X-Men may have really started the resurrection of the superhero movie, but it was Spider-Man that drove it home. The movie was such a massive success and such a surprise that people may not realize that in hindsight, it actually has quite a number of problems. In addition to the cheesy dialogue, Kirsten Dunsts awful overacting, Tobey Maguires total inability to make a joke, theres the problem of the films main villainWillem Dafoes Green Goblin. Norman Osborn is a character who doesnt fit into the first Spider-Man movie at all, because his entire motivation for killing Spider-Man makes absolutely no sense. Dafoe hammed up his performance a lot, and maybe he cant be blamed entirelybecause who can really take a villain who dresses like this seriously? The Green Goblin suit looks like something that belongs in an episode of Power Rangers. The mask is perhaps the laziest part of the entire outfit, with a fixed open mouth that has black wire net in the gap, through which Dafoes face can clearly be seen. Its what you expect to see when you take the kids to Six Flags, not in a big budget superhero film. The irony of this costume is that there are videos floating around of an animatronic Goblin head that looked far more convincing and far creepier than the equivalent of a human bobble-head could ever be.
Percival Constantine is the author of several novels and short stories, including the Vanguard superhero series, and regularly writes and comments on movies, comics, and other pop culture. More information can be found at his website, PercivalConstantine.com
