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.
Spider-Man has been one of the biggest superhero franchises to hit the big screen in the past two decades. Who was almost cast in the three different iterations of the superhero tale?
After Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically altered spider, he gains newfound, spider-like powers and ventures out to solve the mystery of his parent's mysterious death.
In a world where mutants (evolved super-powered humans) exist and are discriminated against, two groups form for an inevitable clash: the supremacist Brotherhood, and the pacifist X-Men.
Director:
Bryan Singer
Stars:
Patrick Stewart,
Hugh Jackman,
Ian McKellen
In the 1960s, superpowered humans Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr work together to find others like them, but Erik's vengeful pursuit of an ambitious mutant who ruined his life causes a schism to divide them.
Director:
Matthew Vaughn
Stars:
James McAvoy,
Michael Fassbender,
Jennifer Lawrence
The human government develops a cure for mutations, and Jean Gray becomes a darker uncontrollable persona called the Phoenix who allies with Magneto, causing escalation into an all-out battle for the X-Men.
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.Written by
Soumitra
When used in the trailer, the shot of Peter doing a long back-flip onto a car hood was digitally altered to put him in his Spider-Man outfit instead of his wrestling outfit. See more »
Goofs
Close to the end of the film when the Green Goblin bursts in the window of Aunt May's house, in one shot you can see she is leaning by the side of the bed, and in all other shots she has her head on the bed. See more »
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. But let me assure you: This, like any story worth telling, is all about a girl. That girl. The girl next door. Mary Jane Watson. The woman I've loved since before I even liked girls.
[referring to Flash Thompson sitting next to her]
Peter Parker:
I'd ...
[...] See more »
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. See more »
Alternate Versions
In the version that showed on Cartoon Network, there were many cuts for time, violence, and swearing. All uses of ass, hell, and damn were scrubbed from the movie (i.e. Goblin says "we're gonna have [an interesting] time" as opposed to a "hell of a time"). References to religion were also trimmed. There is also an alternate angle of Norman getting impaled that is less violent. See more »
I thoroughly enjoyed "Spider-Man," which I saw in a screening. I thought the movie was very engrossing. Director Sam Raimi kept the action quotient high, but also emphasized the human element of the story. Tobey Maguire was very believable as the gawky teenager in the early part of the film and then, after his run-in with the radioactive, genetically engineered spider, as the athletic, acrobatic superhero of the title. His boyish glee at discovering his new superpowers was infectious and got a lot of laughs. I also didn't mind the changes to the "Peter Parker: The Amazing Spider-Man" comic book story that the film's writers made, e.g., having Spider-Man's web come out of glands in his wrists rather than being an invention of Peter Parker's. Especially good were Rosemary Harris and Cliff Robertson as Aunt May and Uncle Ben Parker, Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/the Green Goblin, James Franco as Harry Osborn, and Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson. And in a small but memorable role, J.K. Simmons ("Oz," Law & Order") as newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson was hilarious. Perfect casting. I also thought the special effects were very good. Although I could easily tell when Spidey was a computer-generated image (or a stunt double for that matter), it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the movie. However, I saw the movie with a six-year-old, who found the villainous Green Goblin -- superbly personified by Willem Dafoe -- very, very frightening, so I would advise against taking children younger than 10 years of age to this movie. "The Amazing Spider-Man" comic book was a childhood favorite of mine, and I can honestly say that Sam Raimi has done it justice! I'm going to go see this movie again (sans terrified six-year-old).
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I thoroughly enjoyed "Spider-Man," which I saw in a screening. I thought the movie was very engrossing. Director Sam Raimi kept the action quotient high, but also emphasized the human element of the story. Tobey Maguire was very believable as the gawky teenager in the early part of the film and then, after his run-in with the radioactive, genetically engineered spider, as the athletic, acrobatic superhero of the title. His boyish glee at discovering his new superpowers was infectious and got a lot of laughs. I also didn't mind the changes to the "Peter Parker: The Amazing Spider-Man" comic book story that the film's writers made, e.g., having Spider-Man's web come out of glands in his wrists rather than being an invention of Peter Parker's. Especially good were Rosemary Harris and Cliff Robertson as Aunt May and Uncle Ben Parker, Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/the Green Goblin, James Franco as Harry Osborn, and Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson. And in a small but memorable role, J.K. Simmons ("Oz," Law & Order") as newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson was hilarious. Perfect casting. I also thought the special effects were very good. Although I could easily tell when Spidey was a computer-generated image (or a stunt double for that matter), it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the movie. However, I saw the movie with a six-year-old, who found the villainous Green Goblin -- superbly personified by Willem Dafoe -- very, very frightening, so I would advise against taking children younger than 10 years of age to this movie. "The Amazing Spider-Man" comic book was a childhood favorite of mine, and I can honestly say that Sam Raimi has done it justice! I'm going to go see this movie again (sans terrified six-year-old).