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Movie Overview
Cast
• Tobey Maguire
• Kirsten Dunst
• Willem Dafoe
Director
• Sam Raimi
MPAA Rating
PG-13 - stylized violence and action
Spider-Man (2002)

REVIEWS
NEWS
INTERVIEWS OTHER
OFCS Rating: 93% Fresh
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"I fear viewers who usually avoid action/fantasy flicks might pass up this terrific film without knowing it has so much other neat stuff going on."  ReelTalk Movie Reviews  Betty Jo Tucker

10/10
"Majestic entertainment, brought to life by a creative team that deserves a mountain of accolades for making, at least, the second best comic book adaptation in cinema history."  Modamag.com  Brian Orndorf

4/5
"My Spidey sense says that Raimi will finally hit the A-list, Maguire will get some new respect, and this film is gonna make a whole lot of money."  Filmcritic.com  Christopher Null

"Spidey's wrestling with moral questions makes him more sympathetic, not less."  PopPolitics.com  Cynthia Fuchs

85/100
"A piece of vintage cinematic entertainment with a post-modernist twist"  Apollo Guide  Dan Jardine

3/4
"...one of the most exhilarating (and silly) screen adventures ever to be inspired by the pages of a Marvel comic."  Cinemaphile.org  David Keyes

3/4
"Enthralling, exciting, exhilarating."  Movie Boeuf  David N. Butterworth

C
"This Spider-Man is a sticky popcorn film, that should appeal to a Multiplex audience looking for an escape film."  Ozus' World Movie Reviews  Dennis Schwartz

3.5/4
"A dazzling show-stopper that...is better than any of the Batman movies ever were."  DustinPutman.com  Dustin Putman

3/4
"Raimi does right by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's original creation via an old-fashioned comic book aesthetic."  Slant Magazine  Ed Gonzalez

A-
"Probably the best superhero ever made. So many deft touches."  EricDSnider.com  Eric D. Snider

A
"When Spider-Man soars, and Danny Elfman's amazing score reaches its crescendo, the heart sings."  Film Blather  Eugene Novikov

B
"By no means a classic, but it's colorful, energetic and reasonably engaging, though uneven."  One Guy's Opinion  Frank Swietek

" A thoroughly enjoyable big-screen adaptation of the popular Marvel comic book with a top-notch performance by Tobey Maguire."  Spirituality and Practice  Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

3/4
"This is a pure popcorn movie -- the kind of film one can unabashedly enjoy for what it is."  ReelViews  James Berardinelli

3.5/4
"a deeply human and often moving character story in addition to a rousing action-adventure fantasy"  Q Network Film Desk  James Kendrick

"Part teenager movie, part soap opera, with clunky dialogue and over-the-top acting, the movie manages to capture the essence of the Spider-man comics."  Sci-Fi Movie Page  James O'Ehley

5/5
"Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire bring a hero to cinematic life with a fun, fast, action-packed blockbuster."  Netflix  James Rocchi

3/4
"Spinning a web of dazzling entertainment may be overstating it, but "Spider-Man" certainly delivers the goods."  Palo Alto Weekly  Jeanne Aufmuth

10/10
"Raimi and his team couldn't have done any better in bringing the story of Spider-Man to the big screen."  Window to the Movies  Jeffrey Chen

3.5/4
"The movie shoots for, and usually achieves a sense of giddy exuberance, but it comes at the cost of suspense."  MovieMartyr.com  Jeremy Heilman

6.5/10
"Fun, but not in the same league as Superman."  Screen It!  Jim Judy

8/10
"If you're looking for an all-around good time at the movies, grab a friend, grab some popcorn...and see this movie!!"  JoBlo's Movie Emporium  JoBlo

3.5/4
"Spider-man flows as smoothly from scene to scene, catching the audience in its charming web and setting us up for a sequel which, for once, will be welcome."  Big Picture Big Sound  Joe Lozito

3/4
"Si el siglo XXI necesita de héroes, el Hombre Araña parece haber llegado para quedarse."  Moviola  Jorge Avila Andrade

5/5
"A tightly woven web of fun."  3BlackChicks Review  Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel

3.5/5
"Thankfully, director Sam Raimi knows a little bit about exposing the cool in something that is irrevocably cheesy."  Cinerina  Karina Montgomery

3.5/4
"... the most faithful 4-color to film adaptation to date. And yes, it's amazing."  MovieCrypt.com  Kevin A. Ranson

3.5/4
"Raimi’s film is actually closer in spirit to a coming-of-age story like “Almost Famous” than to a flashy noisy mess like “Batman and Robin”."  Montreal Film Journal  Kevin N. Laforest

B-
"Spider-Man is in the same category as X-Men - occasionally brilliant but mostly average, showing signs of potential for the sequels, but not giving us much this time around."  Countingdown.com  Larry Carroll

B-
"a commercial comic that's head and shoulders above the bloated summer blockbusters of 2001"  Reeling Reviews  Laura Clifford

9/10
" Cuarenta años de lectores y fans emergen detrás de esta superproducción y ninguno de ellos queda defraudado. La cinta es desde su estreno, un fenómeno mundial."  Cinenganos  Luis Martinez

3.5/5
"This fast-paced entertainment is a surprisingly successful mix of spectacle and human-scale drama."  TV Guide's Movie Guide  Maitland McDonagh

3/4
"You can tell the movie was made by people who enjoy the source material and have no fear of making it known."  Mark Reviews Movies  Mark Dujsik

7/10
"More fun than I was expecting."  rec.arts.movies.reviews  Mark R. Leeper

"Thank the gods for Sam Raimi / A filmmaker who's geekified / He knows why we stand in line"  Flick Filosopher  MaryAnn Johanson

4.5/5
"Just about the truest and most satisfying screen adaptation most anyone could have ever hoped for."  Film Threat  Michael Dequina

3.5/4
"Sam Raimi has set the bar unusually high for the rest of the summer film season with this exciting and exhilarating adventure."  TheMovieReport.com  Michael Dequina

2.5/5
"Tobey Maguire is one of the only decent things about the film, and he is hampered by a completely and wholeheartedly adequate script."  Goatdog's Movies  Michael W. Phillips, Jr.

3.5/4
"Was it worth the wait? Absolutely."  Aisle Seat  Mike McGranaghan

4/5
""Spider-Man" will not only make you believe that a teenager can swing from the skyscrapers; it will almost make you believe that you are up there swinging with him."  Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies  Nell Minow

4/5
"Como não simpatizar com um super-herói que vai de ônibus para o trabalho?"  Cinema em Cena  Pablo Villaca

"A franchise is born."  Shadows on the Wall  Rich Cline

B+
"For an hour or so, it really achieves something memorable. The rest of the time, it contents itself with merely being a solid, entertaining ride."  Flipside Movie Emporium  Rob Vaux

3/4
"Peter Parker pick of a pack of pulp protagonists"  Laramie Movie Scope  Robert Roten

B+
"Tobey Maguire IS Peter Parker."  Reeling Reviews  Robin Clifford

78/100
"Despite its many action scenes and should-have-been tense moments, the film packs very little excitement."  Apollo Guide  Ryan Cracknell

5/5
"Parents will thrill to see a childhood hero in a full live-action adventure, while a whole new generation gets their first taste of a hero too cool to ever go out of style."  eFilmCritic.com  Scott Weinberg

"[Sam] Raimi captures the ineffable quality that makes this misfit with muscles New York's own blue-collar, working-man's hero."  Seanax.com  Sean Axmaker

C
"Elements of Lee's classic tales may be present, but each and every one gets doctored just enough to make them feel different, distorted, and unfaithful to the source material."  Eclipse Magazine  Sean O'Connell
OFCS Rating: 93% Fresh
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