Mild spoilers follow. If you're a purist and haven't seen the movie yet, don't read.
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Plot - Very true to the original Spiderman origins. Perhaps updated a tad for the new millennium, but none the worse for it.
Acting - No complaints in this department, but don't go expecting Oscar caliber stuff here. This isn't Oscar territory, it's a comic strip brought to the screen. If you go in with that mind-set, then Willem Dafoe's somewhat manic depiction of Osborne/Goblin fits right in with the mood. Tobey Maguire as Peter/Spidey was perhaps the most inspired piece of casting since Lucas used James Earl Jone's voice for Darth Vader. He is the nerd turned superhero, complete with cracking voice, self-deprecating sense of humor and unrequited love that makes adolescence so hard on about 98% of the males of the species. Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane was perhaps the weakest link in the casting. It wasn't that she was bad, she just wasn't as perfect for the part as the rest. I'm sure that most of the 15 - 21 year-old males who saw the movie would beg to differ with me, expecially after the rain-soaked kiss in the alley scene (which will probably be worn out on their DVD's from constant replay about a week after said 15-21 year-old males acquire them). J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jamison simply wasn't given enough screentime. He plays the Big Bad Boss to the hilt, delivering his pompous and at times self-contradictory lines as if they were the most reasonable things in the world to say. I know I couldn't have said those lines with a straight face! You buy into his role completely, even as you want to mop the floor with him.
Special effects - This is where many reviewers criticize the movie, but I believe those reviewers are missing the whole point. Yes, the CGI was a bit comic book, but for crying out loud, this is a comic book movie. Spidey on the web looks like he swung straight out of a Marvel book and onto the streets of New York City. The effects are perfect for the tone the movie tries to set, which has a very true comic book feel to it.
Remember the promos for the original Christopher Reeves "Superman" movie?: "You'll really believe a man can fly." Well don't go expecting that here. You aren't going to believe there really is a Spiderman webbing his way through Manhatten after seeing the movie. You'll just wish there was.