Amazon.co.uk Review
The action comes thick and fast in Spider-Man--The Ultimate Villain Showdown as the web-slinging hero faces a host of fearsome foes, not least of which is his own torturous self-doubt. Kingpin, Dr Octopus and the Green Goblin all put in spirited performances in these animated tales from the 1990s, while a flashback to Spider-Man's origins ties the action together neatly.
The writing is somewhat heavy-handed in places and the animation cranky, but the four featured episodes are pacy, the villains suitably evil and a hint of darkness lends a pleasing frisson to the drama.
On the DVD: there's limited bonus material on the DVD but what's there is generally worthwhile and entertaining. In addition to an extra episode, "Return of the Green Goblin", a "Rogues Dossier" gives an interactive guide to Spider-Man's foes with statistics, trivia and video interviews with our hero's creator Stan Lee. Lee crops up again in the highlight of the bonus material, "Stan Lee's Soapbox", an engaging 20-minute insight into all things Spidey from a man who obviously loves his job. --Helen Baker
Customer Reviews:
Flawed entertainment.......2008-01-14
Spiderman is better than 3 stars but its not a 4 star movie. It starts well enough and Peter Parkers discovery of his new found powers is well done both in the School scenes and later in the wrestling/cage fight. The fight in the school is very well done and Parker's discovery of his new much faster reactions remains perhaps the highpoint of the film. Its in this section of the film that the director Sam Raimi's touch is most evident. The leading actors did a fine job and the best thing in the film is Tobey Maquire, whose portrayal is spot-on.
However as previous reviewers have said the CGI whilst pretty good is going to date as the years go by and in the second half the film loses momentum and gets more and more predictable. I also thought it should have been cut by about 10 or 15 minutes as it felt too long to me.
There are extras galore on disc 2 as well as commentaries on on disc 1. Overall it is certainly worth seeing (and at the Cinema it was very impressive) but it loses quite a lot on the small screen, and I have only bought it as I found it very cheap.
Just awful.......2007-10-15
Toby Maguire/Peter Parker - possibly the most annoying, whiny, charisma bereft actor/character in any superhero film. He's just got one of those faces that says "punch me" and a voice you want to throttle. Add that to a rubbish cheesy script, lacklustre performances and cheap looking CGI and you have the most dissappointing hero flick since Hulk.
Spiderman Thrills.......2007-10-10
The film is truly brilliant in casting the nerdy Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, and the beautiful Kirsten Dunst as literally, the girl next door.
What I love about the film is the fact that you can immediately identify with the Peter Parker character, and so he becomes more believable. The film mixes the down to earth nature of Peter Parker with the exciting out of this world power that he has as spiderman in effortless harmony. Whilst the story develops our hero from nerdy boy to responsible hero, but he learns his lessons the hard way.
Buy this to enjoy the moment that Peter Parker became Spiderman.
A really enjoyable movie.......2007-08-30
I felt that this film did a fantastic job of taking a great comic book to the big screen.
It is a really enjoyable movie, and is one that I have watched again and again. It is one of the few DVDs I've decided to keep in my collection, whilst I sell the others off due to only ever watching them once.
Die hard fans of the comic will probably get wound up by certain aspects of the film, but I think they just need to get over it, and enjoy what is a great, and fun, film.
AMAZING FUN.......2007-08-07
Hugely entertaining from the outset, Spiderman is very much the big screen Marvel equivalent to DC's Superman. Both have a bright outlook, both films aren't too dark, in the way that Tim Burton and Bryan Singer would do it, while there is a sense of humor along the way that does not border on camp (take note Joel Schumacher). Where Sam Raimi succeeds, in much the same way that Richard Donner, Richard Lester, Tim Burton and Bryan Singer succeeded too, is that while remaining faithful to the source material, he isn't afraid to put a little of his own spin into it, so we get some of the trademarks such as Bruce Campbell and at times some horrifying violence (not to horrifying mind, the film is a 12 certificate), but he retains the charm of the comic book and does a faithful adaptation of the source, especially with regards to the back story of the character, which is where this film works the most. Yes the action sequences are spectacular, but it is the smaller character moments where Raimi really succeeds at, surprising considering he is the film maker behind the Evil Dead films.
The portrayal of Peter's love for Mary Jane is superbly done, further enhanced by Tobey Maguire. Sure he may not look the part of Spiderman, but he is Spiderman. This quirky piece of casting works in much the same way that Micheal Keaton did in the first Batman movie. He may not fully look the part, but playing it can be a different matter. Maguire is superb, particularly when playing out the reason that he becomes Spiderman, in a scene that does not flinch away from the most important part of the back story of the comic book. Likewise Willem Dafoe is wonderfully over the top as the Green Goblin. While not immediately a scene stealer in the way Jack Nicholson was in Batman or Ian McKellen in X Men or even Gene Hackman in Superman, Dafoe is an actor's actor and the excellence of the scenes where his split personality comes to the surface are over the top in a wonderful comic book movie way. As for Kirsten Dunst, how could you not fall in love with her. Talented and beautiful, like Maguire this is perfect casting and Raimi has good ingredients to work with here.
When Parker does become Spiderman the film dips into traditional comic book fare, he saves damsels in distress while the Green Goblin makes his a choice between saving M-J or some kids to which he does both, but nevertheless the film remains constantly entertaining and Raimi isn't afraid to be that little bit brutal with the final confrontation between good guy and bad guy. Even better is that while the ending is open, it doesn't have the the aura of sequel hunting that X Men had. In fact it is more in line with Batman and Superman. Parker will always be around to fight evil and the film's story is resolved.
The film is fantastically entertaining, never bores and is undeniably one of the best comic book adaptations to hit the screen. Raimi has got it perfect and I for one cannot wait for the sequel.
Amazon.co.uk Review
The action comes thick and fast in Spider-Man--The Ultimate Villain Showdown as the web-slinging hero faces a host of fearsome foes, not least of which is his own torturous self-doubt. Kingpin, Dr Octopus and the Green Goblin all put in spirited performances in these animated tales from the 1990s, while a flashback to Spider-Man's origins ties the action together neatly.
The writing is somewhat heavy-handed in places and the animation cranky, but the four featured episodes are pacy, the villains suitably evil and a hint of darkness lends a pleasing frisson to the drama.
On the DVD: there's limited bonus material on the DVD but what's there is generally worthwhile and entertaining. In addition to an extra episode, "Return of the Green Goblin", a "Rogues Dossier" gives an interactive guide to Spider-Man's foes with statistics, trivia and video interviews with our hero's creator Stan Lee. Lee crops up again in the highlight of the bonus material, "Stan Lee's Soapbox", an engaging 20-minute insight into all things Spidey from a man who obviously loves his job. --Helen Baker
Customer Reviews:
Flawed entertainment.......2008-01-14
Spiderman is better than 3 stars but its not a 4 star movie. It starts well enough and Peter Parkers discovery of his new found powers is well done both in the School scenes and later in the wrestling/cage fight. The fight in the school is very well done and Parker's discovery of his new much faster reactions remains perhaps the highpoint of the film. Its in this section of the film that the director Sam Raimi's touch is most evident. The leading actors did a fine job and the best thing in the film is Tobey Maquire, whose portrayal is spot-on.
However as previous reviewers have said the CGI whilst pretty good is going to date as the years go by and in the second half the film loses momentum and gets more and more predictable. I also thought it should have been cut by about 10 or 15 minutes as it felt too long to me.
There are extras galore on disc 2 as well as commentaries on on disc 1. Overall it is certainly worth seeing (and at the Cinema it was very impressive) but it loses quite a lot on the small screen, and I have only bought it as I found it very cheap.
Just awful.......2007-10-15
Toby Maguire/Peter Parker - possibly the most annoying, whiny, charisma bereft actor/character in any superhero film. He's just got one of those faces that says "punch me" and a voice you want to throttle. Add that to a rubbish cheesy script, lacklustre performances and cheap looking CGI and you have the most dissappointing hero flick since Hulk.
Spiderman Thrills.......2007-10-10
The film is truly brilliant in casting the nerdy Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, and the beautiful Kirsten Dunst as literally, the girl next door.
What I love about the film is the fact that you can immediately identify with the Peter Parker character, and so he becomes more believable. The film mixes the down to earth nature of Peter Parker with the exciting out of this world power that he has as spiderman in effortless harmony. Whilst the story develops our hero from nerdy boy to responsible hero, but he learns his lessons the hard way.
Buy this to enjoy the moment that Peter Parker became Spiderman.
A really enjoyable movie.......2007-08-30
I felt that this film did a fantastic job of taking a great comic book to the big screen.
It is a really enjoyable movie, and is one that I have watched again and again. It is one of the few DVDs I've decided to keep in my collection, whilst I sell the others off due to only ever watching them once.
Die hard fans of the comic will probably get wound up by certain aspects of the film, but I think they just need to get over it, and enjoy what is a great, and fun, film.
AMAZING FUN.......2007-08-07
Hugely entertaining from the outset, Spiderman is very much the big screen Marvel equivalent to DC's Superman. Both have a bright outlook, both films aren't too dark, in the way that Tim Burton and Bryan Singer would do it, while there is a sense of humor along the way that does not border on camp (take note Joel Schumacher). Where Sam Raimi succeeds, in much the same way that Richard Donner, Richard Lester, Tim Burton and Bryan Singer succeeded too, is that while remaining faithful to the source material, he isn't afraid to put a little of his own spin into it, so we get some of the trademarks such as Bruce Campbell and at times some horrifying violence (not to horrifying mind, the film is a 12 certificate), but he retains the charm of the comic book and does a faithful adaptation of the source, especially with regards to the back story of the character, which is where this film works the most. Yes the action sequences are spectacular, but it is the smaller character moments where Raimi really succeeds at, surprising considering he is the film maker behind the Evil Dead films.
The portrayal of Peter's love for Mary Jane is superbly done, further enhanced by Tobey Maguire. Sure he may not look the part of Spiderman, but he is Spiderman. This quirky piece of casting works in much the same way that Micheal Keaton did in the first Batman movie. He may not fully look the part, but playing it can be a different matter. Maguire is superb, particularly when playing out the reason that he becomes Spiderman, in a scene that does not flinch away from the most important part of the back story of the comic book. Likewise Willem Dafoe is wonderfully over the top as the Green Goblin. While not immediately a scene stealer in the way Jack Nicholson was in Batman or Ian McKellen in X Men or even Gene Hackman in Superman, Dafoe is an actor's actor and the excellence of the scenes where his split personality comes to the surface are over the top in a wonderful comic book movie way. As for Kirsten Dunst, how could you not fall in love with her. Talented and beautiful, like Maguire this is perfect casting and Raimi has good ingredients to work with here.
When Parker does become Spiderman the film dips into traditional comic book fare, he saves damsels in distress while the Green Goblin makes his a choice between saving M-J or some kids to which he does both, but nevertheless the film remains constantly entertaining and Raimi isn't afraid to be that little bit brutal with the final confrontation between good guy and bad guy. Even better is that while the ending is open, it doesn't have the the aura of sequel hunting that X Men had. In fact it is more in line with Batman and Superman. Parker will always be around to fight evil and the film's story is resolved.
The film is fantastically entertaining, never bores and is undeniably one of the best comic book adaptations to hit the screen. Raimi has got it perfect and I for one cannot wait for the sequel.
Amazon.co.uk Review
The action comes thick and fast in Spider-Man--The Ultimate Villain Showdown as the web-slinging hero faces a host of fearsome foes, not least of which is his own torturous self-doubt. Kingpin, Dr Octopus and the Green Goblin all put in spirited performances in these animated tales from the 1990s, while a flashback to Spider-Man's origins ties the action together neatly.
The writing is somewhat heavy-handed in places and the animation cranky, but the four featured episodes are pacy, the villains suitably evil and a hint of darkness lends a pleasing frisson to the drama.
On the DVD: there's limited bonus material on the DVD but what's there is generally worthwhile and entertaining. In addition to an extra episode, "Return of the Green Goblin", a "Rogues Dossier" gives an interactive guide to Spider-Man's foes with statistics, trivia and video interviews with our hero's creator Stan Lee. Lee crops up again in the highlight of the bonus material, "Stan Lee's Soapbox", an engaging 20-minute insight into all things Spidey from a man who obviously loves his job. --Helen Baker
Customer Reviews:
Flawed entertainment.......2008-01-14
Spiderman is better than 3 stars but its not a 4 star movie. It starts well enough and Peter Parkers discovery of his new found powers is well done both in the School scenes and later in the wrestling/cage fight. The fight in the school is very well done and Parker's discovery of his new much faster reactions remains perhaps the highpoint of the film. Its in this section of the film that the director Sam Raimi's touch is most evident. The leading actors did a fine job and the best thing in the film is Tobey Maquire, whose portrayal is spot-on.
However as previous reviewers have said the CGI whilst pretty good is going to date as the years go by and in the second half the film loses momentum and gets more and more predictable. I also thought it should have been cut by about 10 or 15 minutes as it felt too long to me.
There are extras galore on disc 2 as well as commentaries on on disc 1. Overall it is certainly worth seeing (and at the Cinema it was very impressive) but it loses quite a lot on the small screen, and I have only bought it as I found it very cheap.
Just awful.......2007-10-15
Toby Maguire/Peter Parker - possibly the most annoying, whiny, charisma bereft actor/character in any superhero film. He's just got one of those faces that says "punch me" and a voice you want to throttle. Add that to a rubbish cheesy script, lacklustre performances and cheap looking CGI and you have the most dissappointing hero flick since Hulk.
Spiderman Thrills.......2007-10-10
The film is truly brilliant in casting the nerdy Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, and the beautiful Kirsten Dunst as literally, the girl next door.
What I love about the film is the fact that you can immediately identify with the Peter Parker character, and so he becomes more believable. The film mixes the down to earth nature of Peter Parker with the exciting out of this world power that he has as spiderman in effortless harmony. Whilst the story develops our hero from nerdy boy to responsible hero, but he learns his lessons the hard way.
Buy this to enjoy the moment that Peter Parker became Spiderman.
A really enjoyable movie.......2007-08-30
I felt that this film did a fantastic job of taking a great comic book to the big screen.
It is a really enjoyable movie, and is one that I have watched again and again. It is one of the few DVDs I've decided to keep in my collection, whilst I sell the others off due to only ever watching them once.
Die hard fans of the comic will probably get wound up by certain aspects of the film, but I think they just need to get over it, and enjoy what is a great, and fun, film.
AMAZING FUN.......2007-08-07
Hugely entertaining from the outset, Spiderman is very much the big screen Marvel equivalent to DC's Superman. Both have a bright outlook, both films aren't too dark, in the way that Tim Burton and Bryan Singer would do it, while there is a sense of humor along the way that does not border on camp (take note Joel Schumacher). Where Sam Raimi succeeds, in much the same way that Richard Donner, Richard Lester, Tim Burton and Bryan Singer succeeded too, is that while remaining faithful to the source material, he isn't afraid to put a little of his own spin into it, so we get some of the trademarks such as Bruce Campbell and at times some horrifying violence (not to horrifying mind, the film is a 12 certificate), but he retains the charm of the comic book and does a faithful adaptation of the source, especially with regards to the back story of the character, which is where this film works the most. Yes the action sequences are spectacular, but it is the smaller character moments where Raimi really succeeds at, surprising considering he is the film maker behind the Evil Dead films.
The portrayal of Peter's love for Mary Jane is superbly done, further enhanced by Tobey Maguire. Sure he may not look the part of Spiderman, but he is Spiderman. This quirky piece of casting works in much the same way that Micheal Keaton did in the first Batman movie. He may not fully look the part, but playing it can be a different matter. Maguire is superb, particularly when playing out the reason that he becomes Spiderman, in a scene that does not flinch away from the most important part of the back story of the comic book. Likewise Willem Dafoe is wonderfully over the top as the Green Goblin. While not immediately a scene stealer in the way Jack Nicholson was in Batman or Ian McKellen in X Men or even Gene Hackman in Superman, Dafoe is an actor's actor and the excellence of the scenes where his split personality comes to the surface are over the top in a wonderful comic book movie way. As for Kirsten Dunst, how could you not fall in love with her. Talented and beautiful, like Maguire this is perfect casting and Raimi has good ingredients to work with here.
When Parker does become Spiderman the film dips into traditional comic book fare, he saves damsels in distress while the Green Goblin makes his a choice between saving M-J or some kids to which he does both, but nevertheless the film remains constantly entertaining and Raimi isn't afraid to be that little bit brutal with the final confrontation between good guy and bad guy. Even better is that while the ending is open, it doesn't have the the aura of sequel hunting that X Men had. In fact it is more in line with Batman and Superman. Parker will always be around to fight evil and the film's story is resolved.
The film is fantastically entertaining, never bores and is undeniably one of the best comic book adaptations to hit the screen. Raimi has got it perfect and I for one cannot wait for the sequel.
Amazon.co.uk Review
The action comes thick and fast in Spider-Man--The Ultimate Villain Showdown as the web-slinging hero faces a host of fearsome foes, not least of which is his own torturous self-doubt. Kingpin, Dr Octopus and the Green Goblin all put in spirited performances in these animated tales from the 1990s, while a flashback to Spider-Man's origins ties the action together neatly.
The writing is somewhat heavy-handed in places and the animation cranky, but the four featured episodes are pacy, the villains suitably evil and a hint of darkness lends a pleasing frisson to the drama.
On the DVD: there's limited bonus material on the DVD but what's there is generally worthwhile and entertaining. In addition to an extra episode, "Return of the Green Goblin", a "Rogues Dossier" gives an interactive guide to Spider-Man's foes with statistics, trivia and video interviews with our hero's creator Stan Lee. Lee crops up again in the highlight of the bonus material, "Stan Lee's Soapbox", an engaging 20-minute insight into all things Spidey from a man who obviously loves his job. --Helen Baker
Customer Reviews:
Flawed entertainment.......2008-01-14
Spiderman is better than 3 stars but its not a 4 star movie. It starts well enough and Peter Parkers discovery of his new found powers is well done both in the School scenes and later in the wrestling/cage fight. The fight in the school is very well done and Parker's discovery of his new much faster reactions remains perhaps the highpoint of the film. Its in this section of the film that the director Sam Raimi's touch is most evident. The leading actors did a fine job and the best thing in the film is Tobey Maquire, whose portrayal is spot-on.
However as previous reviewers have said the CGI whilst pretty good is going to date as the years go by and in the second half the film loses momentum and gets more and more predictable. I also thought it should have been cut by about 10 or 15 minutes as it felt too long to me.
There are extras galore on disc 2 as well as commentaries on on disc 1. Overall it is certainly worth seeing (and at the Cinema it was very impressive) but it loses quite a lot on the small screen, and I have only bought it as I found it very cheap.
Just awful.......2007-10-15
Toby Maguire/Peter Parker - possibly the most annoying, whiny, charisma bereft actor/character in any superhero film. He's just got one of those faces that says "punch me" and a voice you want to throttle. Add that to a rubbish cheesy script, lacklustre performances and cheap looking CGI and you have the most dissappointing hero flick since Hulk.
Spiderman Thrills.......2007-10-10
The film is truly brilliant in casting the nerdy Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, and the beautiful Kirsten Dunst as literally, the girl next door.
What I love about the film is the fact that you can immediately identify with the Peter Parker character, and so he becomes more believable. The film mixes the down to earth nature of Peter Parker with the exciting out of this world power that he has as spiderman in effortless harmony. Whilst the story develops our hero from nerdy boy to responsible hero, but he learns his lessons the hard way.
Buy this to enjoy the moment that Peter Parker became Spiderman.
A really enjoyable movie.......2007-08-30
I felt that this film did a fantastic job of taking a great comic book to the big screen.
It is a really enjoyable movie, and is one that I have watched again and again. It is one of the few DVDs I've decided to keep in my collection, whilst I sell the others off due to only ever watching them once.
Die hard fans of the comic will probably get wound up by certain aspects of the film, but I think they just need to get over it, and enjoy what is a great, and fun, film.
AMAZING FUN.......2007-08-07
Hugely entertaining from the outset, Spiderman is very much the big screen Marvel equivalent to DC's Superman. Both have a bright outlook, both films aren't too dark, in the way that Tim Burton and Bryan Singer would do it, while there is a sense of humor along the way that does not border on camp (take note Joel Schumacher). Where Sam Raimi succeeds, in much the same way that Richard Donner, Richard Lester, Tim Burton and Bryan Singer succeeded too, is that while remaining faithful to the source material, he isn't afraid to put a little of his own spin into it, so we get some of the trademarks such as Bruce Campbell and at times some horrifying violence (not to horrifying mind, the film is a 12 certificate), but he retains the charm of the comic book and does a faithful adaptation of the source, especially with regards to the back story of the character, which is where this film works the most. Yes the action sequences are spectacular, but it is the smaller character moments where Raimi really succeeds at, surprising considering he is the film maker behind the Evil Dead films.
The portrayal of Peter's love for Mary Jane is superbly done, further enhanced by Tobey Maguire. Sure he may not look the part of Spiderman, but he is Spiderman. This quirky piece of casting works in much the same way that Micheal Keaton did in the first Batman movie. He may not fully look the part, but playing it can be a different matter. Maguire is superb, particularly when playing out the reason that he becomes Spiderman, in a scene that does not flinch away from the most important part of the back story of the comic book. Likewise Willem Dafoe is wonderfully over the top as the Green Goblin. While not immediately a scene stealer in the way Jack Nicholson was in Batman or Ian McKellen in X Men or even Gene Hackman in Superman, Dafoe is an actor's actor and the excellence of the scenes where his split personality comes to the surface are over the top in a wonderful comic book movie way. As for Kirsten Dunst, how could you not fall in love with her. Talented and beautiful, like Maguire this is perfect casting and Raimi has good ingredients to work with here.
When Parker does become Spiderman the film dips into traditional comic book fare, he saves damsels in distress while the Green Goblin makes his a choice between saving M-J or some kids to which he does both, but nevertheless the film remains constantly entertaining and Raimi isn't afraid to be that little bit brutal with the final confrontation between good guy and bad guy. Even better is that while the ending is open, it doesn't have the the aura of sequel hunting that X Men had. In fact it is more in line with Batman and Superman. Parker will always be around to fight evil and the film's story is resolved.
The film is fantastically entertaining, never bores and is undeniably one of the best comic book adaptations to hit the screen. Raimi has got it perfect and I for one cannot wait for the sequel.
Amazon.co.uk Review
The action comes thick and fast in Spider-Man--The Ultimate Villain Showdown as the web-slinging hero faces a host of fearsome foes, not least of which is his own torturous self-doubt. Kingpin, Dr Octopus and the Green Goblin all put in spirited performances in these animated tales from the 1990s, while a flashback to Spider-Man's origins ties the action together neatly.
The writing is somewhat heavy-handed in places and the animation cranky, but the four featured episodes are pacy, the villains suitably evil and a hint of darkness lends a pleasing frisson to the drama.
On the DVD: there's limited bonus material on the DVD but what's there is generally worthwhile and entertaining. In addition to an extra episode, "Return of the Green Goblin", a "Rogues Dossier" gives an interactive guide to Spider-Man's foes with statistics, trivia and video interviews with our hero's creator Stan Lee. Lee crops up again in the highlight of the bonus material, "Stan Lee's Soapbox", an engaging 20-minute insight into all things Spidey from a man who obviously loves his job. --Helen Baker
Customer Reviews:
Flawed entertainment.......2008-01-14
Spiderman is better than 3 stars but its not a 4 star movie. It starts well enough and Peter Parkers discovery of his new found powers is well done both in the School scenes and later in the wrestling/cage fight. The fight in the school is very well done and Parker's discovery of his new much faster reactions remains perhaps the highpoint of the film. Its in this section of the film that the director Sam Raimi's touch is most evident. The leading actors did a fine job and the best thing in the film is Tobey Maquire, whose portrayal is spot-on.
However as previous reviewers have said the CGI whilst pretty good is going to date as the years go by and in the second half the film loses momentum and gets more and more predictable. I also thought it should have been cut by about 10 or 15 minutes as it felt too long to me.
There are extras galore on disc 2 as well as commentaries on on disc 1. Overall it is certainly worth seeing (and at the Cinema it was very impressive) but it loses quite a lot on the small screen, and I have only bought it as I found it very cheap.
Just awful.......2007-10-15
Toby Maguire/Peter Parker - possibly the most annoying, whiny, charisma bereft actor/character in any superhero film. He's just got one of those faces that says "punch me" and a voice you want to throttle. Add that to a rubbish cheesy script, lacklustre performances and cheap looking CGI and you have the most dissappointing hero flick since Hulk.
Spiderman Thrills.......2007-10-10
The film is truly brilliant in casting the nerdy Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, and the beautiful Kirsten Dunst as literally, the girl next door.
What I love about the film is the fact that you can immediately identify with the Peter Parker character, and so he becomes more believable. The film mixes the down to earth nature of Peter Parker with the exciting out of this world power that he has as spiderman in effortless harmony. Whilst the story develops our hero from nerdy boy to responsible hero, but he learns his lessons the hard way.
Buy this to enjoy the moment that Peter Parker became Spiderman.
A really enjoyable movie.......2007-08-30
I felt that this film did a fantastic job of taking a great comic book to the big screen.
It is a really enjoyable movie, and is one that I have watched again and again. It is one of the few DVDs I've decided to keep in my collection, whilst I sell the others off due to only ever watching them once.
Die hard fans of the comic will probably get wound up by certain aspects of the film, but I think they just need to get over it, and enjoy what is a great, and fun, film.
AMAZING FUN.......2007-08-07
Hugely entertaining from the outset, Spiderman is very much the big screen Marvel equivalent to DC's Superman. Both have a bright outlook, both films aren't too dark, in the way that Tim Burton and Bryan Singer would do it, while there is a sense of humor along the way that does not border on camp (take note Joel Schumacher). Where Sam Raimi succeeds, in much the same way that Richard Donner, Richard Lester, Tim Burton and Bryan Singer succeeded too, is that while remaining faithful to the source material, he isn't afraid to put a little of his own spin into it, so we get some of the trademarks such as Bruce Campbell and at times some horrifying violence (not to horrifying mind, the film is a 12 certificate), but he retains the charm of the comic book and does a faithful adaptation of the source, especially with regards to the back story of the character, which is where this film works the most. Yes the action sequences are spectacular, but it is the smaller character moments where Raimi really succeeds at, surprising considering he is the film maker behind the Evil Dead films.
The portrayal of Peter's love for Mary Jane is superbly done, further enhanced by Tobey Maguire. Sure he may not look the part of Spiderman, but he is Spiderman. This quirky piece of casting works in much the same way that Micheal Keaton did in the first Batman movie. He may not fully look the part, but playing it can be a different matter. Maguire is superb, particularly when playing out the reason that he becomes Spiderman, in a scene that does not flinch away from the most important part of the back story of the comic book. Likewise Willem Dafoe is wonderfully over the top as the Green Goblin. While not immediately a scene stealer in the way Jack Nicholson was in Batman or Ian McKellen in X Men or even Gene Hackman in Superman, Dafoe is an actor's actor and the excellence of the scenes where his split personality comes to the surface are over the top in a wonderful comic book movie way. As for Kirsten Dunst, how could you not fall in love with her. Talented and beautiful, like Maguire this is perfect casting and Raimi has good ingredients to work with here.
When Parker does become Spiderman the film dips into traditional comic book fare, he saves damsels in distress while the Green Goblin makes his a choice between saving M-J or some kids to which he does both, but nevertheless the film remains constantly entertaining and Raimi isn't afraid to be that little bit brutal with the final confrontation between good guy and bad guy. Even better is that while the ending is open, it doesn't have the the aura of sequel hunting that X Men had. In fact it is more in line with Batman and Superman. Parker will always be around to fight evil and the film's story is resolved.
The film is fantastically entertaining, never bores and is undeniably one of the best comic book adaptations to hit the screen. Raimi has got it perfect and I for one cannot wait for the sequel.
DVD Review:
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- Stargate SG-1: Season 5 (Vol. 21) [2001]
- Stargate SG-1: Season 7 (Vol. 36)
- Stargate SG-1 :Series 8 - Vol. 39
- Star Wars Ewok Adventures: Caravan of Courage/The Battle for Endor (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Sword of Lancelot [1963] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines [Blu-ray] [2003] [US Import]
- The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Ant Bully [US Import] [HD DVD] [2006]
- The Batman Legacy (4 Disc Box Set)
DVD Review List
DVD Review
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Spider-Man 2 [2004]
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Spider-Man 2.1 [2004]
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Hulk [2003]
Spider-Man vs Doc Ock
![Daredevil vs Spider-Man [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00007LZ46.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Daredevil vs Spider-Man [2002]
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![Spider-Man 1&2 Limited Edition 2 Pack with Long Sleeve Shirt [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://www.germanelectronics88.com/noimage.gif)
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