In the past, comic book characters have been huge successes on the big screen.  Superman and Batman were BIG hits and spawned sequels that did very well at the box office.  I liked both of them and to this day will
watch and enjoy their timeless appeal.  Spiderman is a different story and though I was never a fan (Marvel SUCKED, DC was better!) I looked forward with anticipation to its release.  I was very dissapointed.  Yes it's BIG, flashy and has enough special effects to satisfy any kid or casual movie goer but a closer look will expose what this picture is lacking.

There's NO substance.  Flash and MORE flash is all that's there.  The story is extremely shallow and uses every cliche' that has ever been in an action picture.  I know they had to follow (loosely) the origin of Spiderman in their storyline but they could have used a little imagination.  Nerd likes girl.  Girl ignores nerd.  Girl likes bully.  Nerd (after the bite) kicks bully's ass.  Typical!

Not only was the story flat, the special effects that they used to sell this picture were not as good as I have seen. In some scenes, Spiderman looks like an action figure and not a real person.  Same with the costume of the Green Goblin.  It was a mask (actually a helmet) over an actor.  It looked cheap, like a Halloween mask instead of a deformed villain.

If I have to find something that I liked it would be the casting.  I liked Tobey Maguire as the nerdish Peter Parker and Willem Dafoe makes a villain's Villain. This aside, I didn't think much of the picture as a whole.  For the record, it will be a HUGE success, make tons of money and probably give birth to numerous sequels.  I hope they are better than their predecessor.

"With great power comes great responsibility."

RECOMMENDATION:  Though I didn't like it, many will and your money is only as well spent as your personal taste.  Kids will love it for the action but it's slow in some spots.

TWO 12¢ THUMBS DOWN!!!  (Well, that's what they USED to cost!)

Movie Review © 2002 by Terry Anderson