Spider-Man (2002)

When bitten by a genetically modified spider, a nerdy, shy, and awkward high school student gains spider-like abilities that he eventually must use to fight evil as a superhero after tragedy befalls his family.

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writers:

Stan Lee (Marvel comic book), Steve Ditko (Marvel comic book),

Stars:

Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 44 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tobey Maguire	...	Spider-Man / Peter Parker
Willem Dafoe	...	Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Kirsten Dunst	...	Mary Jane Watson
James Franco	...	Harry Osborn
Cliff Robertson	...	Ben Parker
Rosemary Harris	...	May Parker
J.K. Simmons	...	J. Jonah Jameson
Joe Manganiello	...	Flash Thompson
Gerry Becker	...	Maximilian Fargas
Bill Nunn	...	Joseph 'Robbie' Robertson
Jack Betts	...	Henry Balkan
Stanley Anderson	...	General Slocum
Ron Perkins	...	Dr. Mendell Stromm
Michael Papajohn	...	Carjacker
K.K. Dodds	...	Simkins

Storyline

Based on Marvel Comics' superhero character, this is a story of Peter Parker who is a nerdy high-schooler. He was orphaned as a child, bullied by jocks, and can't confess his crush for his stunning neighborhood girl Mary Jane Watson. To say his life is "miserable" is an understatement. But one day while on an excursion to a laboratory a runaway radioactive spider bites him... and his life changes in a way no one could have imagined. Peter acquires a muscle-bound physique, clear vision, ability to cling to surfaces and crawl over walls, shooting webs from his wrist ... but the fun isn't going to last. An eccentric millionaire Norman Osborn administers a performance enhancing drug on himself and his maniacal alter ego Green Goblin emerges. Now Peter Parker has to become Spider-Man and take Green Goblin to the task... or else Goblin will kill him. They come face to face and the war begins in which only one of them will survive at the end.

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Plot Keywords:

spider | evil | fight | student | superhero | 

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Taglines:

An Ordinary Man. An Extraordinary Power.

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for stylized violence and action

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia Pictures [us] Columbia TriStar [uk]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 May 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Spider-Man: The Motion Picture

Filming Locations:

4th Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$139,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$130,613 (Brazil) (2 August 2002)

Gross:

$15,917,016 (Brazil) (11 October 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Marvel Enterprises, Laura Ziskin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 1988, director Albert Pyun was hired to direct a "Spider-Man" movie for Cannon Films. Scott Leva was hired to play Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and filming was set to take place at De Laurentiis' studio in Wilmington, North Carolina. With a $6 million budget, the Brooklyn sets were built for "Spider-Man" on the Wilmington stages and Pyun would also film a sequel to Masters of the Universe during the same time as "Spider-Man". Pyun had originally planned to film two weeks worth of scenes for "Spider-Man" before Leva's nerdy Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, then Leva would undergo a supervised eight week workout regimen to build muscle mass while director Pyun would film "Masters of the Universe Part 2", and filming for "Spider-Man" would resume for the scenes after Peter gets his spider powers. However, both projects were scrapped when Cannon Films eventually went out of business.

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Goofs

MJ tells Peter in the cafeteria that she noticed his eyes are blue. She says, "I didn't notice without your glasses." Clearly she meant she didn't notice his blue eyes when he had glasses.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Peter Parker: [voiceover] Who am I? You sure you want to know? The story of my life is not for the faint of heart. If somebody said it was a happy little tale... if somebody told you I was just your average ordinary guy, not a care in the world... somebody lied.

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Crazy Credits

The intro credits are all spun on a spider web and the end credits are surrounded by webbing on random sides of the screen.

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Connections

References Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Itsy Bitsy Spider"
Traditional
Performed by Willem Dafoe (uncredited)

User Reviews

Amazingly Spectacularly Great

Having seen the trailers for this film I have to say that I didn't walk into the cinema with high hopes. The computer effects looked badly integrated, the Green Goblin's costume looked awful and comic book adaptations usually have such painful scripting and plotting. Thankfully I was wrong on most counts (The Goblin still looks rubbish).

As it turns out, this is probably the best super-hero film I've yet seen - certainly up there with Superman and Batman. People seem to automatically comment that the script and acting was bad because they expect it to be the case in these films; and indeed it usually is. But if you go into Spider-man without this prejudicial attitude you'll be pleasently suprised. The acting is generally great - there is never a time when anyone is not believable as their character and you think "Hey, that's an actor, not Peter Parker". The effects do look artificial but the pace of the movie means you don't have time to dwell on this and the script is fine! What do people want, Shakespearian soliloquies? That would sound incredibly out-of-place in modern day New York. There are few of the painful cliches or dreadful dialogue that plague films like The Phantom Menace and the catchphrases like "friendly neighbourhood spider-man" are fully in-keeping with the character.

The comic turns from J.J. Jameson hit the mark, the snarling facial contortions of Willem Defoe were suitably evil-looking (and the conversation with his mirror-image was a great touch). My only gripe was with the Green Goblin's costume. Very monotone green and not very scary.

All-in-all a great film that I wouldn't hesitate for a second in recommending.