Refreshingly different

Rating: 7/10 (30 May 2002)

Spider-Man is such a pleasant surprise... Raimi kept it low key instead of going for the glitzy, over the top, gratuitous special effects. Seeing Peter Parker clumsily stumble into becoming Spider-Man is like seeing the likeable chump who can never catch a break win the lottery. That's what audiences want to see -- a fantasy they can relate to. Whether they'll admit it or not, there are many young men out there who've just seen this movie secretly hoping they'll be bitten by a mysterious spider... and hook up with Kirsten Dunst, too of course :-) Aside from being a tad slow toward the end (with about 3 grand finales), it was nicely paced and fun to watch.