don't believe the hype

Rating: 3/10 (20 June 2002)

Don't believe the hype. This film may have been considered
awesome had it been released 15-20 years ago, but it wasn't,
and much of the film looks like by -the-numbers after having seen
the Superman films, Batman films, and other similiar fare such as
the Rocketeer. It' s one cliche after another, starting with the
terrible score by Danny Elfman which sounds like a reject from the
orginal Batman movie. Aren't there other composers besides John
Williams and Danny Elfman who can bring some originality to
superhero movies and summer blockbusters? Also, we get the
typical montages of a hero discovering his powers and nabbing
crooks in the middle of a jewel heist, yawn. The big set piece of
the film takes place in the middle of New York during a parade
which looks like a setpiece lifted from the original Batman, and the
climatic battle is also yawn inducing. How much did this movie
cost? Why are the two rivals having a climactic battle in an
abandoned warehouse!? Not everthing is bad. Tobey Mcguire
does a fine job as Peter Parker, too bad the excellent Willem
Dafoe wasn't written a more interesting part. Some of the digital
effects are cool, and it was ingenious to have the web shoot out of
Peter's wrist, but overall I expected more from Sam Raimi. I was
expecting some of the warped, cartoonish nuttiness and
excitement he bought to the Evil Dead films or Darkman, however,
he shoots this film downright conservatively. The film has a bland,
uninteresting look that every polished, by the numbers, major
Hollywood film has. Maybe they'll get it right on the second one.