My Review of "Spider-Man (2002)"

Spider-Man (2002) kicked off a long line-up of superhero movies. I remember it ushering in another superhero renaissance. Though I see the groundwork from older superhero movies in this movie as well. Back when this first came out it was such a revelation. Watching this again over 20 years later still gives me great enjoyment and a resurgence of old memories.

The movie starts out with the introduction of Peter Parker. He's a loser in high school with a crush on a girl named Mary Jane. It's their last year of high school and they're off to a science museum. Here we also meet Peter's only friend, Harry. Just like Peter, Harry is a bit of a loner but Harry has a rich father, Norman Osborne.

During the trip , Peter tries to get the attention of Mary Jane by getting her to pose for school newspaper pictures he was taking. All of a sudden some genetically modified spider bites Peter and he suddenly doesn't feel so well.

When he gets home we meet his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. They're the loving couple that have pretty much adopted Peter. Ben wants to teach Peter some responsibility as these are Peter's formative years.

Feeling unwell Peter goes to sleep and wakes up a new man. He seems to have become super strong and gained some super abilities. Peter of course wants to get to learn all of his new abilities but this isn't without sacrifice. He's suddenly distanced himself from his aunt and uncle. He's starting to do awkward things because he doesn't understand his body anymore. It takes him a little while to get to learn the new him.

Meanwhile, Norman Osborne's company is in critical shape. They need to get their projects up and running or else the company will fold. Desperate to get the project going, Norman sacrifices himself for the company's greater good. He inadvertently gives himself super abilities as well. When he finds out that his company's board members have ousted him from his own company he goes berserk. He realizes that he has the power to control everything and everyone now.

Unfortunately for Norman the only one in his way is Spider-Man. He basically gives Spider-Man an ultimatum, join him or die. This kickstarts a very grueling fight between the two of them.

This origin story of Spider-Man is carefully crafted as you can see that it's very well constructed and planned. Everything is methodically thought out as you can see all of the characters are like dominos. Each critical moment in the movie will create a chain reaction that will have all of the dominos fall. It's really well paced as well because you can see what's going to happen and it brings intrigue as to what's going to happen next.

I see a ton of influence from the Tim Burton Batman movies. There are certain scenes that I could have sworn were ripped right out of the Batman movie. The camera angles, the transitions, the dialogue and even the music all reminded me of the Tim Burton Batman movies. Though this movie is a lot brighter and more colorful I couldn't help but notice the similarities.

I love all of the characters and I think each of the actors chosen to play their roles were spot on. You couldn't have found a better cast to play this movie. Each one of them shines in their roles and really bring the movie to life. Somehow they even made New York city a character of its own in this movie. I love how they implemented this as it gives this movie such a distinct accent.

Special effects are quite dated and there are certain scenes where you can tell the stunt double is obviously not the actor playing the character. There are times when Spider-Man will look quite muscular compared to how you see him in the rest of the movie. Some of the CGI looks quite cartoony but again this was back in 2002. They did what they could with the technology that they had.

There are so many memorable scenes in this movie. I love how J.J. Jameson never rats out Peter Parker despite the situation he's in. There is a scene where the New Yorkers band together to help out Spider-Man. All of the cheesy moments where Peter is professing his love to Mary Jane. There's too many great scenes that I love about this movie.

Overall, after over 20 years I still had so much fun with this movie. It is an all time classic movie and I say it's such a perfect Spider-Man movie. There is so much to love about this movie. Whenever this movie is on I have to watch it and I never get bored of it. It's just that good. That's why I have to give this movie a 9 out of 10. This is a classic for me and this is partly due to some great nostalgia.