couldve been a great film, but...

Rating: 1/10 (2 November 2002)

spiderman was so frustrating for me, because it was halfway there. it takes a script with dialogue and characters so ridiculous it begs to be presented as total fun, action-filled camp like the old batman television series. instead, the filmmakers took it too seriously, and tried to take a sophisticated approach, like the batman movies.
the result is a confusing, relentlessy-mediocre film in which the audience doesn't know what to feel. everything is hybrid. you have peter's uncle, who is a serious character, then you have his aunt delivering camp lines like "eviiil! eeeeviiil!" you have a well-done spiderman costume next to a green goblin that looks a kids' action figure. is mary jane supposed to be a funny stereotype, or is the character just badly-written? we never know.
people have blamed kirsten dunst for being a bad actress, but who could possibly deliver such lines as "I better run, tiger!" with any degree of competence? this is one of the dumbest roles ever written for a female actor of any generation. i doubt most respectable actresses would fire their agent if even offered the role, which is a throwback to the kind of girlfriend's you'd find i a 30s B-movie. i applaud kirsten for even trying.
this is the perfect example of what happens to a script after its been through development hell. this movie had floated around hollywood since the 80s, too many people put their version on it, and the result is just "blah." neither good nor bad, this is the kind of movie you see and never think about again, or the kind you love as a child and then deny later on.
no wonder James Cameron, Ang Lee, Jan DeBont and David Fincher all declined to direct the script. it really is bad. sam raimi, a very capable director, nearly saves it with his refreshing sense of style, but he didnt go far enough. it's not bad, it's not good, it's your typical 5/10. yawn.