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63
11th Hour, The
47
27 Dresses
29
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
39
Alvin and the Chipmunks
81
Bamako
84
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
47
Bella
68
Business of Being Born, The
69
Charlie Wilson's War
64
Cloverfield
30
Cover
68
Delirious
92
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
43
Final Season, The
41
First Sunday
51
Golden Compass, The
49
Good Night, The
65
Great Debaters, The
63
Hannah Takes the Stairs
52
Hollywood Dreams
7
Hottie and the Nottie, The
60
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
15
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
81
Juno
70
Lars and the Real Girl
47
Lions for Lambs
41
Mad Money
71
Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)
xx
Moondance Alexander
53
Music Within
77
Nanking
44
Nina's Heavenly Delights
24
One Missed Call
74
Orphanage, The
30
Over Her Dead Body
39
P.S. I Love You
37
P2
46
Reservation Road
55
Resurrecting the Champ
57
Romulus, My Father
85
Savages, The
78
Starting Out in the Evening
83
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
57
Teeth
92
There Will Be Blood
38
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie
32
Untraceable
63
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
68
War Dance
71
Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, The
43
Youth Without Youth
92
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
92
There Will Be Blood
85
Savages, The
84
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
83
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
81
Juno
81
Bamako
78
Starting Out in the Evening
77
Nanking
74
Orphanage, The
71
Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, The
71
Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)
70
Lars and the Real Girl
69
Charlie Wilson's War
68
Business of Being Born, The
68
Delirious
68
War Dance
65
Great Debaters, The
64
Cloverfield
63
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
63
11th Hour, The
63
Hannah Takes the Stairs
60
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
57
Romulus, My Father
57
Teeth
55
Resurrecting the Champ
53
Music Within
52
Hollywood Dreams
51
Golden Compass, The
49
Good Night, The
47
Bella
47
Lions for Lambs
47
27 Dresses
46
Reservation Road
44
Nina's Heavenly Delights
43
Youth Without Youth
43
Final Season, The
41
Mad Money
41
First Sunday
39
Alvin and the Chipmunks
39
P.S. I Love You
38
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie
37
P2
32
Untraceable
30
Over Her Dead Body
30
Cover
29
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
24
One Missed Call
15
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
7
Hottie and the Nottie, The
xx
Moondance Alexander
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 138 User Votes
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