20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
But then, I'm biased, May 20, 2002
Having actually *written* the book in question, this is more by way of an FYI than an actual review. I just wanted to give a heads up to the reviewer who listed all the scenes which he believed were deleted from the script and would have better served the film if they'd been in there. Of all the scenes he listed, the *only* one that was originally in the script was the Curt Connors scene. I conceived and wrote all the other scenes, all on my own. It's a common practice; scripts are only 120 pages long and simply much too short to be novel length. So novelizers always develop their own material to interweave it.
I have no idea if that changes anyone's opinion of the book one way or the other, but I just thought I'd make it clear that the "deleted scenes" were for the most part nothing of the sort.
PAD
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Web-Slingin' Wonderful!, April 16, 2002
If the movie's even half as good as the novelization - and with Sam Raimi directing, it oughta be terrific - we're in for a treat. And even if it isn't, it won't diminish this wonderfully written Spider-Man novel. Spidey's never really had a good incarnation outside of Marvel Comics - until now.
Purists may cry foul at the few changes made to the original character(s), but those changes only help to tell a more epic story in a more reasonable amount of time. Without stating any spoilers, the story of Spider-Man presented here covers the origins of Peter Parker's transformation into the friendly neighborhood webslinger, that of his arch-nemesis the Green Goblin, and of course his romance with Mary Jane.
Structurally, it resembles the dramatization of the first Batman movie, though stylistically it has a great deal more humor. Comic book fans will be delighted by the numerous in-joke references to other superhero characters, as well as phrases and lesser villains from Stan Lee, and the astute reader may catch some subtly placed jokes referring to the actors playing the roles in the movie.
But the most pleasant surprise about this version of Spider-Man is its maturity level. The character as originally written always suffered somewhat from too juvenile a mindset, which this Spider-Man does not. Peter Parker is a credibly modern young man of post-high school/pre-college age. Mary Jane, similarly, is a more realistically fleshed-out character, with recognizably real home problems and issues. The Green Goblin is not a mere sneering carnival spook-house caricature, but an inwardly tormented and unwisely desperate man who sets the wheels of his own destruction in motion. The very questions of heroism and villainy are dealt with not as clear-cut issues of black and white, but more as psychologically complex developments occurring largely by accident and partly by design, stemming from innate character strengths or flaws inherent in the individual. Responsibility for one's own actions, all random accidents of life notwithstanding, is at the story's core.
Even readers completely unfamiliar with Spider-Man will enjoy this book. I'm only sorry it's over. Hey - maybe they'll write some more! (Hint, hint.)
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book sure to be a great movie, March 21, 2002
Friends said that I shouldn't have read this book because it would ruin my experience when I see the movie, but I said, "the heck with it." The fact of the matter is, if you knew Spider-Man from the comics and if you were like me checking Spidermanhype.com every so often then there wasn't much left to be ruined by it. I read the book not to spoil the experience (weren't any big plot twists or anything), I read it because I am a die hard Spider-Man fan. Sure the movie will make slight changes to the original characters and stories (as I found out in the book), but the movie will probably be different from the book as well (It was like that for X-Men. I read the book and saw the movie and I noticed there were some alterations between the movie and the book). I enjoyed the Spider-Man book immensely! I am looking forward to the visual portions of the movie that I read in the book. I find it easier to enjoy movie book adaptations when you read the book first then see the movie and not the other way around. If you read this far, then do yourself a favor, buy the book.
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