Maguire’s lead turn adds consistent melodramatic cheese right from his opening voiceover (“Who am I? You sure you want to know? The story of my life is not for the faint of heart”) to his last one (“This is my gift, my curse”) but it feels authentic to the awkward, angsty, coming-of-age teen experience and works well with the other campy comic-book elements (Dafoe and Simmons leap off the page with their performances). Fun action and quirky humour (“up, up, and away web!”) top things off.
6
I remember seeing this in theatres, at a venue that no longer exists (which is unfortunate, because it was a neat little theatre on the top floor of a building downtown). At the time (I was 18) I didn’t really like it – I mean, it was entertaining, but 18-year-old-me thought it was a little cheesy. But now I really appreciate the movie. Is it nostalgia? I don’t know. I prefer to think that it’s just a good movie.
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Ah very cool! Yeah that’s interesting–usually it’s the opposite, loving something as a kid and then not as much when you’re older. I definitely think it was a solid movie–a bit cheesy but good! Thanks for the comment!
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