A disappointment, for Spider-Man and Raimi fans.

Rating: 4/10 (16 January 2010)

Spider-Man was widely anticipated, especially by comics fans, but it finally arrived, promising to be even more epic than the previous films with its three enemies and symbiote storyline.
almost all of the starring actors from the past films have returned along with some interesting new faces. Tobey McGuire turns a new leaf as Emo Spidey with a chip on his shoulder, Kirsten Dunst struggles with Peter's habit of letting her down as well her own troubles, James Franco finally acts upon his father's death as the New Green Goblin (rather than the Hobgoblin, as he was known in previous incarnations), and we meet new stars in Thomas Haden Church (who gives a fantastic performance as The Sandman) and Topher Grace (Eddie Brock/Venom). familiar faces come back to bring up support as well. J.K Simmons returns to give another outstanding performance as J. Jonah Jamesson, William Dafeo and Cliff Roberston make an appearance once again as the mental flashbacks, and Rosemary Harris makes you love her grandma-like nature once again. all of the main acting is generally good, ranging from acceptable to cosmic. hell, even the small roles of the scene extras weren't half bad (though nothing as wonderful as "HEY! he stole that guy's PIZZA!!!"). the special effects from the movie have heightened and what was previously unthinkable in live-action cinema has become a reality in terms of bringing such villains to life. the cinematography is even better, and the fantastic feeling of really swinging with Spider-Man is even more captivating now. often the effect of the camera-work and CGI left my mouth wide open. but for me, the best things about this movie were the little things: namely, Bruce Campbell's hilarious spot-on comedy, and Stan Lee saying "nuff said" (though i'll admit it was a forced performance).
now, that being said, there's many points about this movie that seem ridiculous. one is the pacing for the whole movie. it's on and off like an overworked hooker on a steam engine, and runs through like the chaotic fantasies of an ADD kid with a 36MM. ever see Spidey swing into action, pausing only to strike a pose in front of a huge American flag? trust me, as awesome as it sounds, it merely comes off as misplaced patriotism here. another bad point is the arrival of the Symbiote substance. not to spoil anything, but it lands in a meteor. am I the only one who thinks the original appearance (crawling out of a fallen space shuttle Spidey had kept from crashing) would have been much more impressionistic on the film? and to think that Parker, with his heightened senses, wouldn't notice a meteor crashing not 50 meters from him? I mean, I realize he's making out with Kirsten Dunst at the time and more enticing things are..ahem.."at hand", but gimme a break. another flaw is the whole appearance of Gwen Stacy. sure, comic fans might find this a nice nod to one of Peter's pre-MJ girlfriends, but she serves no purpose through the movie. Peter never once shows that he cares about her in any way, he merely uses her to make Mary Jane feel bad, who fusses over it like a child. to me, the entire conflicting love triangle between him, Gwen and Mary Jane seemed pointless and tragically high school in a sense. Venom is another character who was poorly constructed. he's more of a sniveling, scheming, whiny-voiced skinny guy rather than the conniving, intensely frightening brute we all know him as. he doesn't even really catch the attention at all until the climax. ah, the climax. like the pacing, it's on and off. Sandman redeems himself in an excellent fashion, but then provides a "wtf?" moment when he simply leaves, leaving no real ending for him. my friend and I literally said "sooo.....he..flew away?" "uh...yeah...but why?" "fuck if I know". as for Venom and Harry...well, i'll leave that up for you to see yourself. if you want to hear my thoughts on that then message me, because I won't go into it here for those who haven't seen the movie yet. i'm thoroughly disappointed with Raimi on this outing, i expected more from him than this sort of Hollywood summer name-brand blockbuster