Superhero Awards 2nd runner up

 Character development matters here. I’m not a comic book fan looking to see a silver screen version of what I spend all of my spare time reading about. Think of me, movie maker people, as the person who isn’t a sure thing to buy a ticket even if I hate your movie. I’m the person who wants to see an interesting character and come to root for them to go to another level, and rise to a unique challenge that I can relate to. 

Spider-Man (2002) is just what the doctor ordered. Tobey  Maguire’s Peter Parker is an outcast teenager under the care of very a loving Aunt and Uncle who are raising him. They don’t relate well to Peter’s issues but they do care deeply for him and also have his best interests at heart in all ways. 

Peter is torn between rebelling against their well intentioned but seemingly outdated ways and a desire to help and protect them in a world that is hard for all of them to get by in. It’s his impulsiveness in a desire to resolve this tension that leads him to be dishonest with them, and that dishonesty sets things in motion that lead to tragedy, which Peter must bear responsibility for for the rest of his life. With this burden, he reluctantly assumes the role of righting wrongs to deal with his guilt. But his good intentions set him on a collision course with a maniacal corporate sociopath hellbent on getting revenge for perceived narcissistic injuries that he arguably brought on himself (which makes him even more dangerous). 

Following Peter’s actualization of newfound abilities after an encounter with a radioactive spider is perfectly paced and hits the right emotions at the right times to make you care about him and the people he loves and mourns as much as he does. It doesn’t take itself too seriously but does get deadly serious at the right times, while also exploring the awkwardness of teenage romance. 

I can honestly say that I don’t know at this moment without looking it up how long it is, which is a good sign that it’s either a good length or that the story and pacing are strong enough that if it is a long film, I’ve never noticed (and I’ve seen it many many times). 

For some reason, it got rebooted just a few years later. I haven’t seen that version.  This one was good enough that this is the way I want to know the story. It’s a story about somebody who is deeply loved and wants to pay it forward, and ultimately that means he has to face a monster that nobody else can to preserve any sense of hope that love like that can flourish in his community. There’s no need to do it over.