# Spider-Man (2002 movie)

| Spider-Man |
| --- |
| Official Logo |
| Directed by | Sam Raimi |
| Written by | **Comic Book:** Stan Lee Steve Ditko **Screenplay:** David Koepp Alvin Sargent *(uncredited)* |
| Produced by | Laura Ziskin Ian Bryce |
| Starring | Tobey Maguire Willem Dafoe Kirsten Dunst James Franco Cliff Robertson Rosemary Harris |
| Cinematography | Don Burgess |
| Edited by | Arthur Coburn Bob Murawski |
| Music by | Danny Elfman |
| Production companies | Marvel Enterprises Laura Ziskin Productions |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date | May 3, 2002 |
| Running time | 121 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English  |
| Budget | $139 million |
| Box office | $821,708,551 |

Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero movie. It was made from the story of the Marvel Comics superhero, Spider-Man. It was the first in the *Spider-Man* movie series. It was written by David Koepp and directed by Sam Raimi. Tobey Maguire stars as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Kirsten Dunst plays the girl Peter loves, Mary-Jane Watson and Willem Dafoe plays the bad guy, Norman Osborn; the Green Goblin.

## Plot

Peter Parker is a very smart teenager, who lives with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben Peter has loved his next-door neighbor, Mary Jane since they were children. Peter is bullied at school by the other teenagers, but is defended by his best friend Harry Osborn. On a school trip, Peter is bitten by a spider that has been mutated by scientists. Tired, he runs home and goes straight to bed.

Meanwhile, Harry's father Norman Osborn is in trouble. Norman is the leader of his own company, named Oscorp. Oscorp does science studies and makes equipment for the military. They are working on a device that will allow someone to fly, as well as a new chemical formula that will make a person stronger. Norman is ready to test the formula on humans, but his fellow scientists say that the formula is still too dangerous. With no test subjects to work with, Norman decides to test the formula on himself. The formula mames Norman stronger and faster, but it drives him insane.

After waking up, Peter discovers that his eyesight has been fixed over night. He also finds out that his body has become much more muscular, and is happy to see such a sudden change. After being late for the bus, he easily catches up to it with his new super speed, and his hand sticks to a banner on the bus, accidentally ripping it off.

At school, Peter is eating lunch in the school cafeteria, but discovers that a fork is stuck to his wrist. While trying to get it off, he accidentally shoots a web from his wrist, sticking onto a lunch tray. He pulls it back, and it hits his bully Flash Thompson. Peter quickly leaves, but is attacked by Flash. However, Peter easily defeats him, and beats him up. Harry is amazed that Peter stands up for himself, but Mary Jane is shocked.

Later, the executive board of Oscorp kicks Norman from the company, saying he could ruin Oscorp. Norman steals the flying device and becomes the Green Goblin, attacking rival companies with his new powers. However, he begins to suffer from hallucinations, and a voice in his speaks to him as the Green Goblin, influencing Norman to do evil things.

Peter later signs up to enter a wrestling match to win a large cash reward, wanting to buy a car to impress Mary Jane. Uncle Ben tells Peter that with great power comes great responsibility. Peter ignores Uncle Ben and uses his powers to win the wrestling competition, However, the owner does not pay Peter the full amount, and Peter leaves in anger. A criminal steals all of the owner's money and runs off. Peter does not try to catch the criminal, as revenge for not getting paid as much as he wanted.

Outside, Peter notices a crowd, only to find Uncle Ben shot. Happy to see his nephew, Uncle Ben dies in Peter's arms. Peter angrily sets off to capture the killer, chasing him to an abandoned warehouse. He is horrified to find out that the man who killed Uncle Ben is the same criminal he refused to stop. The criminal falls through a window and dies, and Peter escapes.

After making a costume, Peter becomes Spider-Man and vows to fight crime, using Ben's words to their fullest. Peter takes a job as a photographer at the *Daily Bugle,* selling photos to J. Jonah Jameson, who hates Spider-Man and makes him look bad in the paper. Peter takes photos of himself in his costume and sells them to Jonah, who is more than happy to take them from Peter.

Later, Peter attends a parade as a photographer for the Bugle, but the Green Goblin attacks, and kills the Oscorp board members. Spider-Man shows up and defeats the Goblin, sending his glider out of control, and him into the distance. Spider-Man rescues Mary Jane from falling, and she asks who he is. He tells her that he's your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, before leaving.

Later, the Green Goblin attacks the Daily Bugle and demands that Jonah tell him who takes Spider-Man's photos. Jonah lies and tells him he doesn't know, until Spider-Man shows up. The Green Goblin uses a gas to knock him out, and brings Spider-Man to a rooftop. After he wakes up, he tells Spider-Man that they should work together, and that despite his heroic actions, the city will eventually hate Spider-Man. He leaves, after giving Spider-Man a choice to work with him, or die.

A building goes up in fire, and a woman screams that her baby is still inside. Spider-Man rescues the baby and goes to leave, before being stopped by a police officer, who goes to arrest Spider-Man. He goes to arrest him, but lets Spider-Man go to save another person from the building. The person turns out to be the Green Goblin in disguise, and he demands that Spider-Man give him an answer to his request for a partnership. Spider-Man refuses, and the two fight. After getting cut, Spider-Man leaves the building.

Later, Norman, Harry, Mary Jane and Aunt May meet at Peter's apartment for Thanksgiving. Peter arrives late and enters through his window as Spider-Man, but hides from his friends and family as they enter his room. Peter later joins them for dinner, and they go to say prayers. However, Norman notices a cut on Peter's arm, identical to one given by the Green Goblin. Norman realises that Peter is Spider-Man, and leaves in a hurry.

He attacks Aunt May in her home and scares hee so badly that she has to go to the hospital. There, Peter realizes that the Green Goblin knows he is Spider-Man and that he Mary Jane, knowing he will attack her next. When Peter calls her on the phone, the Green Goblin reves he has already taken her, and tells Peter to meet him at a bridge. Spider-Man goes to the bridge and finds the Green Goblin has Mary Jane in one arm and a group of kids in a cart in the other hand. The Green Goblin forces Spider-Man to choose between saving the person he loves or saving the innocent children. He then drops both at once. Spider-Man grabs Mary Jane first and uses his webbing to save the kids at the last second. The Green Goblin is angry and attacks Spider-Man, but a crowd of New Yorkers start to protect Spider-Man, throwing trash and knocking the Green Goblin off balance. The Green Goblin then grabs Spider-Man and throws him into an abandoned building.

The Green Goblin is brutal, and visciously beats up Spider-Man, cutting and bruising him, as well as setting off an explosion in fromt of him. Spider-Man spins a web to trap the Green Goblin, but it does nothing. After being knocked into a wall, Spider-Man tries to shoot another web, but his hand is stood on by the Green Goblin. He tells Spider-Man that after killing him, he'll make sure that Mary Jane suffers a slow and painful death. He then takes his glider and attempts to stab Spider-Man with it, but he resists, and throws the Green Goblin back. Spider-Man beats him up and pulls down a brick wall on him. Angry beyond measure, Spider-Man punches the Green Goblin over and over again, but the Goblin reveals that he is Norman Osborn.

Norman distracts Peter, and secretly presses a button on his suit, making his glider slowly rise up behind him. Trying one last time to make Spider-Man his partner, Norman pleads for Peter to be a son to him. Spider-Man refuses, saying his father was Ben Parker. Norman then tries to kill Peter by sending the glider flying into him, but using his spider-sense, Peter senses the glider and dodges it, causing it to crash into Norman, stabbing him through the waist. Groaning in pain, Norman asks that Peter not tell Harry he was the Green Goblin, and dies.

During the Norman's funeral, Harry swears to Petwe that Spider-Man will die, believing that Spider-Man killed his father. Mary Jane tells Peter that she loves him, but fearing that his enemies will attack her again, he refuses her confession. Leaving, Peter resolves that he is Spider-Man and swings through the city as its new protector.

## Production

A trailer containing original footage was shown for screenings of the 2002 movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The trailer shows a group of bank robbers flying in a helicopter and land on a giant web between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. The trailer was later taken down following the September 11 attacks. As a response, a scene where New Yorkers throw food at the Green Goblin and wave their flags while yelling "You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us" was added for reshoots, to emphasise unity following the attack.

## Reception

After the movie was kept from being made for almost 25 years, it was shown in theaters on May 3, 2002. Critics liked it a lot and it broke many movie records. It made more money than any other movie in 2001. Two sequels have been made, *Spider-Man 2* (2004) and *Spider-Man 3* (2007).

## Cast

* Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
* Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin
* Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson
* James Franco as Harry Osborn
* Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben Parker
* Rosemary Harris as Aunt May Parker
* J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson
* Gerry Becker as Maximilian Fargas
* Bill Nunn as Joseph "Robbie" Robertson
* Jack Betts as Henry Balkan
* Stanley Anderson as General Thomas Slocum
* Ron Perkins as Dr. Mendel Stromm
* Joe Manganiello as Flash Thompson

## Other websites

* *Spider-Man* on IMDb
* *Spider-Man* at AllMovie