Dis.App.Ointing!!

Rating: 7/10 (5 July 2002)

Yes, this movie is disappointing. I've heard so much hype from people I know and trust, that I actually had some expectations for sensation & innovation here..
I like the nerdy main character, but Spidey wasn't a nerd when he was Spidey. He was a really cool character with all the right, relaxed punchlines in the middle of danger (while his thoughts betrayed that he was anything besides relaxed). Also, when things got a little too "super-heroey" and the bad guys sported fancy moves and evil, over-the-top cheesy costumes, Spidey always had a sarcastic comment about their suit or similarly, to make them even more angry..
Nothing of that here. The only thing we hear Spidey say, is with a squeaky, nerdy voice - exactly like Peter Parker's. Sigh.
Of course, we get the obligatory upside-down-with-mask-half-off - kiss, which is nice enough. The school bully get's a serious beating, which is a great scene. There is also some nice comic relief, for instance when Spidey wears his first suit.. that was really funny, but so were the "worst" love scenes.
The evil character is REALLY weakly designed. With the brushed metallic suit, carrying an eeevil grin (help!), it was laughable, and even more kitschily "I wanna be hitech" than Batman's suit in the latter film.
Also, the special effects are terrible. When Spidey did his first, spider-like jumps here, you could VERY easily see what was CG and what wasn't. That was especially annoying when there, in a "jumping from roof-to-roof"-scene, for a while was 2 sec CG, 2 sec film, 2 sec CG, etc.. terrible.

Attack of the Clones not only - surprisingly (!) - has MUCH less embarrassing, gut-wrenching, mushy love scences, but also is a much more sensational and innovative movie, all over. I thought there might be a "duel" between these two, but no chance whatsoever for Spidey here.
All in all, an OK "superhero movie" (which is definitively what it is), but except for the nerdiness and personal problems, it has few of the qualities that made the comic a success. I'm sorry to say that this first Spiderman movie will be forgotten faster than you can say "Two Towers".. 7/10