Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 16-May-04
Spoiler Rating: Low

Spider-Man (2002)

Perhaps there was something in the stars, an auspicious alignment of planets or something, when "Spider-Man" opened to an astonishing $114 million haul on its first weekend. Sure, the movie had a huge marketing push, name recognition, and cool special effects, but so do lots of other pictures that don't rake in nearly as much dough. Why was it so instantly popular? Was it because the unlikely protagonist is a nerdy Everyman to whom people can relate? Or because he was the first superhero to hit theaters after 9/11? Whatever the reason, moviegoers flocked to "Spider-Man" like bees to honey --- and the really cool thing is that they were treated to something worthy of all the excitement.

Don't get me wrong: "Spider-Man" isn't a great film, but it's a solid bit of storytelling that bears the mark of artists who care about what they're doing. From Danny Elfman's excellent score to the soaring, CGI thrill rides through New York City, nothing about "Spider-Man" is shoddy. Director Sam Raimi combines an eye for detail with a fanboy's love of the subject to produce a popcorn flick that possesses character and heart as well as eye-popping action.

The filmmakers' devotion to the source material is obvious in the way the movie takes its time fleshing out the nature and history of Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), a brainy high school senior with zero social standing and a lifelong crush on the girl next door (Kirsten Dunst). By devoting the first hour to the driving ambitions and simultaneous metamorphoses of Peter and his eventual nemesis (Willem Dafoe), the film invites us to care about the players as more than representations of good and bad, preserver and destroyer (which benefits not only this story but the franchise overall). The smackdown between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin doesn't heat up until we have accompanied Peter through heartbreak and intense longing which dictate his future as much as, if not more than, his supernatural transformation. The opening scene may identify this as a story about a girl, but it's also a story about a boy writhing into manhood, and the many diverse people who, one way or another, are destined to help him get there.

Maguire, as one of few young actors who could convincingly swoon, look dangerous, and say "Gee" in the course of one film, perfectly depicts the hero's struggle between what he wants to do and what he ought to do. The rest of the cast offers laudable performances that are appropriately confused (Dunst), sweet (Rosemary Harris as Peter's aunt), or comedic (J. K. Simmons as a cigar-chomping newsman), although James Franco makes Peter's best friend slightly too limpid and the script's attempt at demonizing the Green Goblin dampens Dafoe's otherwise powerful impression. (Somehow, his dramatized schizophrenia doesn't come off as successfully as Gollum's did a short while later.)

"Spider-Man" winds down a bit before its end, with the obligatory heightening of tensions leading to the big showdown. Yet the last scene brings the viewer back to the beginning, to the issue of a kid who wants things he cannot have (and, now, has things he doesn't want). We're left with the image of a hero who still has a long road ahead of him, and with the pleasurable sensation that his journey matters to us.

Copyright © 2004 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.