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 the Harry's father, weapons-manufacturing
mogul Norman Osborn. Spider-Man was written by the prolific blockbuster
scribe David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Panic Room). | Tobey Maguire | Peter Parker/Spider-Man |
| Willem Dafoe | Norman Osborn/Green Goblin |
| Kirsten Dunst | Mary Jane Watson |
| James Franco | Harry Osborn |
| Cliff Robertson | Uncle Ben |
| Rosemary Harris | Aunt May |
| J.K. Simmons | J. Jonah Jameson |
| Joe Manganiello | Flash Thompson |
| Gerry Becker | Maximilian Fargas |
| Bill Nunn | Robbie Robertson |
| Jack Betts | Henry Balkan |
| Stanley Anderson | General Slocum |
| Ron Perkins | Dr. Mendel Stromm |
| Randy Savage | Bone Saw McGraw |
| Myk Watford | Cop at Fire |
| Elizabeth Banks | Betty Brandt |
| Ted Raimi | Hoffman |
| Bruce Campbell | Announcer |
| Michael Papajohn | Burglar |
Genre/Type - Fantasy, Action, Comic-Book Superhero Film
Produced by - Columbia Pictures / Marvel Studios
Release - May 3, 2002 (USA)
Released by - Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment
Running time - 121 min.
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X-Men (2000, Bryan Singer)
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