Sam Raimis first misfire is a big one!

Rating: 2/10 (6 July 2007)

Okay, i'm a huge fan of comic book heroes and spider man in particular, as well as the work of Sam Raimi.
That said, I was utterly shocked at how terrible this boring, unoriginal, uninspired movie was. Raimi did a good (though admittedly not great) job with the first film, so how in the hell did he go so horribly wrong with this turgid piece of crap? First of all it is almost a carbon copy of the original, only with less action and a lot more tiresome because we've seen it all before. A mad scientist receives super powers while testing out one of his inventions. He kidnaps Mary Jane. Spiderman even rushes into another burning building to save a screaming child. Finally, in the climactic battle (which is about 2 minutes long), the villain expresses regret to spider man for his previous antisocial behavior. Only this time he's serious! I didn't expect this series to remain completely loyal to the comics, but Doc Ock turning good?! Raimi, are you even a spider man fan? I have absolutely no idea why the critics love this movie so much. For a group of people who seem to constantly bemoan Hollywoods penchant for repetition, they all jumped on the bandwagon for a movie that has literally NOTHING new to offer.
I gave it an extra star (grudgingly) for it's excellent special effects. Aside from that, it has nothing to recommend about it. The story drags, Alfred Molina is completely wasted, and the action is sparse.
Shape up, Raimi! Remember when you used to make fresh, enjoyable movies? Many more like Spiderman 2 and i will be tempted to forget.