Spider-Man (Spider-Man / Spider-Man 2 (DVD))

Member Name: sharktrager

Product:	Spider-Man / Spider-Man 2 (DVD)
Date:	02/01/02 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Special Effects Look Great, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafe

Disadvantages: /

SPIDER-MAN is due to be released in May this year, and I for one am very much looking forward to it. I've always been a fan of comic-book superheroes, although those published by DC Comics have always been more to my taste than Marvel's (Spider-Man comes from the Marvel stable).

The storyline of the film is reported to be as follows: Peter Parker is an orphan who lives with his aunt and uncle. He's a student and also a publisher for the fictional New York newspaper The Daily Bugle. During a science demonstration on a school trip he is bitten by a spider, which has been genetically modified. This results in Parker developing super-powers, and after his uncle is killed by a burglar Parker decides to become a costumed superhero (called Spider-Man, surprise surprise). His biggest foe turns out to be the father of one his friends, Harry. This is Norman Osborn, who has developed extra-special intelligence and strength, but who has also gone mad, becoming evil supervillain Green Goblin.

Peter Parken/Spider-Man is played by Tobey Maguire. I don't know much about Maguire, although I did see him in PLEASANTVILLE. That was a charming movie, and he was good in it.

Parker's girlfriend Mary Jane is played by Kirsten Dunst. Dunst's most famous role was her debut when still a child in INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. Although she has appeared in some good films since (including DICK and THE VIRGIN SUICIDES) she hasn't yet lived up to the promise of that early role. Hopefully SPIDER-MAN will change that for her.

The evil Green Goblin is played by Willem Dafoe, an excellent actor who has appeared in many first-rate films. My favourite from his back-catalogue has got to be STREETS OF FIRE. He's not exactly the best-looking of actors, but he certainly can ACT and I hope he will bring added quality to SPIDER-MAN.

The movie went through years of legal wrangling before finally going into production. At one point James
Cameron wrote a script and was due to direct it, and this was the first time that I got excited about the movie. Sadly, Cameron is no longer attached to the film, and instead it is being directed by Sam Raimi. My views on Raimi's most famous film (THE EVIL DEAD, also his debut feature) are well-known. I don't like it, but that doesn't mean that I hold it against him! He has directed a number of other movies in other genres (such as FOR LOVE OF THE GAME, a baseball drama starring Kevin Costner) and so I hope that he is making a film that I will like more than THE EVIL DEAD.

As I said before, I like comic-book superheroes, and those characters have large fan bases. The fan base for the character of Spider-Man is very vocal, and have voiced their opinions on aspects of the film which they think are 'wrong'. One of the features of this type of movie which often causes controversy is what is done with the superhero costume. Spider-Man has had a number of costumes over the years (as have most superheroes), in addition to the one which everyone knows - he even had a classy black number at one point (or was that his clone? I forget, the storylines of these comics get so convoluted!). However, the filmmakers decided to go with the classic costume for the movie, and it certainly looks good on the various teasers and trailers which can be downloaded at numerous sites on the internet.

SPIDER-MAN is one of the must-see movies of 2002, and I look forward to seeing it later in the year.

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