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Spider-Man
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment

Spider-Man reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 73 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.9 out of 10
based on 37 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 140 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for stylized violence and action

Starring Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, J.K. Simmons, Michael Papajohn, Randy Poffo, and Joe Manganiello

Peter Parker (Maguire), after being bitten by a genetically altered spider, becomes Spider-Man, a hero of superhuman strength with the ability to cling to any surface. He dedicates himself to a life of fighting crime, while living a double life as a superhero and working student. (Sony)


GENRE(S): Suspense/Thriller  
WRITTEN BY: David Koepp
Stan Lee (comic book)
Steve Ditko (comic book)
 
DIRECTED BY: Sam Raimi  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: November 1, 2002 
Video: November 1, 2002 
Theatrical: May 3, 2002 
RUNNING TIME: 120 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
It's hard to recall the last time a big-ticket summer movie delivered so fully on its promise.
Read Full Review
91
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Reminds us of just how exciting and satisfying the fantasy cinema can be when it's approached with imagination and flair.
Read Full Review
90
The Onion (A.V. Club) Staff (Not credited)
Spider-Man brings the beloved comic-book character to the screen with both angst and action undamaged by the move.
Read Full Review
90
New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf
The effects are smashing, yet there's a heart behind them.
90
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Maguire and Dunst keep Spider-Man on a high with their sweet-sexy yearning, spinning a web of dazzle and delicacy that might just restore the good name of movie escapism.
Read Full Review
90
Washington Post Stephen Hunter
An exuberance, a celebration, a hoot, a kick and a half.
Read Full Review
90
Film Threat Michael Dequina
Just about the truest and most satisfying screen adaptation most anyone could have ever hoped for.
Read Full Review
90
Salon.com Charles Taylor
What holds the movie together is its modest, sweet spirit.
Read Full Review
88
USA Today Mike Clark
This is a rare twisted crowd-pleaser for longtime fans as well as novices -- or for those that don't know an arachnid from an insect.
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88
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Spider-Man is an almost-perfect extension of the experience of reading comic-book adventures.
80
Washington Post Desson Thomson
With disarmingly entertaining movies like this, dare I say, who needs big bad superhero movies?
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80
Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Every action adventure needs a memorable villain, but no movie needs the strident intensity of Mr. Dafoe, who either has no interest in, or no grasp of, the sort of charmingly malign wit that Gene Hackman brought to "Superman," or Jack Nicholson to "Batman."
80
The New York Times Dana Stevens
Spider-Man, while hardly immune to these vices, is, like Mr. Maguire, disarmingly likable, and touching in unexpected ways.
Read Full Review
78
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
With centrifugal force on his side, Spider-Man dips, weaves, and whooshes past, up, and around the camera -- it's a rush, and it plasters a grin on your face even after you've left the theatre.
Read Full Review
75
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
What distinguishes Spider-Man from most other comic book movies is that the film is at its most engaging when its hero is out of costume.
Read Full Review
75
Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
The Spider-Man saga is a classic for a reason, and the filmmakers don't squander the material's strengths.
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75
New York Post Jonathan Foreman
Surprisingly charming and even witty match for the best of Hollywood's comic-book adaptations.
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75
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
A canny franchise escapade; it gets the job done. But it also leaves you hungry for something more, and I don't necessarily mean the next episode.
Read Full Review
75
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
When the cast and their director are really cooking, they conjure a bipolar sense of high school-age emotion -- and use it to fuel outrageous fantasy.
Read Full Review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
There's a particular upside-down, half-masked kiss that instantly becomes one of movie history's more memorable smooches. It's the kiss to send any teenaged boy on a spinning high, as well as launching the new age of arachnophilia.
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75
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
It's got one of the best kisses in movie history: Spidey, hanging upside down, delivers an open-mouth smooch to Mary Jane, a lip-lock for the ages.
Read Full Review
75
Boston Globe Sam Allis
Raimi crafted a complicated hero who is a welcome relief from the usual two-dimensional offerings. That said, we could use some moxie in the sequel.
Read Full Review
75
ReelViews James Berardinelli
This is a pure popcorn movie -- the kind of film one can unabashedly enjoy for what it is. There's plenty of visual flash and dizzying action, but not at the expense of the other qualities that make for a complete motion picture experience.
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70
Chicago Reader J. R. Jones
Between the kinetic and often exciting chase scenes, screenwriter David Koepp plays with every teen's yearning for a secret identity, and Tobey Maguire is charming as the insecure superhero.
Read Full Review
70
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Spider-Man may look like an action comic come to life, but its best feature is its romance comic heart. It's that rare cartoon movie in which the villain is less involving than the love story.
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70
Village Voice J. Hoberman
Mildly cheesy but not overwrought, this long-awaited future franchise is a competent seat-warmer at the box-office table for the two weekends preceding George Lucas's "Attack of the Clones."
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70
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
This fast-paced entertainment is a surprisingly successful mix of spectacle and human-scale drama.
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70
Variety Todd McCarthy
Pic's happiest surprise is Tobey Maguire in the title role, as the young actor provides an emotional openness and vulnerability that gives this $120 million production its most distinctive flavor.
Read Full Review
70
Newsweek David Ansen
Director Sam Raimi, working from David Koepp's screenplay, wisely anchors his big action-adventure flick on Maguire's modest but beguiling persona.
70
Slate David Edelstein
This is a star-making performance, as fresh and funny as Christopher Reeve's in Superman (1978).
Read Full Review
63
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The origin story is well told, and the characters will not disappoint anyone who values the original comic books. It's in the action scenes that things fall apart.
Read Full Review
60
New York Magazine Peter Rainer
Despite all the computer-generated effects and highflying superhero theatrics, this roughly $120 million movie is, with few exceptions, remarkable only in its small human touches.
Read Full Review
50
The New Yorker Anthony Lane
The movie, with spiderlike timidity, scuttles into a corner and freezes. [13 May 2002, p. 96]
50
Time Richard Corliss
Raimi directs the film at Maguire's pensive pace. Some scenes are just inert.
50
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
I'll sum up my reaction in a word: Yawn.
Read Full Review
50
LA Weekly Manohla Dargis
Perhaps the real question, then, isn't how you update Spider-Man but why you would even try. Introduced in 1962, the original superhero helped to initiate the age of modern comics. Raimi hasn't figured out how to reconfigure him for the blockbuster age, and there are suggestions.
Read Full Review
50
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
The superhero part of the movie will leave audiences with a flat feeling, thanks to computery-looking special effects and a sagging story line.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 140 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Messiah L. gave it a0:
Like Spiderman 3, Spidey 1 is atrocious. The 2nd is a masterpiece of the art form. Don't listen to individuals who didn't get at least a Bachelor's. Americans without such a degree are, by and large, retarded and, unfortunately... easily entertained. Nostalgia and first-impressions over content depth.

Jerk Guy gave it a9:
A great film, Spiderman is the perfect example of how to make changes to a comic book sagas original story correctly and subtly to serve it so that it can be told as accurately and smoothly as possible in its movie feature form without the film running for 9 hours. I’ll always love this film; it was done so well, they changed a couple of things but they left in more then enough for it to be Spiderman.

Andrew N. gave it a6:
Not so great for non spider-man fans. This was mostly just style over substance.

Adam B. gave it a10:
One of the greatest movies of our time, "Spider-Man" brings to us a whole new genre of heroism and action. Even in 50 years, this movie will be widely revered like it is today.

Gary C. gave it a6:
It has a good lesson to it and it was great entertainment but I'd say its a little draggy.

Joe g. gave it a10:
A modern day classic about one of the greatest fantasy characters of all.

Anson G. gave it a10:
One of my favorite movie at all times.

Read more user comments...

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