Spiderman!

[greysangel]

Ok I admit it....I LOVED IT!!!!

JeAnne

[RobinC]

I loved it too!!!! :cool:

[SusanT]

Tobey McGuire is such a doll! We really enjoyed it!

[Jewel]

I can't wait to see it! We try to never see a movie on the opening weekend due to the crowd factor, but one or two more weeks and we'll be there! :) Glad you all liked it so much!

[Laura B]

We loved it, too! I like Toby in that outfit! ;)

[greysangel]

He is such a cutie patootie. I also thought Willem Dafoe was perfect.

Jewel...I'm one of these weirdos that like adventure movies with a crowd. I just love that people laugh and cheer together etc..

As long as they turn off thei &#*@*^!^#~~!!! cell phones!

;)

JeAnne

[lindrusso]

Opinions needed please!

I was a bit perturbed that they rated this PG-13. Spiderman appeals to little boys and a PG-13 rating may force me to keep them away!

What did you all think about the movie in the way of language, sex and violence? My boys are almost 5 and almost 8.

I may just have to wait for it to come out on video to screen-test it first. I can't see my DH and I using one of our rare nights out alone to go see Spiderman and then go again with the kids! :)

[SusanT]

There are no explicit sex scenes or even suggested sex as far as I can remember, but some smooching which the 8 year old with me covered his face to avoid seeing. I don't recall any strong language but it is a superhero story with some adults killed (about the level of violence in most videogames) and children in danger (but resolved happily). The movie, overall, is very lighthearted not dark, dreary and ugly like Batman. The most traumatic thing, to me, was his Uncle Ben's death.

Definately see this on the big screen. Special effects don't translate well to video.

P.S. I also like seeing movies with (well-behaved) crowds. Especially when it's opening weekend and everyone doesn't know what to expect.

[AmyBeth73]

I'll be the lone voice here: I did not like Spiderman.

I thought Tobey and Kirsten did a great job, but the story was sooooooo slooooooow my mind was drifting to my grocery list. I also thought the story was extremely predictable, with no surprises. And the special effects were anything but special. Spiderman looked animated, or worse, like a video game character. I was not impressed. I'm a huge fan of sci-fi, special effects, and action movies, so I consider myself a baramoter for movies that claim action and special effects, like this one, but it did not live up to my expectations.

But that's just my opinion (and we all have one!) I know a lot of critics liked it, and there were zillions of kids in my show who were cheering almost the whole way through, so it's a definite hit with the little ones.

I don't remember any swearing or sexual content. There was just one very good kiss, but that's all I think. Some parts may be a bit scary for really young kids, but overall I think it's safe.

[mom_of_two]

You might want to check out screenit.com. But a warning - it is so detailed, it gives away everything in the movie. I copied this small excerpt they give as a notice to parents of small children (this is a very general note that gives away nothing, so anyone can safely read this without spoiling the movie).

"The following is a brief summary of the content found in this action/adventure film that's been rated PG-13. All sorts of comic book style violence is present, where various characters punch, kick or otherwise strike others with the intent of harming and/or killing them, and many of the blows are quite severe in nature.
Several characters are killed in various fashions (one is impaled by a small flying machine, another dies from a gunshot wound, yet another falls to his death, others are vaporized, more are killed in explosions, etc.) but few of the deaths (or occasionally resultant blood) are terribly graphic and not all are actually seen on the screen. That said, some of those scenes and others may be intense or suspenseful to some younger viewers, but that mostly depends on their age, level of maturity and tolerance/previous exposure to such material.

Profanity consists of a handful of mild expletives, while various religious and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some brief kissing occurs, while a young woman wears some cleavage revealing tops and is caught in the rain in one scene where one can rather clearly see her breasts through her wet top. A few other women are seen in revealing attire.

Some unhappy family life is present, there's a death in the family (via murder), and some kids may be enticed to imitate some of the action and fighting that occurs during the film. Finally, various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while some brief smoking and drinking are present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content."

I have found this website to be very fact filled, without really any opinions of the movies themselves.

Hope this helps anyone wanting to take their children to see it. Mine are 2 and 3, so we won't be taking them, but they are already starting to talk about Spiderman because of all the marketing stuff they see.

Lorie

[emily]

Anyone else bobbing there head at this point? I kept expecting to hear the song, and never did. Oh, well. I loved the movie! Walked out with a big grin :D; it's a little corny at parts, but that I expected.

As to bringing kids, there were kids at the screening I saw. One shouted out "SPIDER-MAN" in the middle of the movie; it was very cute. However, we did walk out of the film wondering if the violence was appropriate for children (as for sex, there's only two kisses in the film). That being said, not once did I hear a kid making "scared noises" - you know, screaming, whimpering, talking loudly to a parent. As a side note, at 10 I had a huge crush on Bruce Willis from having seen the unedited version of Die Hard, and I turned out alright (no comments from the Peanut Gallery ;) ). So I guess it depends on how much violence your kids have already seen.

em

[foodiedelite]

Just returned from taking my three year old daughter to see SpiderMan. It's a cute movie and was atteneded by many children of various ages,however, after viewing the movie I felt it was too violent for a younger audience, and one I should have previewed first.

My daughter loved the movie and came home with questions galore....
questions I can't reveal as it will give away some of the movie.
On several occasions I covered her eyes. Also with all the action, I feel this shortens a young child's attention span. She normally watches very little television, and wasn't even exposed to the television until after age 2.

She's been mimicking the movie the past hour, with attempting to shoot spider webs from her wrist--and wants Daddy to pretend he's green with yellow eyes!

[elnant]

Originally posted by emily
Anyone else bobbing there head at this point? I kept expecting to hear the song, and never did.

If you would have stayed until later in the credits -- you would have heard it! We didn't stay through the whole thing..but I heard the old theme as we were leaving the theater.
I'm another one who really liked this movie. I wasn't sure at first how Tobey McGuire would be as Spiderman - but he's an absolute cutie, and was perfect in the role, IMO.

[AmyBeth73]

In my earlier post, I said I thought the movie might be OK for kids, but what do I know?! I don't have kids (just nephews). Well, here's an interesting story from this morning's Boston Globe:

"Violence in 'Spider-Man' called a stretch for children"

By Suzanne C. Ryan, Globe Staff, 5/7/2002

BRAINTREE - To the dismay of child-psychology experts, parents in droves took young children to see ''Spider-Man'' this weekend, even though the PG-13 movie contains intense fight scenes, explosions, a house fire, and a scary-looking villain named Green Goblin.

Parents at the AMC Cinema on Saturday said their kids were clamoring to see the movie - which is estimated to have brought in a record-breaking $114 million over its opening weekend - because of all the Spider-Man toys, clothes, and other products on the market. At Toys ''R'' Us, for example, there are more than 30 Spider-Man action figures, as well as Spidey race cars, walkie-talkie sets, skateboards, board games, computer games, puzzles, even red webbed gloves. Spider-Man is on the cover of Fruit Loops cereal boxes and on glow-in-the-dark stickers inside Eggo waffles packages. In addition, ABC Family broadcasts an animated series targeting children under age 11 on Saturday mornings.

''How could I tell him no? Spider-Man has been on billboards for months,'' said Patricia Gillen of Quincy, who took her 4-year-old son to see the film Saturday. ''Daniel has seen the show on TV, and my boyfriend has the computer game. Daniel's been talking about this movie nonstop for two days.''

As Daniel waited for the movie to begin, he ran around in front of the theater, pretending to spin webs out of his wrist. He sang the theme song from the Spider-Man television show and then recited part of the movie's plot for a visitor. ''He gets bitten by a spider. He can hang upside down,'' he said.

His mother added, ''Violence is everywhere in the world. It's up to the parent to control their kids. If Daniel sees something violent, he'll ask, `Why did they do that?' I'll say, `It's not right.' That's all you can do.''

But experts said that in this post-Sept. 11 era, allowing children under 13 to watch a live-action movie about villains on the loose in New York City is not advisable. ''Children have been hearing about New York City. They can't sort out the fantasy and reality of what they're seeing,'' said Diane Levin, a professor of education at Wheelock College and author of ''Remote Control Childhood.'' ''For all children, there's a potential to trigger anxiety and stress and more viewing of the world as a dangerous place. It's a different world now. It's not appropriate or good for them to have these images presented to them.''

A spokesperson for Columbia Pictures has not been available to comment since the movie opened Friday.

In one of the first scenes in ''Spider-Man,'' hero Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire) warns viewers that ''the story of my life is not for the faint of heart.'' As the movie unfolds, Parker participates in a professional wrestling match while the on-screen crowd jeers and holds up signs that read ''Kill him!'' Later, the Green Goblin causes Spider-Man's love interest, Mary Jane Watson (played by Kirsten Dunst), to fall from a building in Times Square. She is also attacked in a dark alley by a group of men. His Uncle Ben is killed in a carjacking, and his Aunt May is attacked in her home, while on her knees praying. Later a tram filled with children plunges toward a river and Watson is dropped off a bridge.

To be sure, plenty of violent PG-13 movies have been marketed to young children, from ''Jurassic Park'' to ''X-Men.'' But experts said ''Spider-Man'' is different because the main character is a well-known superhero and therefore is more appealing to young children. ''Superheroes meet some of the developmental needs of young kids. They rescue people,'' said Nancy Carlsson Paige, a professor of education at Lesley University.

''Children at a young age are working on a range of issues such as separation from their parents when they go to school for the first time. They're fearful. They're trying to figure out what's right and wrong, who's good and bad. Superheroes answer that,'' she said. ''But it's a problem if you confuse those issues with violence.''

Many parents maintained that violence is so prevalent in society that watching ''Spider-Man'' won't make a difference. Tammy Heran of Braintree was very comfortable taking her three children, ages 3, 5, and 6. ''There were blades and swords, and they did say `***,' which I thought was uncalled for. But I'm hoping that Spider-Man's good deeds outweighed that. The boys are really into Spider-Man. I just hope they won't walk away thinking they can fling things.''

Jane Tufts of Milton was also comfortable taking her son Evan, 12. ''There was nothing in the movie that he hasn't seen on TV already,'' she said. ''I would even take an 8- or 9-year-old. No one was screaming or crying in the movie, and I would say about one-fifth of the audience was underage.''

Tufts said she typically uses screenit.com (a Web site that reviews movies for parents) to determine if a movie is appropriate for her son. In this case, she felt that ''there's a difference between graphic violence and comic-book violence.''

She added, however, that '' you have to know your kids to know what will bother them. My friend's kid was bothered by `Harry Potter.' I was bothered by `Love & Basketball.' It's rated PG-13, but there was a sex scene in there that was too realistic. You have to be careful no matter what the rating is.''

This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on 5/7/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.

[lindrusso]

Thanks for the opinions everyone. I did find the "screen-it" site and one other (kid-in-mind) and I think they raised more questions for me than they helped! :)

These sites will increase the violence ratings according to the quantity of violence, not necessarily the graphic nature of the violence. For instance, a show like Power Rangers would be considered violent because of the number of fights, but not because it's scary or graphic (the dumbness rating it should receive is another story! :rolleyes: ).

On both of these sites, they rated Spiderman pretty much the same as Jurassic Park - we have not let the kids see Jurassic Park yet (my youngest is DYING to see it because he LOVES dinosaurs). This gives me enough pause to think we need to go see Spiderman for ourselves before we take them. You can't judge the scariness of a movie through the descriptions alone - how the scene is played (music, etc.) can really effect how scary something is.

I just wish they had tried a little harder to make a movie that we could ALL go see without question. Star Wars is a perfect example of a movie that appealed to ALL ages without resorting to bad language, graphic violence (except a very few scenes), or sex. It's really hard when the marketing is clearly designed to reach kids that are probably too young to see the movie.

[mochadelsol]

I've have enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on this movie, and I really apprecite what AmyBeth wrote. I am a hard guy when I see a movie is rated PG-13,the rating says it all! I have never seen a PG-13 that I thought should have a lesser rating, some of them should have been rated higher. My DD is 13 1/2 and she hasn't been allowed to see alot of movies because of the rating PG-13. I research any movie she wants to see, my best critics are her peers. Just MHO.

[JanetB]

My dear DF really really wanted to go see this movie. I really could have done with out it - and I was right! It didn't really thrill me. I too was thinking about what else I had to get done this weekend!! Of course, the man loved it!