Spider-Man: The Movie Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 18 June, 2002

Review - the film is ace, go see that. The game... well, it's best you take a seat...

Version tested: Xbox

History

'Spider-Man: The Movie' Screenshot 01b

Cutscene action here - isn't he shiny?

Spider-Man used to do whatever a spider can, but if Treyarch's hotly anticipated Spider-Man: The Movie is anything to go by, our old pal Spidey has opted to spend his latter days performing tedious fighting moves on large groups of disorganised thugs in warehouses, whilst one or two of them stand at the back taking pot shots with a collection of pistols and machine guns. For those of you with the film already behind them, Spider-Man: The Movie is a journey packed with all of the nomenclature and none of the spirit.

Spidey's outfit looks good, and his world looks good too. The figure-hugging red suit with its black web motif and huge eyes is sleek and resplendent with detail, although - as with the film - Peter Parker begins by donning a pyjama-suit type arrangement of red and blue cotton as he swings past shiny, reflective buildings and through vast cityscapes. Spidey's animation is excellent throughout, and we rarely tired looking at those inventive special moves, nor his ongoing battles with the openly nefarious Green Goblin in his same-as-the-film costume. The scenery and its level of detail varies depending on distance, but it's much less noticeable than you might imagine, and the mat of shuffling cars and street furniture below provides a decent backdrop.

Sadly though, interaction with said scenery is best described as unforgiving. In the bottom right of your HUD sits your objective compass and height meter, and the latter is a clue to the game's limitations. Each aerial level is condensed into a sort of height system, with objectives indicated on the height meter in blue and your position in red, and as you might already have guessed, you can't go above the top of the meter as it relates to the real world (despite your swinging from an invisible ceiling) and you can't go below it or you fall inexplicably into the traffic below and die.

MO: Missed Opportunity

'Spider-Man: The Movie' Screenshot 02b

Bosh

Swinging isn't the game's mainstay though, because for some reason the energetic, hyper-pubescent maelstrom of discovery that followed Peter Parker's infamous spider-bite is ignored entirely in favour of jus' fightin'. The game is effectively one big tirade of vengeance, eschewing the film's various other themes in favour of emphasizing the pursuit of Uncle Ben's killer, and as such it is dragged out and dragged out until the Green Goblin shows up and starts causing trouble.

A typical scene involves a big room full of aimless thugs. You avoid them for as long as possible by crawling around the dark recesses of the ceiling (the action is viewed from above and behind at all times, with a transparent ceiling where necessary), until stealth fails and everybody knows where you are. At which point, you have to leap down and call upon some of your scrolling beat-em-up style repertoire of special moves, which are collected and not learnt. They are all outlined in the pause menu, as Bruce Campbell will tell you in the tutorial voiceover (nice, but no Stan Lee), and become available as you find partially hidden spider symbols.

However, due to the nature of the feeble AI which sees enemies standing in groups with a couple off to the side using projectile weapons, you spend most of the time hammering the A and B buttons in rough unison to try and produce some of these moves, or just wrapping the bad guys in webbing and beating them up one by one, and the complex control system along with the combative Xbox pad causes all sorts of difficulties, as do the imprecise jumping and fighting mechanics. Whatever happened to Controller S by the way, Microsoft?

Cacophony

'Spider-Man: The Movie' Screenshot 03b

Proving once and for all that good graphics a good game doth not make, it's Spider-Man!

Once dispatched, enemies disappear comically making way for another open door and another room of bad guys, or if you're lucky the discovery of an overhead vent through which Spidey can zip between rooms, turning on and off the usefully placed electric boxes which control the bare electric cables impeding progress through the vents. Hang on, why would air vents have loose electric cables? Oh well. Levels continue to end abruptly and saving takes a peculiar amount of time for a process involving just the hard disk, but then what's one small problem amongst a hundred others?

A handful of scripted events should help to alleviate some of the disappointment, but unfortunately they do not, taking the shape instead of a ludicrously speedy forklift truck ramming through the then-flashing Spider-Man and similar unlikely and extremely obvious cartoon/game clichés. Speaking of clichés, if you press in the right thumbstick you can target areas using your web and zip to them - useful in avoiding leaky gas pipes but tired, boring, repetitive and done-done-so-very-done elsewhere.

Take a trip outside and things start to look up (which is just as well, because as previously described looking down is a recipe for disaster), but only for as long as it takes for the imprecise control system to get the better of you. Slamming the Goblin into the side of a skyscraper would be great if it didn't involve trying to balance your use of left analogue stick for turning and moving up and down, whilst centring the camera with the right thumbstick and manoeuvring for height and speed using the right trigger.

Discord

'Spider-Man: The Movie' Screenshot 04b

So he gets the girl, but he tries an unconventional approach

Other problems stem from flaws in the film's makeup, like the game's poor imitation of the rather geeky young Maguire, and the almost singularly anonymous Danny Elfman score, but Spider-Man: The Movie makes enough of its own mistakes. I know I'm being harsh, but to promise so much and then nip the possibilities and imagination at the bud is almost worse than just completely failing to achieve anything. The fact that Spider-Man begins entertainingly enough, and that you discover its flaws gradually is almost the exact opposite of the way many people found the movie, and it's almost worth going to see the film again to cleanse yourself.

Ardent fans might point out that Parker's passage of discovery in the film starts out rugged and improves steadily until he's a master of the Spidey art - like learning to toddle, then walk, then run - but those same fans would have to accept that a game starring an infantile Spider-Man with none of the big-screen emotion and apparent altruism is a failed attempt, and when put alongside the other intrinsic problems that dog the game draws a very weak picture.

If you haven't got the point yet, then this is one to pass on. Fans of the comics will get more out of the original PSone version, which is probably cheaper than the cost of going to see the film at this point. For what it's worth, the Xbox version of Spider-Man: The Movie is the best of the bunch, with sharper visuals and more gloss and shine, but I would still urge those with the facility to seek their Spidey-thrills elsewhere, because the free-spirited arachnid's latest adventure is a pale shadow of its former self.

6 / 10

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About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (42) Latest comment 10 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Nick #1 10 years ago

    Well, it seemed quite likely that the game would be a cruddy rushed cash-in job, but am I the only one who thought the movie wasn't up to much either?

  • Nemesis #2 10 years ago

    I would disagree Nick, I thought the film was superb beginning to end. Alot of people have been whinging on about the CG in Spidey, but I think it suits the cartoon style of the film.

    As for the game (getting back on topic) I have gone out and got this as I'm a Spidey softie and, yeah, the camera can be an issue, but swinging around NY is good stuff. But I've only just started, so I'm not into the Double Dragon part of the game yet.

  • Kylun #3 10 years ago

    The movie was great except for the raping of the original story for the comics.

    FOR the comics? I'm not sure what you are saying??

  • Nemesis #4 10 years ago

    You mean they altered the original comic story for the film I assume....

    Well, ok, fair enough, there are differences, some say quite big differences. But if you were not majorly into the spidey stuff I doubt you'd notice.

  • pjmaybe #5 10 years ago

    Got this with my GameCube and I didn't think it was all that bad - real bugger of a control system but once you get used to it (and the fact that you can climb on the walls and the ceiling) it's no better or worse than the PS1 Spiderman outings.

    I still like it though...not seen the movie yet because no matter how hard I try, I can't imagine Kirstin Dunst as anything but a whining Vampire brat!

    Peej

  • Nemesis #6 10 years ago

    Ms Dunst does very well, and not a Cheerleader uniform in sight! (unfortunately)

    The whole cast excel, I don't think there's anyone there that makes you wince Harry Potter School Of Acting Style.

  • hulahoops #7 10 years ago

    "am I the only one"

    Nope. I thought it was awful. OK, so some of the scenes with Spidey were exciting, and the Green Goblin's character was nicely thought out, but as soon as Parker took his mask off it became Buffy. And I hate Buffy.

  • jaa #8 10 years ago

    no matter how hard I try, I can't imagine Kirstin Dunst as anything but a whining Vampire brat!

    Clearly you didn't see "The Virgin Suicides" (and the name's Kirsten).


  • binky #9 10 years ago

    any1 else hum the theme tune all the way thru reading this review? ne1? no? ok.


    might go see the film. didnt expect much from the game, but would like to have a go. will probably just rent it.

    6/10 ='s one to pass on ? 6/10 only 2 points less than halo... hmmmm ;)

  • otto #10 10 years ago

    "any1 else hum the theme tune all the way thru reading this review? ne1?"

    yeah me

    *hums*

    spiderman, spiderman, does whatever a spider can, can he do it? yes he can. la la lalala spiderman. watch ouuuuuuuuuuut, here comes the spiderman.

    iirc

  • Nemesis #11 10 years ago

    Binky, go watch it, go with an open mind. Really, if you wait for DVD/Video you won't get the same rush on the action scenes.

  • eviltobz #12 10 years ago

    i love the film and i'm also enjoying the game at the mo. yes, there are problems, and i personally find some of the levels waaay too hard, but swinging around in the outside levels is a whole lotta fun. and my housemate and i giggled all the way through the narration in the tutorial.

    and the xbox version has a couple of extra levels with craven the hunter apparently.

  • skalmanxl #13 10 years ago

    *clobbers otto like a seal*

    Please, don't.

  • hulahoops #14 10 years ago

    Isn't it:

    "spiderman, spiderman, does whatever a spider can, spins a web, any size, catches thieves, just like flies, hey there, there goes the spiderman *trumpedy-trump* In the still of night, at the scene of a crime, there's a streak of light, he arrives, just in time."

    Or something.

    I'm at a loss as to why all these people liked the film, tho. What was so special?
    Edited by 1 at 18/06/02 @ 19:00

  • hulahoops #15 10 years ago

    Oh I get it, everyone's playing a big joke, just like when I wasted 6 quid on Crouching Tiger. Well very funny. :)

  • Max Diablos #16 10 years ago

    I will not watch the film. I will not play the game. My tolerance for cheap cash-ins riding on a wave of hype has never been lower.

  • reto #17 10 years ago

    The most stupid thing of with this game is theswinging from the clouds, it just looks stupid and makes travelling across the city to easy.

  • Sucram #18 10 years ago

    Controller S should be coming out in September over here, I've used it, it's rather good.

    The game is utter spam, or is that tripe.

    The movie is a good action flick but falls apat if you think about it too much.

    the Lyrics:
    Spider man, spider man
    Does whatever a spider can
    Spins a web any size
    Catches thieves just like flies
    Look out!
    Here comes the spider man.

    Is he strong?
    Listen, bud
    He's got radioactive blood
    Can he swing from a thread?
    Take a look overhead
    Hey, there!
    There goes the spider man.

    In the chill of the night
    At the scene of a crime
    Like a streak of light
    He arrives just in time.

    Spider man, spider man
    Friendly neighborhood spider man
    Wealth and fame
    He's ignored
    Action iiiss his reward

    To him, life's a great big bang up
    Whereever there's a hang up
    You'll find the spider man.

  • #19 10 years ago

    "My tolerance for cheap cash-ins riding on a wave of hype has never been lower."

    You must have a very low tolerance for GameCube then.

  • JaysonG #20 10 years ago

    Oooohh she was the kid in Interview with a Vampire!!!

  • #21 10 years ago

    hmm.. saw Blade2 the other day.... and REALLY enjoyed it! YIKES! Someone kill me!!

  • Umbala #22 10 years ago

    Hm.. am I the only one that comes to think of "Power Rangers" from this?

  • Tricky #23 10 years ago

    Hmmm. Batman 1st? Are you mad? Okay it was quite good back in 1989 but there have been a lot better comic-movie translations since, Spiderman being the best IMHO. Blade is definitely a good one (although not strictly accurate - I always thought Blade came across as a bit of a pussy in the comics whereas Mr. Snipes simply kicks ass). For the record, the order should go Spiderman, X Men, Blade and then Batman although if what I've seen of the script for X Men 2 makes it ot the screen that could well steal the top spot again. The other biggie to look out for is Daredevil, if only for the sight of Jennifer Garner in a nice tight leather costume. Mmmmm cleavage
    Edited by 1 at 19/06/02 @ 09:11

  • Gestalt #24 10 years ago

    "Batman 1st? Are you mad? Okay it was quite good back in 1989"

    Maybe he was talking about the 1960's version? ;) Just got the movie on DVD - bloody hilarious. "Holy interactive menus, Batman!"

  • Tricky #25 10 years ago

    lol - "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb"

  • Nemesis #26 10 years ago

    Spooky, I just picked up all Batman films from HMV for £26 (the lot). Watched the first one last night, which I haven't seen in a long time, and yeah, it's good, but hmmmmmmmmmm some bits are a little rough. The Joker still rocks though.

  • Nemesis #27 10 years ago

    LOL.

  • skalmanxl #28 10 years ago

    Bah, Wolverine would carve Batman to shreds anyway.

  • Nemesis #29 10 years ago

    I think I'm the only one who didn't like the Michelle P Catwoman. I thought she needed feeding up a bit actually.

  • DocX #30 10 years ago

    Except that Wolverine doesn't die, he just keeps coming, due to his mutant healing factor. Err.. so my geeky comic reading younger brother told me... honest.

  • Errol #31 10 years ago

    They dont have Wolverines in Scotland.

  • Nemesis #32 10 years ago

    Well, not unless he takes a holiday there.

    Maybe he's not allowed to, could be a contract clause.

    Clause. Get it. Aha. Oh never mind.

  • hulahoops #33 10 years ago

    "anyway Batman would kill Wolverine in a second with one of his latest boomerangs"

    Shouldn't that be bat-erangs? Or has he grown out of that?

  • Gestalt #34 10 years ago

    Maybe he has some Wolverine Repellent Bat-Spray? :)

  • Errol #35 10 years ago

    Maybe he has some Wolverine Repellent Bat-Spray? :)

    Anyone remember the really old batman film (with the original batman) ? Shark repellant spray features in one of the more hilarious moments - the obviously rubber shark steals the scene.

  • Nemesis #36 10 years ago

    A rather disturbing review of the film from the lovely Aint In Cool News....SpideyAICN

    Whilst I enjoyed the film, if I were by this young man I think I'd ask to swap seats. Although AICN got it pretty right with the LoTR stuff.

    IMO.



  • otto #37 10 years ago

    very disturbing review, but the scariest bit of all was this:

    "I order some Hot Tea with Honey and Cream"

    Honey and cream?? in TEA???

    O what will those philistines do next??

  • Nemesis #38 10 years ago

    Ahhh, but does he put the cream in first?

    (Easy there Errol, just walk away)

  • Gestalt #39 10 years ago

    "Anyone remember the really old batman film"

    Yeah, that's where I got it from. That scene where they're hanging from the ladder under the Bat Copter is absolutely classic. "Holy sardines, Batman!"

  • Errol #40 10 years ago

    its nearly impossible to understand what they are saying

    I didnt think that.

  • skalmanxl #41 10 years ago

    Adam West, the chubby batman.

  • Nemesis #42 10 years ago

    Best scene (rain sequence with girl aside)

    The mirror.

  • Pirotic #43 10 years ago

    I loved Spider-Man the first time, but i was surprised that the second time i got roped into seeing it, it was a huge let-down.

    it reminds me of X-Men, in that the fun comes from not knowing what is going to happen. the moment you know the plot and what comes next you just find yourself cringing the whole time.

    Mary-Jane was annoying, the CG was poor, and the Green-Goblin was not developed enough.

    Best scene had to be the fight with 'Flash'

  • binky #44 10 years ago

    saw the film last night and thought it was great!!! loved the way it showed the darker side. best comic book style film since the first batman!!