It only took Hollywood about fifteen years, but they finally seem to have respectfully covered the spectrum of comic book potential

You've got your loner-with-a-cause in Batman and Blade, you've got the oppressed-minority-with-philosophical-cause generated in the civil rights movement of the 1960's in X-Men, and now, finally, we have the action-packed Good Vs. Evil freewheeling comic book presented to us in glorious technicolor with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man.

Oh, right. I guess the arty, pretentious side of comics was covered in Ghost World. There's that, too.

Spider-Man is a triumph, a wallop of an extravaganza with gee-whiz action and gee-whiz dialogue. It is a kid's movie for adults, and finally shows us, once and for all, what all those spandex-clad comic books were pointing to all this time. So many things could have gone wrong in so many ways, but the sense of wonder and exhiliration so critical to a superhero comic book are preserved in perfect form and transferred flawlessly to the screen.

The Spider-Man story is a simple enough one, familiar to all comic fans and tweaked just slightly to fit into more modern times. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire, alternately subdued and energetic when the role demands it) is a science whiz kid in high school with a perpetual case of dorkiness, a rich-boy best friend named Harry Osborn (James Franco), and the Mother of All Crushes on beautiful girl-next-door Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst, whose general perkiness seems designed specifically for this role). Parker lives with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and for the most part, everything is right in the world -- until a field trip to Columbia's science department lands him a bite from a genetically altered super-spider. Why, you may ask, is anyone breeding a super-spider? What possible purpose could it serve?

Who cares. This is a comic book movie. If you came to Spider-Man looking for subtlety and logic, you are a moron. [ Ed: Yeah, take that Roger Ebert, you bitch! - DarkWolf ]

For whatever reason, this super-spider's powers are passed on to its victim. Parker now finds himself in prime physical shape, and what's more, he's suddenly become an Olympic-class acrobat. Ah, there's also the super-strength, the ability to leap great distances, the wall-crawling, the "spider sense" to warn him of danger, and the ability to spin webs from his wrists. The sequences where Parker first learns of these new powers and utilizes them is one of the most astonishing filmed in a long time -- even the most calloused viewer is given a sense of the sheer awesomeness of such abilities. A superhero is meant to be feared, respected, awed, and admired. Now you see why in brilliant detail.

On the other side of the coin, Harry's father, Norman Osborn, is a brilliant scientist and founder of Oscorp, the chief military contractor for experimental weaponry. Oscorp's major contract is in jeopardy -- the "glider" and "armor exoskeleton" have so far proven to be faulty, and top brass at the Pentagon looks about ready to shop elsewhere. Those of you at all familiar with the Spider-Man story already know where this is going.

Long story short, Osborn (Norman, not Harry) decides to put himself through the "super soldier" experiment to verify its workability, and as a result his mind is split in two. One half is the same nice though driven Norman, the other... well... he's green, you see, and he likes to extract bloody, murderous vengeance where Norman cannot. It is only a matter of time before the self-appointed vigilante Spider-Man has a nasty run-in with this Green Goblin fellow, and it all culminates in a breath-taking action sequence on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Now, I had a big fat reservation brewing in my mind when I walked into theatre, and that was due in large part to the apparently rampant and unchecked use of CGI animation for special effects. I'm the last person to criticize the use of computers to ease budgets for such large-scale movies, but part of the purpose of special effects is that they seem realistic. CGI has never looked more convincing than it did back in Jurassic Park, and indeed seems to have taken a turn for the worse since that time. The result is shoddy computer-generated effects that break the spell a movie weaves over a person by being obviously contrived and false. SFX, in essence, become so advanced they render themselves obsolete.

Spider-Man does indeed make use of lots (and lots, and lots) of CGI animation, but for the most part the whole thing looks pretty damn astonishing. There is one sequence near the end where Spider-Man swings on his webs through the streets of New York City, and literally drops so low in his swinging that he swings between two taxis driving side-by-side. The effect is doubly astonishing because though the "actor" is obviously a CGI creation, nothing else is. The camera really does swoop down from countless stories right between traffic, and back up again. Rarely has a movie ever given such a convincing sense of movement that, while fast-paced, never became confusing.

Of course, picking Sam Raimi of Evil Dead fame to direct was a brilliant move by the studio. Raimi has proven time and again that none equal him in visual flair and manic energy, and those traits are exactly what a Spider-Man movie needs. Given that Raimi's buit-in fanbase overlaps that of Spider-Man's pretty heavily, the pressure was immediately off the studio about giving the comic book the "proper treatment." In short it kept the whiny fanboys quiet.

See this movie. After this and Attack of the Clones, the summer, with just a few exceptions, is pretty much over. All the major players find the right notes -- Maguire and Dunst as previously mentioned, Dafoe hamming it up as the Green Goblin, and a brilliant cameo by J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson -- and the whole movement of the film sweeps you up and takes you away with it. Those who criticize Spider-Man for being painted in too-bright primary colors, for being too obvious, for lacking in subtlety -- what the hell were you expecting? It's a comic book movie! You're here for good and evil, for exhiliration, for adventure. Once upon a time, those were positive traits for a movie to have.

Excelsior!

Other than that small detail, I must admit...I agree whole fucking heartedly!! Spider-Man was a colorful comic romp which left this comic enthusiast not only satisfied but thirsting for more. Thankfully, Crimson already went into the story so I can give you my reactions and thoughts.

First of all, whoever says that Tobey Maguire is a shitty choice to play Peter Parker is obviously a couple cards short of a deck. I must admit that, yes, Mr. Maguire is a pretty bland kinda guy....but ya know what? So's young Peter Parker. But he has the character when it counts. Take a look at the scene after Peter wakes up from feeling sick....his expression and internalization is astounding. Willem Dafoe was a wise choice to play Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. He looks like he was ripped right off the pages of the book. I was disappointed at first when I found out they were going to put his perfect Goblin-esque face behind a mask. I was like..."Why!? He's already set!!" But it makes more sense for a villain to hide behind a mask...that whole secret identity thing. Silly me. Also, the mask serves as a very interesting character focus and form of independent antagonism. It almost gives you a different face to associate with the REAL villain. Masks aside...Dafoe was brilliant in the role. One of the most colorful and interesting villains since Nicholson's Joker from the first Batman film. The only thing missing from the Goblin was some of the character depth. Dafoe hammed it up though and almost stole every scene he was in. Still, even after seeing the film and LOVING it....I have this gnawing at the back of my head about Kirsten Dunst. In the comics, Mary Jane Watson is a SUPER MODEL caliber chick. Just a complete knock out. Busty and tall and strong. Whenever I see Dunst, I can't help but think about the little girl from Interview with the Vampire. I guess, to me, she still seems too young. She played the character well and lent the role a lot of energy and spunk....but I felt you could dyed anyone's hair red and given them that role. The role that stays with me still is that of J. Jonah Jameson played by J.K. Simmons. WONDERFUL!!!

There's nothing that I can add to Crimson's already wonderful description of Sam Raimi's visual style. It was vibrant and dynamic. Watching this film, you got this feeling that you yourself were soaring above the streets of New York City. It was truly breathtaking. I'd like to address a comment made by Roger Ebert right here. He said he didn't like the CG. He felt that it wasn't "real enough". That it made the character seem artificial. His main gripe was that he didn't feel that it was a real 140 lbs. kid swinging above a city but just a weightless cartoon just doing whatever it wants...however it can. Let me just take a moment to respond to this. Ahem!! FAT ASS!!!! Spider-Man is a super hero. He was bit by a super spider and given it's powers. He's granted unheard of strength and speed and agility. He ceases to be a 140 lbs. kid. He's Spider-Man, you nimrod!! A COMIC BOOK HERO. This wasn't Cider House Rules 2! I felt that the use of CG was done a bit badly in one scene. After a night of webslinging, Peter comes home and takes off his mask and you can tell that the mask was just computer generated on his head and animated off of him. I guess it was done too fast or something but it still looked pretty bad. Other than that, my fears of terrible CGI were set at ease.

Not only did we get treated to Sam Raimi's usual visual flare but also a couple cameos to boot. There was some Lucy Lawless (married to Raimi's best friend, Rob Tapert) as a Wrestler chick. "Macho Man" Randy Savage as Bone Saw. Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben. Ted Raimi (Sam's little brother) as a newspaper exec. And Bruce Campbell as the ring announcer who first dubs Peter Park as "Spider-Man". (We recently talked to Bruce....you can check out the interview here)

Comic fans, rest easy....it wasn't just cameos from actors....but some familiar faces from the comics pop in there too. If you look carefully you'll see Robbie Robertson (Peter's only ally at the Daily Bugle), Flash Thompson (bully jock who eventually becomes Peter's best buddy) and Eddie Brock....the one who goes on to become Venom. Raimi's attention to detail in this flick was incredible.

The plot was classic and the story flowed fluidly. Sometimes it felt like you were watching a comic book unfold right in front of your eyes. Peter learning to use his powers. The parallel birth of the villain. Peter learning to become a hero. The hero and the villain with a classic, comic book scene on top of a building as Goblin tries to talk Spider-Man into joining him. All of it revolving around the central theme of the Spider-Man comics..."With great power comes great responsibility"

I'd like to address another complaint that others have had about the film. Namely Mr. Ebert. Roger says that he felt like there wasn't enough internal conflict involved. That he would have liked to have seen the film a little darker...a little more realistic when it came to Peter learning to deal with these new gifts. Well, asshole, we can look at this one of two ways....

A. What you wanted was another Batman film. Spider-Man is not a dark, brooding character. He doesn't have a hate on for the world around him. Despite the tragedy in his life, he's a happy go lucky kinda character. That's why the film bursts with such a bright comic book color. It completely reflects the character. With Batman, Bruce Wayne keeps putting away villain after viallain, trying to find a place where the loss of his parents doesn't hurt anymore. Spider-Man isn't trying to kill the hurt. He's accepted it and taken "responsibility" and decided to use his powers to make sure nobody else has to suffer the way he did. He's happy with that.

B. Peter Parker was a weakling and a nerd. He had nothing special going for him. Suddenly he gets these powers and it gives him an incredible physique, agility, strength, the ability to stick to walls. He's not gonna suffer over this. He's gonna embrace it. He's finally special.

This film will please comic fans beyone belief. There are some slight differences from the comic to the movie....Peter is granted an extra power in the film. Non-comic fans....go see it. Just don't walk in expecting some kind of emotional roller coaster or something like that. If you liked X-Men and Batman then you oughta enjoy the hell out of this movie. Go see it with your friends...go see it with your family. Go see it soon. Just don't see it at the Cinemark Webb Chapel. The sound kept popping in and out of stereo and mono and the film went wildly out of focus for a good 5 minutes. And get there early enough for the trailers. The teaster trailer to Ang Lee's The Hulk will get you right in the mood for some comic book action.

Mark it in the history books, folks. Crimson and Joe agree on something. I give the movie a 4.5 out of 5 as well. However, I'm still convinced that Crimson is still just an idiot who happened to string some words together the right way this time. Kidding there, bud. WHY ARE YOU STILL READING THIS!? GO SEE THE DAMN MOVIE!!!

God, I can't wait for X-Men 2.