Hollywood couldn't have made a better decision than to put Sam Raimi in charge of this costly comic-book movie.

Rating: Null/10 (7 May 2002)

Raimi proved he had the stuff to make a great comic-book movie when he wowed audiences with his diabolically delightful DARKMAN. Now with a budget of over a hundred-million dollars, he gets to wow comic afficionados and suburban PG-13'ers with SPIDERMAN. He succeeds, although SPIDERMAN doesn't have the daring intensity or originality that DARKMAN had, nor does it offer a highlight like Jack Nicholson's performance in BATMAN. I'm sure the studio-committee dictated some demigraphic preferences to Raimi with a project this big because it shows. It's strictly state-of-the-art CGI, which is getting pretty routine lately, particularly after LORD OF THE RINGS and before ATTACK OF THE CLONES, but with a nicely-done screenplay and some passable performances. I think everyone will accept the miscast, limp-wristed McGuire as Spiderman because he does a decent job here with what he's given. DaFoe is fine as usual, but the Green Goblin (and to a lesser degree, the Spiderman action pieces) have the hokey look that was evident in the preview trailers. SPIDERMAN is about as entertaining as a summer blockbuster currently gets.