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47
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54
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93
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82
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79
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78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Tropic Thunder
71
Horton Hears a Who!
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
64
Pineapple Express
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
61
Incredible Hulk, The
60
Traitor
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
55
House Bunny, The
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
53
Rocker, The
52
Longshots, The
51
Mamma Mia!
51
Step Brothers
49
Hancock
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
43
Meet Dave
42
Death Race
36
Space Chimps
36
Fly Me to the Moon
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
35
Mirrors
34
Happening, The
31
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The
26
Babylon A.D.
24
Love Guru, The
19
Bangkok Dangerous
15
Disaster Movie
15
College
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

85
Alexandra
40
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66
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74
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65
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xx
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62
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58
Beautiful Losers
xx
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47
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80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
56
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75
Boy A
55
Bra Boys
61
Brick Lane
64
Brideshead Revisited
47
Burn After Reading
61
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86
Edge of Heaven, The
66
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52
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80
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26
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64
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54
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54
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75
Young@Heart
89
Man on Wire
86
Edge of Heaven, The
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Momma's Man
85
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
83
Tell No One
82
Frozen River
81
Trouble the Water
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Order of Myths, The
79
Visitor, The
78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
78
Last Mistress, The
77
Pool, The
76
I Served the King of England
75
Young@Heart
75
Boy A
74
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
74
Mongol
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
73
Secret, A
72
Priceless
72
Transsiberian
72
I.O.U.S. A
71
To the Limit
71
Girl Cut in Two, A
71
Roman de gare
70
Love Songs
67
XXY
67
Jellyfish
66
Elegy
66
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
66
American Teen
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
65
August Evening
64
Brideshead Revisited
64
Fall, The
63
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Kabluey
62
Mister Foe
62
Baghead
62
Girls Rock!
61
Bustin' Down the Door
61
Wackness, The
61
Man Named Pearl, A
61
Red
61
Brick Lane
58
Beautiful Losers
58
Sukiyaki Western Django
57
Sixty Six
56
Bottle Shock
56
Then She Found Me
55
Save Me
55
Bra Boys
54
Year of the Fish
54
Hamlet 2
54
Ping Pong Playa
54
What We Do Is Secret
54
CSNY: Déjà Vu
52
Elsa & Fred
51
Savage Grace
50
Last Stop for Paul
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Before the Rains
47
Burn After Reading
46
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
46
My Mexican Shivah
44
Henry Poole is Here
40
America the Beautiful
26
Everybody Wants to Be Italian
25
Hell Ride
xx
Young People F**king
xx
Bachna Ae Haseeno
xx
Cthulhu
xx
Goal II: Living the Dream
xx
Surfer, Dude
xx
Beer for My Horses
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Spider-Man
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment
FILM:
GAMES:
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 |

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.

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.

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.

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.

90
Washington Post
Stephen Hunter
An exuberance, a celebration, a hoot, a kick and a half.

90
Film Threat
Michael Dequina
Just about the truest and most satisfying screen adaptation most anyone could have ever hoped for.

90
Salon.com
Charles Taylor
What holds the movie together is its modest, sweet spirit.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

75
New York Post
Jonathan Foreman
Surprisingly charming and even witty match for the best of Hollywood's comic-book adaptations.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

70
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
This fast-paced entertainment is a surprisingly successful mix of spectacle and human-scale drama.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.


The average user rating for this movie is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 140 User Votes
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