Having been bitten by a radioactive spider nerdy teen Peter Parker suddenly finds himself endowed with spider-like abilities. Able to sense danger and cling to walls he uses these powers to stop crime around New York City.
The story of Spiderman is of course well known amongst comic and movie fans and the first in this trilogy deals with Peter Parkers attempts to deal with his new found abilities whilst fighting off the unwanted attentions of The Green Goblin. The movie is of course action packed featuring some breathtaking scenes but director Sam Raimi also brings the humorous dialogue from his days working on Xena: Warrior Princess.
The sequel is equally as successful at combining action, comedy and character development as Parker continues to struggle with the responsibility of being a superhero. Doctor Octopus also provides a great nemesis for the hero and the fight scenes between the two are excellent.
The final movie in this trilogy, while not as bad as some make out, is certainly the weakest. Much of the action and comedy is still there but by pitting Spiderman against three enemies (rather just one as in the first two movies) the film loses its focus. Each of the enemies back stories are developed in too much detail and the web-slinger comes close to being a guest in his own movie that is arguably trying to be too ambitious.
Overall it has to be said that, of the numerous superhero flicks released in the last decade, the Spiderman trilogy is only bettered by Christopher Nolan's Batman films and this boxset offers great value entertainment.