What a hype

Rating: 6/10 (13 June 2003)

It's a usual procedure to compare newly spawned comic-book based movies with Burton's "Batman" and rightfully so as it is only a small step away from perfection. After doing just this I came up with the following:
THE COSTUMES: Spidey's is great but the Goblin really does look like a badly done creature from the Power Rangers
THE MUSICAL THEME: As far as I'm concerned one of the most important parts of a comic-book based movie. Well I didn't really expect Elfman to surpass his Batmen theme, but the music in "Spidey" is hardly ever noticeable and besides sounding very similar to much of his previous work, lacks in atmosphere and should have been much more powerful and striking. One of Elfman's worst.
THE BIRTH OF A SUPER HERO: They wanted to show how "Spidey" came to be and I have no real complaints except for not making the most of it. The most enjoyable part of this movie for me was the part where Peter Parker is discovering his super powers. This movie was intended as the first of many so why didn't they take some more time to explore his newly given strenghts as they sure won't be able to do so later.
THE VILLAIN: Oh please, anybody can wear a mask, if they decided to go for the cheap, move-free mask they could have at least made it cooler looking. Dafoe didn't do it for me, he seemed to weak and sympathetic-looking to be a worthy, let alone dangerous opponent.
THE SPECIAL EFFECTS: They sucked in the trailers, they sucked in the movie. Some unnecessary scenes like the one where Parker is jumping from rooftop to rooftop are so bad I couldn't believe my eyes. There are some nice moments in the movie, no doubt, but even "Superman(1978)" , and notice the year of release made me want to fly. Spiderman made me want to kick the s..t from all those special effects "artist" because they did such a low standard job.
THE ACTION: To be honest I don't really remember any good action parts since they were all ruined by the special effects. Mediocre at best.
THE FEMALES: I don't find Kirsten Dunst to be very attractive, but she did an OK job. But I liked the kissing scene. Aunt May doesn't look like she's going to make it to the sequel.
THE REST OF THE CAST: J.K. Simmons is the only one worth mentioning for his portrayal of the ever cynical and spider-hating Jonah Jameson. He looks exactly like his character in the comics and the cartoon. It's one of those lucky casting marvels(like Hugh Jackman's Wolverine)
AND THE FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURHOOD HIMSELF: Well, Maguire's not bad at all, but as soon as an emotional scene arises I knew exactly why many people thought he was a mistake. He just looks so passive all the time and he has the most ridiculous cry, but I like his goofie scenes and expressions. Oh well, we're stuck with him for some time.
I guess I didn't really compare "Spidey" with "Batman", but all those enthusiastic Spidey fans would probably be furious if I did because it would be tough to spot a positive quality.
ANYWAYS, THE FINAL VERDICT: Although possessing some nice moments(all in the first half of the movie, where Parker is exploring himself) the movie lacks a solid (PG-13 free) script(and none of those "We'll met again, Spiderman" or "You're out Goblin, out of your mind". It's just not necessary!!!). I liked Raimi's "Darkman" much better, with all those cheesy effects and everything, because it had heart. "Spiderman" could have been spectacular, but wound up being a mediocre summer disappointment that earned itself over 400 million US dollars. 6/10