Other Titles • Spider-Man: The Motion Picture (2001)
Synopses for Spider-Man (2002)
1.
Coming soon!
(71 votes)
2.
Spider-Man Average teenager Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is transformed into an extraordinary super hero after he is accidentally bitten by a radioactive spider. When his beloved uncle is savagely murdered during a robbery, young Peter vows to use his powers to avenge his death. Deeming himself "Spider-Man," he sets about ridding the streets of crime, bringing him into conflict with malevolent super-villain "Green Goblin" (Willem Dafoe
(67 votes)
3.
Orphaned at an early age, Peter Parker (Toby Maguire) lived in Queens, New York with his beloved Aunt May (Academy-Awards®) nominee Rosemary Harris) and Uncle Ben (Academy Awards® winner Cliff Robertson). Peter leads the life of a normal student, working as a photographer at the Daily Bugle under the tutelage of publisher J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), pining after the beautiful Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and hanging out with buddy Harry Osborn (James Franco).
On a school trip, during which Peter and his classmates are given a science demonstration on spiders, Peter is bitten by a genetically altered spider. Soon after, he discovers that he has unusual powers: he is endowed with the strength and agility of a spider along with a keen, ESP-like "spider sense."
After discovering these powers, Peter appears in a televised wrestling match and, armed with his new spider strength, wins the match in record time. But the wrestling match promoter refuses to award Peter the $3,000 prize money, alleging that Peter won too quickly. Soon afterwards, Peter has the opportunity to catch a burglar fleeing from the promoter's office, but because he wants revenge, he refuses to stop him. Moments later, the same burglar kills his beloved Uncle Ben.
As Spider-Man, Peter apprehends the burglar but is plagued with guilt for not being a hero sooner. During his time of turmoil, Peter remembers something Uncle Ben once told him: "With great power, there must also come great responsibility." Peter takes this to heart and decides to us his extraordinary powers to fight crime.
For devoted fans and nonfans alike, Spider-Man offers nothing less--and nothing more--than what you'd expect from a superhero blockbuster. Having proven his comic-book savvy with the original Darkman, director Sam Raimi brings ample energy and enthusiasm to Spidey's origin story, nicely establishing high-school nebbish Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) as a brainy outcast who reacts with appropriate euphoria--and well-tempered maturity--when a "super-spider" bite transforms him into the amazingly agile, web-shooting Spider-Man. That's all well and good, and so is Kirsten Dunst as Parker's girl-next-door sweetheart. Where Spider-Man falls short is in its hyperactive CGI action sequences, which play like a video game instead of the gravity-defying exploits of a flesh-and-blood superhero. Willem Dafoe is perfectly cast as Spidey's schizoid nemesis, the Green Goblin, and the movie's a lot of fun overall. It's no match for Superman and Batman in bringing a beloved character to the screen, but it places a respectable third. --Jeff Shannon
DVD features When so many DVDs offer making-of featurettes and commentaries, it's a real treat to get something different on the Spider-Man DVD: a 25-minute documentary, "Spider-Man: The Mythology of the 21st Century," that examines the history of the Marvel comic book through original art and interviews with co-creator Stan Lee and artists such as John Romita, John Romita Jr., Todd McFarlane, and John Byrne. There is also a comics archive and artists gallery. And if you want info about the movie, you can get that, too: a commentary track by director Sam Raimi, actor Kirsten Dunst, producer Laura Ziskin, and co-producer Grant Curtis, plus a technically oriented commentary by the effects crew; pop-up factoids offering trivia about the movie and comic book; occasional Easter eggs leading to featurettes (e.g., 90 seconds on wrestler Randy Savage as Bonesaw McGraw); and promotional documentaries, screen tests, outtakes, and the like. --David Horiuchi
(60 votes)
5.
The classic comic comes to the big screen in this 2002 hit! Tobey Maguire stars as Peter Parker, the nerdy teenager who becomes a superhero after being bit by a genetically altered spider. Kirsten Dunst, Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe and James Franco co-star in this comic-book adventure.
(61 votes)
6.
When bitten by a genetically modified spider, a nerdy high school student gains spider-like abilities that he must eventually use to fight evil as a superhero.
7.
Directed by Sam Raimi, Spider-Man centers on student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) who, after being bitten by a genetically-altered spider, gains superhuman strength and the spider-like ability to cling to any surface. He vows to use his abilities to fight crime, coming to understand the words of his beloved Uncle Ben: "With great power comes great responsibility."
8.
This specially-packaged Limited Edition Collector's Gift Set features the Widescreen Special Edition of Spider-Man and is loaded with extras including a reprint of Marvel Comic's "Amazing Fantasy" #15 in which Spider-Man was created, an exclusive collectible drawing by former Spider-Man artist John Romita, Sr. & current Spider-Man artist John Romita, Jr., a collectible numbered film cell from the movie and more!
Directed by Sam Raimi, Spider-Man centers on student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) who, after being bitten by a genetically-altered spider, gains superhuman strength and the spider-like ability to cling to any surface. He vows to use his abilities to fight crime, coming to understand the words of his beloved Uncle Ben: "With great power comes great responsibility."
9.
Marvel Comics fans have been waiting for this big-screen Spider-Man since the character made his print debut in 1962, which attaches impossible expectations to a film that rates as a solid success without breaking out of the spandex ghetto in the way that Batman Returns or X-Men did. Tobey Maguire is ideally cast as speccy Peter Parker, a high school swot with personal problems. The suit and effects take over when he gets bitten by a genetically engineered (i.e., no longer radioactive) spider and transforms into a web-swinging superhero who finds that these super-powers don't really help him get close to the girl next door (Kirsten Dunst) or protect his elderly guardian (Cliff Robertson) from random violence. The villain of the peace is Peter's best friend's industrialist father (Willem Dafoe) who has dosed himself on an experimental serum which makes him go all Jekyll-and-Hyde and emerge as the cackling Green Goblin, who soon gets a grudge against Spider-Man.
Sam Raimi gives it all a bright, airy, kinetic feel, with wonderful aerial stuff as Spider-Man escapes from his troubles by swinging between skyscrapers, and the rethink of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's origin story is managed with a canny mix of faithfulness (JK Simmons' as the crass editor JJ Jameson is the image of the comic character) and send-up (after a big introduction, Spider-Man finally appears in a really rubbish first attempt at a spider costume). Maguire and the impossibly sweet Dunst make it work as a hesitant teen romance, but somehow the second half, which brings on the villain to give the hero someone to fight, is only exciting when it wants to be affecting too. --Kim Newman
On the DVD:Spider-Man's two-disc offering is nothing out of the ordinary, but fans will find some gems here including Stan Lee's thoughts, a gallery of comic cover art and profiles on the baddies. The two commentaries (cast and crew, and Special Effects) both have long periods with pauses, but the special effects guys are full of insight. The DVD-ROM section offers some of the more exciting features, including three comics transferred onto your computer, page by page, although be aware that the "Film to Comic" comparison is not for the original but for the new comic of the film. As you would expect from a blockbuster superhero film, the sound and vision are immaculate. --Nikki Disney
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