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| Spiderman Spiderman... anything a spider can? - Morte (8/06/2002 11:36:55 AM) |
For a start, it is a movie to be appreciated by Spiderman afficianadoes. Others will perhaps not enjoy it as much, as most of its appeal lies directly in nerdly comparison between Stan the Man's work in the comic strip, and the tv cartoon.
No spoilers yet, but for the most part, it was very true to the tv cartoon and comic strip as I remember it. (Although obviously, I only remember the more recent editions).
Willem DaFoe is exceptional as Norman Osborn. Nuances of facial expression and techniques to capture the dual personality worked very well.
The familiar "With great power comes great responsibility" phrase is oft-repeated. Whilst a truism, it's possibly bit ineffective on the audience when repeated ad-nauseum. Made for Americans, I guess. Who did the screenwriting on this one?
Tobey Macguire is perhaps a more nerdy rolemodel than the comic strip or tv series, but he skillfully portrays Parker's needs and desires, and his driving motivations.
Kirsten Dunst is loveable as MJ. The idealistic girl with the stars in her eyes is shown to have a massive belief in her potential, at the same time as not being self-confident enough to escape the peer pressure of the high school cliques. Her character grows in two dimensions only, but hey, it's a comic, people.
Harry's relationship with Peter, and conversely with Spiderman, follows the predictably dichotomous course.
I thought some of the action would have been much better had the shots been wide enough to capture spiderman moving at a relative speed slow enough for you to register properly. As it was, some shots were far too rapid to register, (Perhaps the CGI had to be paid for by the frame). I have to acknowledge that the cheesy still shots on spiderman while the background is rushing by, were NOT overused, and if you made the wider motion shots any slower, it would have been less realistic - realtime motion and physics deny us any leeway there without an IMAX screen and 60 frames a second to view it with.
Things to look out for.
- Director Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Darkman, Xena, Hercules, etc, etc, etc) seems to have put a few familiar faces around for you to look at. I saw two.
- YOU try to find Stan Lee in there. Someone told me he had a cameo, but I didn't see him, and I didn't see him on the credits (which flew past about as fast as spiderman's flight action sequences, so that's not saying much).
- I saw only one tastefully understated shot of the towers, to remind you which city Spiderman lives in.
Warning! Spoilers and nit-picks below:
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- Half the time you are asking yourself why Parker didn't just get a job as a scientist, rather than a photographer. I daresay circumstance and the need for fast cash made his mind up for him. And his pride prevented him taking a job at OSCORP. Parker's decision at the end of the movie contrasts with what I remember from Spiderman, and is rather
shocking and self limiting, even if it is understandable given his fears.
- A sub-theme of the movie follows genetics vs nanotech - Parker was not bitten by a 'radioactive' spider, but rather a mutant super-spider, created by a genetics research group. The spider did not die, but scurried away under a lab cart. The question begs - "So what happens when any of the 15 lab spiders bite someone else?". Osborn was experimenting on himself with his latest nanotechnological elements, in desperation to prevent a government military tender going to a rival corporation, and sending OSCORP to the wall in the process. A part of Osborn's research is the glider, and a flight suit which controls the glider. (Also a SWEET set of ultra tech weaponry in the faithful shape of the goblin's jack'o'lantern bombs.
- A series of mitigating circumstances lead the viewer to fully sympathise with Osborn, at the same time as reviling the Goblin. Osborn really loves his son, and regrets not having been a better father, as revealed in a board meeting outburst, among other places.
- J. Jonah Jameson's part is basically a cameo. His one dimensional character is adequately portrayed. The power of the media for false influence is illustrated succinctly.
Things the movie does cover:
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- Spiderman's short lived wrestling career
- Uncle Ben
Things the movie does NOT cover:
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- Madame Web.
- Harry turning into the Green Goblin's successor. (only just - it's only a matter of time)
- Any super villian other than the Green Goblin.
- Black Cat and her father, and his past, and the secret police state which incarcerated him.
- Mary-Jane's disappearance, subsequent temporary reappearance, then revealing that it wasn't actually MJ anyway.
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So after reading the review, I am left with one question - was the movie any good?
A good storyline? Boobies? Worth seeing if you want to go to the moojies?
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There were boobies. Definately worth seeing.
7 Turnips.
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