Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

A lot of fun.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

At the New York State University, one of Peter Parker's tutors has accidentally given three students all the materials they need to create an atomic bomb. While Peter Parker tries to find out what's happened, the police suspect him of the crime, and Peter has to deal with an attractive journalist determined to get an interview with Spider- Man. Then dastardly millionaire Mr. White shows up, and will stop at nothing to get his hands on the atomic bomb. Spider-Man must defeat this scheming villain and stop him blowing up the World Trade Centrer. Nicholas Hammon returns as Peter Parker A.k.a Spider-man and this time even better, Spider-Man Strikes Back (1978) is for me what the first Superman movie was which is good and serious and it knows when it wants to make you laugh especially during that motorcycle chase sequence or even Spider-man beating some guys up with some western music in the background, the acting is very good and some of the effects a little bit better although the spider-web still looks like a bad rope and the villains are still kinda weak but then again it's a 70's made for TV film and for that they did a pretty cool job with it.

If you've read my review on the 1978 Spider-Man TV series you'll know that I hold it in high regard. Spider-Man Strikes Back (not a film but actually two TV episodes) was remarkable.(POSSIBLE SPOILERS) There's a great cast here. Nicholas Hammond plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man really well whilst Robert F. Simon is really good as the grumpy Jonah Jameson. Joanna Cameron makes an interesting female in the film.The plot is really good. Some students steal some plutonium in order to make an atomic bomb. They don't plan to explode it, they stole the material in order to prove how easy it was. However, a villain by the name of Mr White gets his henchmen together and makes his way to New York to steal the bomb...which they actually succeed in doing.There's some great action scenes in here. Spider-Man battles Mr White's thugs atop a tall building and is thrown off. He infiltrates Mr White's house in California and battles the bad guys (one is a strong brute whilst the other is some sort of Martial Arts expert).The comic book Spider-Man was a bit of a detective at times and in this film he is the same. Parker does his detective work in this episode trying to figure out where the atomic bomb is located and how to catch the bad guys.I originally saw these episodes many years ago but I watched them the other night and enjoyed them again. The special effects may not have been as good as they are now but Spider-Man Strikes Back was good for it's time.

Well you've read the comics, seen the various cartoon's and then you watch this. "Sweet jesus what is going on" was my first thought when viewing this nugget of 70's nostalgia. The first shock came when I saw good old Peter Parker, not only was he sporting a very fetching donkey jacket (I could almost smell the tramp urine) he also had the most ridiculous haircut, "ah well its only seventies fashion" I thought to my self, but no, not only had PP taken up the substitute school teachers wardrobe, he had somehow lost all his classic wit (probably all them nasty drugs). No longer was Peter Parker the nerd who became cool, he was just a nerd. Then he donned the spandex...Gone was the athletic wall crawler who swung his way round the city with ease, only to be replaced by a positively lethargic "2cm per hour wall crawling speed" imposter, instead of gracefully traversing the city roof tops via his web shooters, he seemed to prefer to run about in a very foppish manner indeed (usually sticking to the one roof top)although on one occasion in the film he does swing from one building to another (although it is the exact same footage that was used in the first film and his webs are now inch thick white rope that can self tie knots around poles and other protruding objects). Then there's the fight scenes, In the comics he goes head to head with people such as Rhino and other massive super strong villians, In this he gets smacked by skinny "Jeff Capes" lookalikes, (so much for spider strength). On the villian front there is Mr. White who's about as threatening as your mum. Ah well for all its faults it is part of the Spiderman legacy, even if it does reflect the cheese of the seventies far too well. Watch it if your a die hard Spider-fan (call it spiderman the wilderness years) but if your new to the world of spider-man, read the comics and wait for Sam Raimi's film.

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.