Cert: 12

COMIC book hero Spider-Man finally made it to the big screen in this mildly enjoyable romp, directed by Sam 'Evil Dead' Raimi.

Nerdy student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) lives with his aunt and uncle, and is madly in love with girl next door Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), even though she barely notices that he exists (chicks, eh?).

But all that changes when, during a school trip, Peter is bitten by a spider and instead of being taken gravely ill, he acquires a range of top-notch arachnid super-powers. Spot of luck or what?

Having given the school bully a well-deserved pasting, Peter then decides to use his new powers in a crime-fighting capacity - swinging through the city streets and rounding up a variety of hapless hoods.

But our hero is set to meet his match! For in a dark laboratory, scientist Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) is about to gain some pretty awesome powers of his own, thanks to a wayward experiment, and he takes the path of evil, transforming himself into criminal mastermind The Green Goblin.

This is not a film to take too seriously, of course, but while there are some fun moments, it leaves a nagging feeling that it could and should have been done much better.

The computer-generated imagery is hit and miss, with some sequences much more convincing than others, and the rather lacklustre script should have been much sharper. Let's just hope that the inevitable sequel proves to be a more dynamic effort.

On a more positive note, the DVD is available in a special two-disc set, jam-packed with interesting extras, including commentaries, music videos, featurettes, outtakes, screen tests and much more, making it excellent value for money. Ian Kelly