I would like to retract my earlier statement; "Spider-Man" isn't all that bad...

Rating: Null/10 (30 April 2004)

In my previous review of "Spider-Man" I unfairly listed all the bad things about it and gave it a 3.5 out of 10, which is really too low a rating. Though this is by no means a great film, it's not very bad either. The plot - obviously - focuses on Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), a high school nerd, who is bitten by a radio active spider and gains spider powers. He uses them to fight crime, make money and woo is long-time crush Mary-Jane (Kirsten Dunst). Meanwhile Norman Osborne (Willem Dafoe) - a high-ranking millionaire/scientist - has gained some super human abilities of his own, and become "The Green Goblin", a crazy high-flying super villain whose motives are never really made known.
First I'll start by saying that when I wrote my review last year I hadn't seen many Raimi films yet, but no that I have I understand his style and the type of comedy he uses. He's a lot like Joel and Ethan Coen, you have to recognize their entire body of work or else one movie may seem a little too odd to you.
I also complained about the action, and I'm sticking too that argument. Maybe it's just me, but I hate it when all the action in a film is computer generated. I love watching movies where I know that the actors or stuntmen really did do what's shown on screen ("Kill Bill", "The Matrix") instead of just a guy at a desk clicking a mouse and typing keys. Of course, there are a few exceptions - 2003's "Hulk" for example - but "Spider-Man" isn't one of them. Of course, action doesn't make a film.
The acting in "Spider-Man" varies with the actors and characters. Maguire is completely miscast as Parker, he doesn't capture the smoothness of the character of the comics. The writing is somewhat to blame too I guess, but the way Maguire speaks his lines is just awful. As for the others, well, like I said, it varies. Dafoe is admirable as Osborne, he makes a good villain, and Dunst gives another great performance (the best of the movie) as MJ. The supporting players, James Franco, J.K. Simmons, Cliff Robertson all do pretty well too.
In the end this is merely an enjoyable yet mediocre super-hero film, but nothing compared to the greats ("Batman Returns", "X-Men", "Hulk"). The fact that it has a rating of 7.4 while the three other films I've mentioned are getting lower bugs me. To me, this movie is a 6.5/10.