Spider-Man

Went back and revisited this movie for the first time in years and was actually surprised by how good it was, in fact even better than I remembered. As much as I loved the second film, which I thought was the best in the series, I find it hard not to admit that the original Spider-Man is easily the best in the series and one of the best comic book films out there.

The story here is great, it's interesting and fascinating and offers a slick take on the Peter Parker story with fantastic scene after fantastic scene, from the darker elements to the funnier moments, every nail is banged in with skill and precision.

The direction here is fantastic and I really never thought Sam Raimi was the guy for the job for a movie like this, but he proved everyone wrong here. He not only executes this new style of film with great skill but also still manages to make it unique and bring his trademark style and his trademark doses of camp and cheese flavour to the film in numerous ways that totally slide into place with surprisingly great results. If you aren't a fan of Raimi's style though these may be negatives for you, however for anyone else it's a fantastic addition that only ups the entertainment value.

The acting is great throughout and the characters are vibrant and interesting. Tobey MacGuire is Peter Parker, and in my mind he always will be - perhaps most impressive of all the cast however is Willem Dafoe's incredible performance as the evil Green Goblin/Norman Osborn. He just feeds his character so much and easily creates one of the most effective, evil and all around best movie villains out there, especially in terms of comic book movies.

Even though this film is almost a decade old now, I was surprised by how much it didn't age, everything still stands up just as well as it did back in the day, notably the visuals and computer generated effects. The movie uses both practical and computer generated imagery to their fullest (well, at the time anyway) and it still looks fantastic. The stunts are great and the fight and action scene choreography is beautifully done and shot with style.

Of course one has to mention the awesome score by Danny Elfman, which upon hearing again for the first time in years really just sent shivers down my spine. Overall it's just an incredible experience that I didn't even remember being this Great until I caught it on TV the other night. I really need to pick this up on Blu-ray. A must watch, a must buy, highly recommended.