El hombre araña

Classic! It's a simple origin story that leads into a rivalry between Peter Parker/ Spider-Man and one of his most iconic foes the Green Goblin. The movie gets more intense as it goes on while also being a 50/50 spilt with Peter Parker's personal life. Very easy to follow. If you want to keep your kid busy for two hours, put this on for them, but you'll probably be just as engaged as they will be. The theme is also very recognizable. What makes Spider-Man so great is that he learns responsibility after many mistakes, which makes him relatable. The acting is great while the dialogue is cheesy, but that's what you'll get out of any early 2000 comic book movie. The cinematography is great too, but you'll probably see it improved in the 2nd and 3rd movie, at least in my opinion. It's fast paced and great and iconic scenes just keep coming one after another. The effects look good for its time but nothing mind blowing. Great sound and the score is iconic and one of the best themes for a superhero. Sam Raimi knew how to do Spider-Man right and this movie is truly one of its kind. 10/10. A+.

Really good movie, I enjoyed the whole Trilogy with Toby Maguire but this was the best of the 3. Willem Dafoe made an excellent villain as the Green Goblin. Excellent super hero movie.

Poignant, fun and a faithful adaptation to the original comic book. I am very critical of comic book movies since I am a huge fan of the medium and was tremendously disappointed in the Superman and Batman movies (all of them, some greatly!). This film however has again demonstrated that an adaptation of a comic book story can be fun and faithful to the story, yet be a film for all ages and those who may not have ever even read a comic book. The Crow was the only other good comic book movie in my opinion, but it was not an all ages fun ride as this is!

I had the privilege of seeing the film last night, 4-30-02, in SF with the press and 300+ other folks for its "Bay Area Premiere".

The acting is the finest portion of the film with the leads giving us depth that I was unsure would be allowed by the style of story chosen. Maguire was outstanding at being a guy who can rarely catch a break, but attract difficulty with ease and aplomb. He is awkward with the woman he loves, but eloquent when dealing with the familiar, just as most teenagers are even today. He gave us wonderful joy at the prospect of "web swinging" and kicking some much deserved ass! Dafoe is wonderfully scary as the man who has succumbed to the power games of the corporate world that drives a decent man mad striving for perfection in himself while trying to hard to please all the wrong people to no avail and then being consumed by guilt that has built over the years of family neglect which finally helps to push him over the edge when an opportunity to make a huge mistake presents itself.

The rest of cast is nearly as spectacular with the J.K. Simmons turning in the best performance in the film as J. Jonah Jamason. When he appeared on screen things lite up even more and he was on fire making everyone in the audience laugh and myself nearly p** my pants. Harris as Aunt May and Robertson as Uncle Ben were excellent choices and gave the film a great deal of its credibility and finesse. Letting what happens to Ben and Peter (I am not telling) was wonderful and the best punctuation to what makes Peter do what he does and brings complete credibility to the story. I am not a huge Dunst fan, but she was just fine as the love of Peter Parker's life and a person much like Peter only neither was conscious of the fact. This to me is a more real version of "true love".

The script was far stronger than I expected with some wonderful dialog; verbal exchanges, solid plot points and pacing. Many a good parenting lesson can be found in this film as well as interesting thoughts about the choices that we make in life that we might think are no big deal when in the heat of passion, but may well come back to haunt us if we don't think before we act/speak: which is the trust of the film in my humble opinion.

The direction from Raimi was also much better than I anticipated coming from someone who is known (and loved) for his over the top camp and action. Many of the fight and action sequences where more "over done" than I like, but they were solid and much like a comic of the Silver Age from whence the story comes so it fit the film fine. Nice cinematography without the CGI taking over and detracting from the realism, in fact it made much of the web swinging truly believable. A few points made things a bit hard to "believe", but over all I think most folks will be able to suspend their disbelief.

Danny Elfman. Need I say more? He is the man when it comes to "super hero" music and is the closest thing to John Willams and the late great Bernard Herman there is today. He subtly sets the mood and most of the audience probably doesn't even realize it. Tomorrow is my day off and I will be purchasing the score to add to my collection!

I am not into action films particularly,(I'm 17) but this was a really pleasant surprise. This is a well-designed, well-acted and well-directed film, that is close to the comics, which my younger brother used to collect. I loved the music score by Danny Elfman, very like Batman. The special effects were excellent, especially with the scene on the bridge, and the direction from Sam Raimi was fast-paced and secure. But for me, the acting was the best aspect of the movie. Tobey Maguire was the biggest surprise. Usually actors playing comic book heroes are bland, but Maguire was not that at all. If anything he was very charming. Kirsten Dunst portrays the thankless role of the damsel in distress, and I must say, she is very impressive. J.K Simmons gets the most laughs as Jameson, but the best actor was Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn aka the Green Goblin. He not only looked the part of the Green Goblin, but brought some welcome gravitas to the role. The story is sweet and sometimes poignant towards the beginning, though the only real complaints I have of this movie is that the script at times is a little uneven, and the film is a bit long. All in all, a satisfying take on the comic book hero. 8/10 Bethany Cox.

"With great power comes great responsibility".These words, spoken by Peter Parker's uncle Ben(Cliff Robertson)during their last conversation and which have become Spider-Man's motto, also perfectly represent the challenge Sam Raimi was facing when asked to bring one of America's most loved superheroes to the screen.

You can relax, fellas: Raimi's movie is definitely worth a look.Loosely based on the origin story and the Stan Lee/John Romita Sr. run, it's a fascinating mix of spectacular action and powerful drama, as it chronicles Peter Parker's(Tobey Maguire) transformation into a superhuman and the responsibilities deriving from said metamorphosis: while fighting crime to avenge his uncle's death, he also has to deal with his feelings for Mary Jane Watson(Kirsten Dunst) and his friendship with Harry Osborn(James Franco); add Harry's father Norman(Willem Dafoe), who's become schizophrenic psycho Green Goblin, and you've got a quite complicated situation.

Raimi's excellent at showing us the hero's pain, as well as the one he causes to others, and he gets terrific performances from the entire cast, particularly Maguire, Dafoe and Robertson.

On its own, it's a very good superhero flick, alongside the sequel, it's an absolute masterpiece.

Recommended even if you don't care about the comics.