Good At Times, Bad At Times!

Rating: 6/10 (3 May 2002)

All in all, I enjoyed the motion picture version of Spiderman. It is good summer entertainment that is sure to dominate the box office (at least until Episode II, Men In Black II, Minority Report, Goldmember, etc. are released). Nonetheless, I have several complaints. First, the filmmakers relied too much on special efx for the fight sequences. Obviously, when Spiderman swings from skyscrapers special efx are completely necessary, and I have no problem with this. But the scenes of Spiderman kicking anus on bad guys should be filmed with martial arts experts. It would make them look much cooler in my opinion. Besides, it would not be hard to put a Jet Li type under the costume. In addition, maybe this is just me but I am sick of all action films trying to imitate The Matrix. If I see another slow motion, back bending hero dodge bullets (or whatever) I think I'm going to throw-up. Anyway, my second major complaint is the cheesiness of the dialogue. The scenes between Mary Jane & Peter Parker are so slow and drawn out that their often painful. Hint to the filmmakers: Don't force the sentimentality on the audience, it's not effective. Pearl Harbor proved this last summer. Also, the scene with the New Yorkers attacking the Green Goblin in defense of Spiderman is ridiculous. I'm guessing the filmmakers completely reworked that scene after September 11 to show their support for New York. Though it's a nice gesture, it is not needed in this film. After reading this review you probably think I hated the movie since most of my comments seem negative. While I certainly did not hate it, I would be lying if I said I was not disappointed with Spiderman. But I guess every comic book film can not be as good as the original Batman. Not much can. Rating: 6 - 10