Spiderman

I'M USING MY SPIDEY SENSE
An honest movie review with no spoilers
by Steve Young

See Spiderman "the movie," it rocks. I mean it really rocks. I saw it twice this past weekend, once with my friend, once with my parents, and I'll probably see it again before Star Wars comes out. Am I crazy? Maybe? I know my wallet is a little lighter.

Now…anyone who knows me well, knows that firstly, I don't care to go to movies that often. So when I see a movie twice in a weekend, it gotta be good.

So what makes it rock? Without spoiling it for everyone…everything, it's seamless. To start, the characters are three-dimensional. Toby Mcguire does an incredible job at playing Peter Parker. His interpretation of a shy, very human superhero, makes us feel so sorry for Spiderman that we immediately adhere to him. Kirsten Dunst is dead on at playing Mary Jane, the internally emotionally traumatized girl that shields her true feelings with a fake smile. Every story needs a great villain, and the performance by Willem Dofoe as the Green Goblin was very convincing. The Green Goblin also had the elements of a three-dimensional character: he's an evil loving father who wants nothing but the best for his son, but needs to kill Spiderman, who just happens to be his son's best friend. How's that for inner conflict. When's the last time a villain in any action adventure movie had that much inner conflict?

Fast forward to the computer animation. Simply amazing. A combination of Sam Reis signature style of camera whips mixed very well with the action scenes! And from the looks of it, I think Sam has clearly taken advantage of the new 3D panning systems that computers can now create. Watch the movie, you'll know what I mean. My hats off to the cinematographers, those who sit behind the lense and in front of the computer.

Now I know you probably read Roger Eberts review on Spiderman and how he bashes the computer graphics in here. He says something along the lines of the computer animation looking unrealistic and unbelievable. His main problem is that no human can possibly swing through the air like Spiderman. Look, I have the utmost respect for Mr. Ebert, he really gave me some sound advice when I was an aspiring screenwriter. But he's way off on this one. Ease up Roger, Spiderman is a spider - man. He's superhuman! I had no problem with the computer graphics and actually was at a sense of awe…I literally said… "That was cool." To see a man swing from building to building was just incredible. I got the same feeling that I got when I first saw Jurassic Park. That same "awe feeling." Again, go see the movie, you'll see what I'm talking about.

As a former screenwriter, and I note…professional not aspiring, I can also attest that this script is probably one of the most tightly written scripts out there on the market today. Aspiring screenwriters, movie directors, actors and actresses, you will not find a better action/adventure script in the movie theater at the time. This movie has everything, from 3D characters, conflict, all the elements of foreshadowing, comic relief, tight dialogue, a unique love story,……there are no gimmicks here. Again, this is a very tightly written script……

The final test to justify my claim that Spiderman is one of the greatest movies this year is that my dad did not fall asleep! Usually I get a snore or a half open eye before I elbow him to wake up. But he stayed up and told me after the movie, "Hey, that was pretty good."

Five stars out of four. Spiderman rocks.