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September 12, 2005
Top Ten Superhero Movies - #5 - Spider-Man (2002)
Number #5 - Spider-Man
Directed by Sam Raimi
Written by David Koepp
Starring Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco
"No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, the ones I love will always be the ones who pay."
The comic book superhero genre was already beginning to come alive again through films such as Blade and X-Men, however it was Sam Raimi's mega-hit Spider-man that unleashed a new wave of superheroes on cinemas in a way never before seen. The last of the big three superheroes to appear on screen, Spider-man arrived with the largest opening weekend ever and quickly climbed to a staggering domestic gross over of $400 million. Besides being an enormous popular hit, the film garned superb critical reviews and brought superheroes to the forefront in cinema.
In one of the great casting decisions in superhero films, Tobey Maguire was selected to play Peter Parker/Spider-man. He brings heart and emotion to the role in a movie that puts Peter first and Spider-man second. It is about half way through the film before Peter ever dons the full suit, but in many ways, the first half that is the best. Like all great superhero movies, it is the characters, not the stunts, that leave a lasting impression.
Willem Dafoe is excellent as Norman Osborn, Peter's best friend's father and the nefarious Green Goblin. Dafoe's Osborn is both charasmatic and sympathetic, while retaining the evil needed for us to root against him. The audience is able to like Norman and hate the Goblin at the same time. In many ways, Osborn is the victim of science gone wrong and his own inner demons. The Green Goblin, arguably Spider-man's greatest arch-nemesis, is not without his flaws in this adaptation however. The suit is a tad...ridiculous. While it doesn't do much to diminish the movie, it's obvious that the ball was dropped on a really great Goblin design. I had been waiting for a great Goblin on the big screen for many years, so it was with disappointment that this version was presented to us. Still, Dafoe salvages the character from corny one-liners and a bad costume to make Goblin one of the best supervillians on screen.
Kirsten Dunst is adequate, if awkward, as Mary Jane. She is neither stellar, nor terrible. She does just well enough to get by. James Franco is better as Peter's best friend and the son of the Green Goblin, Harry Osborn. His chilling words after the climax are enough to leave audiences salivating for a sequel, even before the ending comes. J.K. Simmons shines the brightest as the hysterical J. Jonah Jameson. He is completely and utterly over the top, and captures our attention for every second he is on film.
Like most superheroes it seems, Peter Parker has father issues. He was raised by his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson), and it is left to the actors potraying them to create an emotional depth for the origin of Spider-man. Both are respectable in their roles, and Robertson as Uncle Ben is able to create an appropriate genesis for Spider-man's birth. His words, "With great power comes great responsibility" have crept into popular usage and are used to great impact here. Uncle Ben struggles with his role in Peter's life. He is doing his best to set a good example and let his nephew know how important it is to be a good person, but all along dealing with the fact, as Peter bluntly tells him, he is not Peter's real father. Then there is Norman Osborn. He has problems with his own son Harry, but Osborn becomes a father figure to Peter as well. Peter looks up to Norman, enjoying his presence even more than Harry does. As Osborn tells Peter late in the film, "I've been like a father to you, be a son to me now."
Peter simply responds, "I have a father, his name was Ben Parker."
Posted by icine.org at September 12, 2005 02:37 AM