If you simply judge this movie as an adaption of a comic book, then it succeeds well beyond most competition (X2 being the closest). However, to simply call this movie a "comic book movie" is a short shrift to an excellent piece work. Here a short list of why this movie was a 9 (I would have called it 8.5 - but since I couldn't I rounded up).

The Acting: Molina and Maguire are both good actors and go a good job with campin' it up (ala Adam West from "Batman"). Also, Rami has done a good job casting a group of actors that really seem to fit their roles (J.K. Simmons as Jameson; Harris as Aunt May; and Dylan Baker as the Lizard - ere um' Dr. Conners). The weakest link would be James Franco as Harry Osborn - who still did a pretty good job.

The Pacing: This movie clips along. It rarely has a dull moment but isn't filled with wall to wall action like a John Woo Special. 2 hours just flew by, which is nice. Although I'm not a filmmaker, I imagine that the Director, the Editor, and the Screenwriter would take credit for this.

The Special Effects: Unlike the Hulk or Van Helsing, this movie integrates special effects into a scene, rather than standing out like a bad cardboard cutout. Although I personally think the best special effects in any movie are the size tricks that Jackson pulls with the Hobbit-size versus real-size in the Lord the Rings, this movie really uses the special effects to tell a story (i.e. Spiderman's incredible abilities - and lack thereof at some points).

All in all, a very good movie worth the $7.50!