Spider-Man
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: May 3, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
32
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
It's hard to recall the last time a big-ticket summer movie delivered so fully on its promise. Read full review
100
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
The effects are smashing, yet there's a heart behind them.
91
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Reminds us of just how exciting and satisfying the fantasy cinema can be when it's approached with imagination and flair. Read full review
90
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Maguire and Dunst keep Spider-Man on a high with their sweet-sexy yearning, spinning a web of dazzle and delicacy that might just restore the good name of movie escapism. Read full review
90
Washington PostStephen Hunter
An exuberance, a celebration, a hoot, a kick and a half. Read full review
90
Film ThreatMichael Dequina
Just about the truest and most satisfying screen adaptation most anyone could have ever hoped for. Read full review
90
SalonCharles Taylor
What holds the movie together is its modest, sweet spirit. Read full review
90
The A.V. ClubStaff (Not Credited)
Spider-Man brings the beloved comic-book character to the screen with both angst and action undamaged by the move. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Spider-Man is an almost-perfect extension of the experience of reading comic-book adventures.
88
USA TodayMike Clark
This is a rare twisted crowd-pleaser for longtime fans as well as novices -- or for those that don't know an arachnid from an insect. Read full review
80
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Spider-Man, while hardly immune to these vices, is, like Mr. Maguire, disarmingly likable, and touching in unexpected ways. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
The film feels contained — its design, visual effects and cinematography all in the right balance and proportion. Spider-Man is the hero, and not some element in the filmmaking process. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Every action adventure needs a memorable villain, but no movie needs the strident intensity of Mr. Dafoe, who either has no interest in, or no grasp of, the sort of charmingly malign wit that Gene Hackman brought to "Superman," or Jack Nicholson to "Batman."
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
With disarmingly entertaining movies like this, dare I say, who needs big bad superhero movies? Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
With centrifugal force on his side, Spider-Man dips, weaves, and whooshes past, up, and around the camera -- it's a rush, and it plasters a grin on your face even after you've left the theatre. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
There's a particular upside-down, half-masked kiss that instantly becomes one of movie history's more memorable smooches. It's the kiss to send any teenaged boy on a spinning high, as well as launching the new age of arachnophilia. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
This is a pure popcorn movie -- the kind of film one can unabashedly enjoy for what it is. There's plenty of visual flash and dizzying action, but not at the expense of the other qualities that make for a complete motion picture experience. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeSam Allis
Raimi crafted a complicated hero who is a welcome relief from the usual two-dimensional offerings. That said, we could use some moxie in the sequel. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
It's got one of the best kisses in movie history: Spidey, hanging upside down, delivers an open-mouth smooch to Mary Jane, a lip-lock for the ages. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
The Spider-Man saga is a classic for a reason, and the filmmakers don't squander the material's strengths. Read full review
75
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Surprisingly charming and even witty match for the best of Hollywood's comic-book adaptations. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
A canny franchise escapade; it gets the job done. But it also leaves you hungry for something more, and I don't necessarily mean the next episode. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
What distinguishes Spider-Man from most other comic book movies is that the film is at its most engaging when its hero is out of costume. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
When the cast and their director are really cooking, they conjure a bipolar sense of high school-age emotion -- and use it to fuel outrageous fantasy. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Spider-Man may look like an action comic come to life, but its best feature is its romance comic heart. It's that rare cartoon movie in which the villain is less involving than the love story. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Mildly cheesy but not overwrought, this long-awaited future franchise is a competent seat-warmer at the box-office table for the two weekends preceding George Lucas's "Attack of the Clones." Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
This fast-paced entertainment is a surprisingly successful mix of spectacle and human-scale drama. Read full review
70
SlateDavid Edelstein
This is a star-making performance, as fresh and funny as Christopher Reeve's in Superman (1978). Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Between the kinetic and often exciting chase scenes, screenwriter David Koepp plays with every teen's yearning for a secret identity, and Tobey Maguire is charming as the insecure superhero. Read full review
70
NewsweekDavid Ansen
Director Sam Raimi, working from David Koepp's screenplay, wisely anchors his big action-adventure flick on Maguire's modest but beguiling persona.
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Pic's happiest surprise is Tobey Maguire in the title role, as the young actor provides an emotional openness and vulnerability that gives this $120 million production its most distinctive flavor. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The origin story is well told, and the characters will not disappoint anyone who values the original comic books. It's in the action scenes that things fall apart. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Despite all the computer-generated effects and highflying superhero theatrics, this roughly $120 million movie is, with few exceptions, remarkable only in its small human touches. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
The movie, with spiderlike timidity, scuttles into a corner and freezes. [13 May 2002, p. 96]
50
TimeRichard Corliss
Raimi directs the film at Maguire's pensive pace. Some scenes are just inert.
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
I'll sum up my reaction in a word: Yawn. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The superhero part of the movie will leave audiences with a flat feeling, thanks to computery-looking special effects and a sagging story line. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
Perhaps the real question, then, isn't how you update Spider-Man but why you would even try. Introduced in 1962, the original superhero helped to initiate the age of modern comics. Raimi hasn't figured out how to reconfigure him for the blockbuster age, and there are suggestions. Read full review
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