The keenest lesson a lot of fans will take away from this first major Spidey feature is that patience is rewarded. Global legions who obsess over the 40-year-old Marvel Comics creation of writer Stan Lee and designer Steve Ditko have had plenty of time to absorb all the particulars of Spider-Man, his family and friends, and especially his enemies: Dr. Octopus, Venom, and my freaky fave, Typeface, to name but a few. Here, however, screenwriter David Koepp wisely sticks to only one major villain -- the Green Goblin -- and tells the origin of the great web-slinger thoughtfully, as if for the first time.
Commencing with an appropriately webby title sequence and the familiar syncopations of composer Danny Elfman (who knows from superheroes, including Batman and Raimi's own inventive Darkman), we get straight to business. The kicked boy in question is 17-year-old Peter Parker (26-year-old Tobey Maguire), a dweeby schlub who resides with his sweet, elderly Aunt May (Rosemary Harris, perfect) and compassionate Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson, likewise) in a cookie-cutter house in Forest Hills, Queens, New York.
Introducing himself via voice-over with the appropriate tone of a boy-man who still takes himself entirely seriously, Parker explains, somewhat misleadingly, that "this, like any story worth telling, is about a girl." Indeed, although eventually the proverbial tiger hits something akin to the proverbial jackpot, there's an inner mountain to climb to reach Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst in a fetching red wig), who is now, in this telling, literally the girl next door. Mary Jane -- or MJ -- is everything a science geek-cum-photographer-cum-graphic artist could desire, and, refreshingly, she's content to be engaging and pleasant rather than just running around kicking arbitrary ass. For most of the film, however, the nymph's reply to the nerd is (paraphrased), "um... like... um..." The nice way of saying no.
Life for bumbling, bespectacled Peter seems to be a great big bang-up, his true parents dead, his presence mocked by the mean kids on the bus, and his thunder consistently stolen by MJ's dumb-ass boyfriend, Flash Thompson (Joe Manganiello). All this changes when his high school class is invited to Columbia University to explore, you know, one of those exhibits dedicated to nanotechnology and genetically mutated spiders. Even though the class's teacher (Shan Omar Huey) tries to keep order, the barbaric Flash steals Peter's technical observations to impress MJ. In turn, Peter takes glamour shots of MJ with the arachnids. And then fate strikes.
Using the loudest set of fangs imaginable, an escaped über-spider descends onto Peter's hand and seals his destiny. Peter excuses himself, returns home, declines dinner, and collapses to his bedroom floor, the better to transmogrify into a unique human-spider hybrid. The next morn, Peter's got a brand-new bag, from the (possibly computer-generated) cut abs to the perfect vision (no more specs) to surprising powers that play out in splendidly directed action scenes at his school. The homoerotic subtext of the superhero genre is minimized (except for a funny pro-wrestling sequence), and the boy's on his way to herohood.
And here's where it gets mythic, as the birth of any hero immediately summons the presence of a suitable nemesis. Early on, Koepp and Raimi introduce us to Peter's friend Harry Osborn (James Franco, star of TNT's James Dean) and to Harry's military-industrialist father, Norman (a very game Willem Dafoe). Although Harry's friendly enough, another of the movie's lessons is never trust the wealthy. Not only does Harry try to put the moves on MJ but his mega-tycoon father has the sheer audacity to turn himself into a flying, homicidal maniac in peculiarly stupid-looking armor. This process involves career tension at the family biz, Oscorp, plus the assistance of well-intentioned fellow scientist Dr. Mendel Stromm (Ron Perkins), wicked military experiments, and a scary lab accident. Thanks to milky contact lenses and some shock edits -- one of them sensationally cheap -- the nasty Green Goblin is born.
Raimi's Evil Dead films -- especially the utterly charming Army of Darkness -- allowed him to explore the struggles of a lone hero in a world gone mad. With these wild horrors, as well as the Hercules and Xena series he developed and produced, he gave himself carte blanche to strip-mine mythology, lace it with yuks, and serve it up in outlandishly cinematic terms. None of his trademark style is lost on Spider-Man, which allows the director to play with all sorts of knockout visuals (effects by John Dykstra and sorties of animators; costumes by the brilliant James Acheson) while telling a universal story. The effects are smashing, yet there's a heart behind them.
Peter Parker's heart keeps Spider-Man from becoming a mere effects showcase (though much of the web-slinging, especially the early, trial-and-error stuff, is a hoot). Maguire is ideal for the role, working through vulnerability, smugness, and guilt after he inadvertently allows the murder of a loved one. Dunst is equally suited to MJ, filling her role with stunning veracity. She reveals so much potential here that one hopes she's allowed, in the sequels, to be less distressed and more proactive. As for Dafoe, though he sometimes channels Jack Nicholson's ill-cast Joker, his supernatural turn in Shadow of the Vampire has prepped him well; he definitely doesn't need the silly goblin helmet to be scary.
Spider-Man spins like a dream, yet its fantasy has its limitations. Furthermore, MJ becomes all too quickly enamored of Spidey's organic webshooter (if you know what I'm saying). Such quibbles aside, however, it's unlikely that too many romantic, coming-of-age, family-oriented, stridently patriotic, big-studio superhero movies will launch this year. If suchlike sounds appealing, swing by and marvel.
