‘Spider-Man’ show generates rare rush of applause

In theaters

SPIDER-MAN. Directed by Sam Raimi. Written by David Koepp. 120 minutes. Rated PG-13.

Only twice in the past five years have I seen an audience burst into applause at the end of a movie. The first time was in 1997, when George Lucas rereleased “Star Wars” on the big screen for a new generation of fans, and the second time was last Friday at the end of a sold-out showing of Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man.”

Years ago, few would have thought twice about an audience responding so warmly to a film. In the early 1970s, when I was a kid seeing movies at the Bangor Opera House, a good film almost always ended with a rush of applause that followed the deep-red curtain’s movement across the screen.

But over the years, audiences have become less enthusiastic about movies for good reason. With the advent of the blockbuster, years of computer-generated special effects and the intrusion of real life leaving most of us jaded about what we see, the capacity for Hollywood to move and surprise has nearly been lost.

“Spider-Man,” from a script by David Koepp, is an exception. Legs down, it’s the best comic book adaptation since 1989’s “Batman,” a smart, often thrilling piece of filmmaking that respects the franchise while giving audiences an exhilarating kick in the pants in the process.

Based on the comic book series Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created for Marvel Comics in 1962, the film features Tobey Maguire in the lead as Peter Parker, the nerdish 17-year-old high school boy from Queens, N.Y., who goes on to realize great things from a spider bite.

At 26, Maguire still looks young enough to be believable in the role, but what makes him such a perfect fit for Peter, a young man forced to learn that “with great power comes great responsibility,” are the very qualities that made him so appealing in “The Ice Storm” and “Wonder Boys” – the shrewd intellect simmering beneath his bemused detachment and bashful charm.

As with anyone bullied in high school, there is within Peter another person fighting to come through, someone tired of being a punching bag for his peers and who wishes to be validated and appreciated for who he is.

Thus, a great deal of “Spider-Man’s” fun comes from watching Peter’s transformation after the spider bite, which isn’t just physical, as his wiry body thickens with muscle, but almost spiritual as he realizes the confidence that has forever eluded him.

For those who feel Peter’s pain, his transformation from geek to superhero will be a dream fantasy come true; for others, it will merely be cool.

Regardless, when Peter first takes flight through the concrete canyons of Manhattan, spinning his tangled webs and swinging high through the skyscrapers like Nureyev on Ecstasy, it’s doubtful that anyone watching won’t be caught up in the moment – or floored by the sheer artistry of John Dystra’s special effects.

And yet “Spider-Man” isn’t overwhelmed by its special effects; what’s more important to Raimi are those elements of a story that matter most: his characters, including Peter’s girl-next-door love interest, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), his aunt May and Uncle Ben (Rosemary Harris and Cliff Robertson), and Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), the billionaire businessman with the mean scowl who eventually sours into the Green Goblin.

Framed to look like a comic book yet written and directed to reflect the series’ sly wit and intelligence, “Spider-Man” has it all – a credible romance between Peter and Mary Jane, seductive stunts, a terrific villain who rips through the sky on a sleek-looking hovercraft, and a limber hero who’s at the core of the movie’s seamless delivery.

Too violent for younger children yet perfect for those seeking the answer to what the superhero has come to mean in a world gone increasingly mad, “Spider-Man” is the first of three planned Spider-Man movies, which means that, in the end, it pulls off the most unexpected feat of all: It re-establishes faith in the web as a moneymaking venture.

Grade: A-

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, occasionally on Fridays on E! Entertainment’s “E! News Weekend,” Tuesdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5” and Thursdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5:30” on WLBZ-2 and WCSH-6. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.