Genres:
Action
Fantasy
Theatrical Release: 05/03/2002(USA)
Release Date: 01/01/2001
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time:
Flags: Violence, Questionable for Children, Suitable for Teens
Distributor/Studio: Columbia TriStar
After incorporating elements of comic book style and design into many of his films, director
Sam Raimi helms this straight-ahead, big-budget comic book adaptation, which also marks acclaimed young actor
Tobey Maguire's first dip into live-action blockbuster filmmaking.
Spider-Man follows the template of the original
Stan Lee/
Steve Ditko source material, with hero
Peter Parker an orphaned, intellectual teen loner living in Queens with his aunt (
Rosemary Harris) and uncle (
Cliff Robertson), and dreaming of the girl next door,
Mary Jane (
Kirsten Dunst). On a field trip to a Columbia University lab,
Peter is bitten by a genetically altered spider and overnight he gains superhuman strength, agility, and perception. At first,
Peter uses his powers for material gain, winning a wrestling match with a purportedly lucrative prize. But when
Peter apathetically fails to stop a burglar from robbing the wrestling arena, a tragedy follows that compels him to devote his powers to fighting crime -- as the superhero
Spider-Man. When he's not busy fighting crime in a spider suit,
Peter moves into an apartment with his best friend,
Harry (
James Franco), and begins work as a photographer at the Daily Bugle. Meanwhile, his do-gooder alter ego finds a nemesis in the form of the
Green Goblin (
Willem Dafoe), a super-powered, megalomaniacal villain who happens to be the alter ego of
Harry's father, weapons-manufacturing mogul
Norman Osborn.
Spider-Man was written by the prolific blockbuster scribe
David Koepp (
Jurassic Park,
Panic Room). ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
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