's spidey outfit on TV. The acting was great from all the characters except for one minor detail. Spidey has a dual persona which was failed to capture in the movie. A geeky dork as Peter Parker which Tobey got dead on but failed in his performance as the heroic,witty and sarcastic sense of humor as Spider Man. I still felt his geeky persona when he had the spidey outfit on. Might as well not wear the mask at all. If not for the excellent story line nothing would have saved this movie from being an utter flop. I like the new twist and changes they added that deviated from the comic book, really brilliant stuff... What happen after Evil Dead? I got some eerie sense of Darkman and Army of darkness in this movie. Which were hammy but it kinda went with those movies. I say this movie is a matinee and after the hype dies down must people will agree.
Rating:
Summary: Best superhero film ever!!
Review: I went to this film with high expectations and was blown away! It still feels like I dreamt that they made this movie so good! The casting was great. I'm so glad they didn't throw in the latest teen whose hot at the time to help sell the movie. Tobey Maguire is very believable and gives a powerful performance as both Peter Parker and Spiderman. Spidey's suit for the most part is unchanged, thank god, and didn't go the Batman movie route! Dafoe is excellent as the Green Goblin. Both halves of the movie-the origin and the scenes as Spider-Man are very exciting and are given equal time. The origin allows enough time for Peter to discover his powers and to see how he deals with them. One of the complaints I had is that Spidey's webs are natural and do not come out of web shooters designed like in the comic. This should only be Venom's ability. I also wish they would have stuck with the goblin's original outfit and not the mecha version he has in the film. If it was good enough for its' readers through 40 yrs, it should be good enough for now! Dafoe would have looked dead-on like the goblin with the green mask and pointy ears! I thought that's why he was hired! The action scenes were incredible. As in the trailers, the swinging through the city scenes are amazing and are worth the price of admission along with the aerial battles with Spidey and the Goblin on his glider! I honestly wasn't expecting the fights to be so good! Some fights were almost too brutal, but awesome. Spoiler: When I saw Spidey dodge flying razor pumpkin bombs, and later have his mask blown apart, I knew this movie had already outdone itself! Spidey's signature moves and classic flagpole acrobatics from the cartoon are all there! I also saw Ebert's review and was expecting thumbs up! He complained that the CGI action sequences looked too fake, when he gives Iron Monkey(great film) thumbs up even though the wires are clearly visible! X-Men was great, this blows it away! I would have liked to have seen those characters in their comic costumes, especially Wolverine. But the makers felt it looked too ridiculous. This movie had the costumes, and proved that it could work! The reason I went to see this movie is because I knew that Sam Raimi was behind it and he exceeded my expectations! This movie would have made money no matter what, because it's Spider-Man. Heck, Jason X is making money! The reason Raimi's version of Spider-Man is making so much money is because it's actually GOOD! Face it folks,Hollywood doesn't usually make films like Raimi's Spider-Man. This is as good as it gets!!!
Rating:
Summary: Best actor ever!!!!Tobey Maguire!
Review: Tobey Maguire is the best actor ever!!!!!!!I loved Spider-Man.It was a funny,sad,angry parts,of the film.I really really really enjoyed and loved it.when it comes out on DVD or video im buying it.he's cute..im going to watch other movies of him.i never knew about Tobey Maguire untill he stared in Spider-Man.I think Tobey Maguire deserves all the stars in the world....he's such a wonderful and talented actor.I love his work.As long as he stays on this earth,i will always like hime.im going to see his movie,Spider-Man tommarow!(i saw it three times already)I'm excited!I liked the part in the movie when at the end he fought the green gobblen,and he got so angry..that was so cool..#1 fan.. love ya!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Spiderman was "AMAZING"
Review: I knew i would be good, but I had no idea it would be great.Despite all the nay sayers I knew Toby was te perfect choice to portray Peter. One must remember he is not a Clark Kent or a Bruce Wayne,or even a Scot Summers. He is the must human out of al the super heros. Defoe was all very good as the Green Goblin. Kirsten was good as well (believe me I had my doubts). But J. Johna Jamson was perfect!!! He was my favorite partof the movie. The action was simply jaw droping. In the fair scene, when you see Norman on the glider in the distance I felt like I was emersed in Steve Ditko and Stan Lee's world. This was flat out the best movie I have seen all year (execpt for Black Hawk Down and Beautiful Mind). For fans of Spiderman or any comic fan(yes, even die- hard DC people)you will love this movie. Kids who grew up on the Fox cartoon will enjoy it as well.For people who don't know the charcters you will think it is OK. I can't wait to see the other Marvel movies ( X- men 2, daredevil, hulk, and the sequel to this) Oh yeah is it better then Batman 1, (bob kane's creation is my favorite comic) I'm not sure, but it's pretty damn close!
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