Certificate: 12A
Running Time: 121 mins
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem
Dafoe
Genre: Comic Book, Superhero, Action
Country: USA
It is said by some comic historians that Spider-Man was born out of a countermove
to DC’s Batman. There is some credence
to be given to that argument. Both
characters had adopted animal totems, both have origin stories involving the
death of a loved one, and the swearing of an oath but what always drew me to
Batman was what’s always held me at a distance with Spider-Man. Where Bruce Wayne trains, Peter Parker has
his abilities gifted to his DNA. That,
and the wisecracking nature of Web Head, always had me at odds with his origin;
being that it was born out of grief.
Raimi’s Spidey goes a long way to addressing a
lot of these issues. Yes, there’s not a
lot he can do about the origins, Peter still gets bit and (pre-Ben death)
spends some time enjoying his new abilities the way any teenage boy would but
when Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) is senselessly killed[1],
Peter finds himself falling into a dark emotional pit of anger, dispair and
desperation as he looks for a way to vent the venom building up inside of him. Though this opens up the narrative to allow
for a couple of cameos (Bruce Campbell and Macho Man Randy Savage to name but two)
it also introduces the audience to the darker side of Peter Parker. It is a side that the duality of his hero
will struggle to keep balanced throughout the course of the trilogy. Raimi’s film has a strong emotional
core. It helps to ground the audience in
a world that is about to get more than a little fantastic very quickly. That earthy
narrative set up, the weighty tones of “great power” and “great responsibility”
coupled with the loose, free swinging use of camera work and CGI to take the
audience along on Spider-Man’s adventures and suddenly there’s a chance for the
comic book movie to recover from it’s greatest villain to date –Joel Schumacher.
I like Tobey Maguire. Like Robert Downey Jr, he gave a powerfully
subtle performance in Wonder Boys and
has been putting out seriously accomplished performances for years. If there were any doubts about his age[2],
they were put to rest extremely quickly.
Not only is Maguire a youthful looking performer but he is one that has an
impressive understanding of mannerism, gesturality and presence. You buy his nerdy kid as much as you buy his supercharged cool kid (post spider bite) and you do it because of
how he uses his body on screen. Kirsten
Dunst (as Mary Jane) doesn’t just give a good performance but demonstrates
artistic restraint. Her character is one
that is central is just about every story arc in Peter’s life and several from
Spider-Man’s. She is the centerpiece of
the love triangle between Peter, Harry Osborn (James Franco) and herself but
most of all she is the personification of sacrifice. Unlike Betty Ross (Hulk) who is, arguably, controlled by her father and Pepper Potts (Iron Man) poorly fleshed out; Mary Jane is an obtainable and a logical love interest.
A love interest that Peter chooses not
to pursue in order to keep her safe.
Ultimately he will push her into the arms of his best friend and danger[3]
but in that instant, his motives and actions towards MJ are as pure as his
love.
The issues with Spider-Man are minimal. It
doesn’t attempt to do anything overtly extraordinary but delivers a comic
book origin story that gives the audience enough of the hero
(in costume) so that they don’t feel cheated. It is a true balancing act. Raimi does this and in doing this delivers
Marvel’s first major motion picture success story.
[1] By a criminal Peter could have
stopped earlier but didn’t.
[2] See Spider-Man: The Dragon’s Challenge review, and in particular the
section relating to Nicholas Hammond.
[3] When Harry Osborn becomes Son of
Green Goblin.
[4] The Batman franchise has always
carried villains which have garnered more interesting back stories than that of
Batman himself. Similarly, Loki is
motivationally more interesting than Thor.
[5] With its casting of Rhys Ifans as
Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard in a very similar role.
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