Entertaining.

Rating: 8/10 (6 May 2002)

I was one of those kids who grew up in the 80's watching the spider-man cartoon show and reading the comic books. I guess you could call me a 'fanboy'. Anyway, here's what I think of the film.
The movie covers the origin of Spidey, fairly faithfully to the comic books. It was a little odd in some places, to see computers and other high-tech equipment in the scenery for things that happened in the comics in the 1960's. So, the film is set in the present day, presumably to hold the interest of a decidely younger audience.
*mild spoilers*
The story is the classic Spider-man tale. The lonely high school student, a little brainy for his own good and with a hopeless crush on the prettiest girl in school, is bitten by a radioactive spider. As a result, he is endowed with superhuman powers, the ability to climb walls, the proportionate strength and angility of a spider, and the trademark web-shooting. (in the comics, the web-shooters were a batman-esque tool he wore around his wrists, and har to be refilled with web cartriges sometimes; the web didn't just shoot out of his arm as it does in the film.) Even relatively minor characters, such as J. Jonah Jamison, the newspaper magnate who creates his own news, are faithfully represented and bring a familiar smile to the face of fans of the original books.
The story is the tried and true comic book concept. The hero has a nemesis, whom he endeavors to protect the innocent from, and in the end he conquers his for and saves the girl.
The film is entertaining, if a bit predictable and campy at times. The effects are nice, though occasionaly look too 'animated'. But, obviously this is a fantasy film, and one needs to suspend reality a bit. Overall, it's entertaining, and if you think you would enjoy the film I'll wager that you will. It's entertaining, very clean by today's standards, and has a couple of good laughs. Nothing really new or inventive, but a good time. 7 out of 10 stars.