Spider-Man Strikes Back

I am sorry, but this movie was worst the then first one. How can you have a superhero movie without a super-Villain? Where is the web slinging! Why do he need transportation to get around?(helicopter to go the the roof of a building????). With a low budget and boring storyline, this movie is not even worth a rental! Hammond is too old to play Peter Parker, and where is Mary Jane, and Betty Brant? How is it that the Spiderman in the comics can take on Doctor Octopus, but in this made-for-TV movie, he gets his A*S kicked by TWO thugs? My children of 15, 11 an 8 saw this movie and threaten to call Child Protective Services for being cruel for making them watch this joke of a movie...Please, and I do mean please....I am asking all network media bosses only for one thing....If you going to make a Superhero movie for TV make sure that you stick to the original ideal of the comic and make sure that the Superhero has a Super-Villain to fight with.

YOU can criticise this movie in every department - if you compare it to films like Superman and Batman. But if you look at it as a movie of its time - the late 70's - and just let it wash over you, it's great stuff.

The fight scenes are funky rather than violent, the stunts are still impressive even today - man, is that guy really being pulled up a skyscraper by a rope? - and the whole thing is just so entertaining, if not thrilling. The bad guys are lousy, and the whole thing didn't cost much, but just seeing Spidey running around makes you smile.

Back in the more innocent and carefree days of my early childhood life as a right young lad, I was properly into comic book-based superheroes (despite me never having read a single one of them). From the '60s Batman (Adam West & Burt Ward) to the '70s Incredible Hulk (Bill Bixby & Lou Ferrigno), I'd watch just about everything that had anything to do with these colourful, costume-wearing icons of pop-culture history. At roughly around the same time as when Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man film began to grow into a viable franchise juggernaut during the early 2000s, I remember having this old video tape of another Spider-Man movie that actually predated the more famous Tobey Maguire incarnation we all came to know and love (but little had I known it was from many, many years prior to when I was born). Yep, well before the immensely-beloved live-action Spider-Men of today's world (including Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland), there was the less-than-popular version played by Nicholas Hammond (of Sound of Music fame).

So now that I've had a chance to unearth and revisit this relic from my youth, was it actually worth rewatching after all these years? Well, yes and no. To my naive juvenile self, this was one of the coolest things ever. But to my now adult mindset, this is quite possibly one of the most laughable things ever. We always tend to take certain things a little more seriously as kids, so I'd say it's probably best-viewed through the eyes of a child (it suffers from what I like to call "Power Rangers syndrome" in that respect, where as a youngster it was really awesome but now as a grown-up it's kind of embarrassing). Seeing as though it was only a made-for-TV movie after all (not to mention, one from the 1970s), I'll cut it some slack on the special-effects side of things (such as with his web-slinging and the compositing shots) as I suppose they really weren't that awful when taking into account the decade in which this came out and the very minimal budget it must've had at the time of its production (you've honestly got to take these factors into consideration when judging a product such as this fairly). The stunt-work is truly enjoyable to watch as every bit of the choreographed fight sequences left me in hysterics, and I'm guessing this was most likely due to the heavier type of bulky TV cameras they were using in the late '70s (which I'm sure had a limited range of motion back then). And to top it all off with the technical details, there's always loads of unintentionally cheesy-sounding music cues which make the dramatic scenes seem more hilarious than anything else (no further comment on that one).

Although he's nothing like the full-fledged Peter Parker from the Raimi trilogy, Nicholas Hammond still does a semi-decent job in the role (Hammond's interpretation of Parker manages to capture that intellectual aspect of his nerdy character fairly well, and he even goes through the typical phase of wishing he'd never become the wall-crawling web-head). The spandex suit they designed is kind of a joke (I don't mean to be too picky here and maybe I've been spoilt by all the newer suit designs, but this one's aesthetic choices just make it look so funny in comparison to those others). Not only does it's very appearance come-off as if to say it was originally a cheaply-made, store-bought Halloween costume, but the mask's eyes are also pretty goofy-looking. And as for Spider-Man's movements, let's just say they're a little odd at best and downright bizarre at worst. Whenever he's lightly-running across a rooftop or crawling up and down the side of a building, it just looks incredibly awkward. Oh yeah, and the "Spider Sense" sequences are a spectacular sight to behold (it's just a dazzling display of strobing colour-effects layered over a choppily-edited scene of whatever the baddies are up to).

I'm very much aware of the fact that I haven't talked about the plot at all, but that's mostly because it doesn't really matter a whole lot, seeing as how it's not very memorable and feels so generically bland (there's something to do with Spider-Man having to stop a bomb from going off during a world peace conference, or at least something to that extent?). Quite frankly, it's just your mediocre '70s self-contained TV plot-line of the week (a pretty forgettable story, all-round). But even after all my harsh criticisms, I still find there's somewhat of an amusement factor to it (I suppose that's just my nostalgic memory doing the talking for me, now). It's a small-screen adaptation that's bound to go down in superhero history as an ironically-entertaining anomaly in the wider Spidey franchise (only for the morbidly-curious of dedicated Marvel Comics fans to seek out).

Spider-Man Strikes Back never really captures the feel of the Marvel comics it's based on. Only two characters - Peter Parker and J. Jonah Jameson - make the transition and although both give likeable performances, neither are really that similar to their comicbook counterparts. Nicolas Hammond is too old for Peter, and as Spidey, lacks the wallcrawler's sense of humour, although his intelligence and scientific knowledge is essential to the plot. Robert F. Simon is grouchy, but doesn't have pompousness or anger of Daily Bugle editor JJJ. Secretary Rita was perhaps originally Betty Brant, but she has very little in common with her.

Spidey himself is done quite well, his costume is almost exactly the same as the original, and he climbs up and down buildings slowly but effectively. He even swings on a webline in one absolutely perfect (but very short) sequence, which will have fans in raptures. The fight scenes are cool, if short, with some intresting techniques thrown in, including jump cutting and P.O.V shots during the combat. There is also an exciting car chase and a genuinely dramatic climax with Spidey racing to defuse a nuclear bomb. The stunts are extremely impressive considering the budget.

The biggest fault is the lack of any supervillains. Instead of the Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter or Mysterio, the arch enemy is Mr. White, a greedy millionaire who is after the bomb. His two henchmen are a kung fu guy and a huge, Jaws-like thug. They are all acceptable for 1970's TV shows, but for a movie released theatrically, insufficient.

There is some great music, however, and Peter's trademark day-to-day problems are all present and correct and occasionally amusing. A lot of the action takes place on top of skyscrapers as well, as in the comics. Compared to other comic based TV movies, it's one of the best, far superior to the recent Justice League of America (1997) and only surpassed by The Incredible Hulk (1977).

Overall, a pleasantly enjoyable movie and the best Spider-Man film so far, but nothing to get too excited about. Get excited about Sam Raimi's 2001 Spider-Man, with Tobey Maguire as Spidey fighting Doctor Octopus and the Green Goblin.

Spider-Man Strikes Back is nowhere near as good as the movies in Sam Raimi's excellent trilogy. But it's still pretty darn enjoyable.

It doesn't have a lot in common with the comic books, but neither did the Hulk series from the 70s, and that one is considered one of the best shows based on a Marvel comic book.

Nicholas Hammond is good as Peter Parker (the hair is hilarious, though...the 70s was a tacky decade), and aside from the visible web shooter and belt, the suit doesn't look any worse than Christopher Reeve's Superman outfit. J. Jonah Jameson is very funny, and the fight scenes and stunts are exciting to watch. I felt more dizzy watching this than any of the scenes in the new ones.

I can't remember anything offensive in it, the fight scenes are bloodless, and there's no nudity, except for some ladies in bikinis. If you have small kids, it's probably better to show them this than the scary movies in the Raimi trilogy.