Spider-Man( 2002 film)

***Spider-Man*** is a 2002 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, a high school student living in New York City, who turns to crimefighting after developing spider-like super powers. *Spider-Man* also stars Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn (a.k.a. the Green Goblin), Kirsten Dunst as Peter's love interest Mary Jane Watson, Rosemary Harris and Cliff Robertson as Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and James Franco as his best friend Harry Osborn.

After progress on the film stalled for nearly 25 years, it was licensed for a worldwide release by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1999 after it acquired options from MGM on all previous scripts developed by Cannon Films, Carolco and New Cannon. Exercising its option on just two elements from this multi-script acquisition (a screenplay credited to James Cameron, Ted Newsom, John Brancato, Barney Cohen, and "Joseph Goldman" (the pen name of Menahem Golan) and a later treatment credited solely to Cameron), Sony hired David Koepp to create a working screenplay from this "Cameron material". Directors Roland Emmerich, Ang Lee, Chris Columbus, Jan de Bont, M. Night Shyamalan, Tony Scott and David Fincher were considered to direct the project before Raimi was hired as director in 2000. The Koepp script was rewritten by Scott Rosenberg during preproduction and received a dialogue polish from Alvin Sargent during production.

Filming took place in Los Angeles, and New York City from January 8 to June 30, 2001. *Spider-Man* premiered in the Philippines on April 30, 2002, and had its general release in the United States on May 3, 2002. It became a critical and financial success. For its time, it was the only film to reach $100 million in its first weekend, had the largest opening weekend gross of all time, and was the most successful film based on a comic book. With $821.7 million worldwide, it was 2002's third-highest-grossing film and is the 50th-highest-grossing film of all time (seventh at the time of release). The budget of the film was 139 million dollars.

PLOT

High-school senior Peter Parker lives with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and is a school outcast. On a school field trip, he visits a genetics laboratory with his friend Harry Osborn and love interest Mary Jane Watson. There, Peter is bitten by a genetically engineered "super spider." Shortly after arriving home, he becomes unconscious. Meanwhile, Harry's father, scientist Norman Osborn, owner of Oscorp, is trying to secure an important military contract. He experiments on himself with an unstable performance-enhancing chemical. After absorbing the chemical, he goes insane, and kills his assistant.

The next morning, Peter finds that he is no longer near-sighted, and his body has metamorphosized into a more muscular physique. At school, he finds that his body can produce webs, and his quickened reflexes let him avoid injury during a fight with Flash Thompson. Peter discovers he has developed superhuman speed, strength, the ability to stick to surfaces, and a heightened ability to sense danger.

Brushing off Ben's advice that "with great power comes great responsibility," Peter thinks of impressing Mary Jane with a car. He enters an underground fighting tournament and wins his first match, but the promoter cheats him out of his money. When a thief suddenly raids the promoter's office, Peter allows him to escape for revenge. Moments later, he discovers that Ben was carjacked, and killed. Peter pursues and confronts the carjacker, seeing it was the thief he let escape ealier. After Peter disarms him, the carjacker tries to flee, but dies when he falls out of a window. Meanwhile, a crazed Norman interrupts a military experiment, and kills several scientists and the military's General Slocum.

Upon graduating, Peter begins using his abilities to fight injustice, donning a costume, and the persona of Spider-Man. J. Jonah Jameson, a newspaper company headmaster, hires Peter as a freelance photographer, since he is the only person providing clear images of Spider-Man.

Norman, upon learning Oscorp's board members plan to sell the company, assassinates them at the World Unity Fair. Jameson quickly dubs the mysterious killer the Green Goblin. The Goblin offers Spider-Man a place at his side, but Spider-Man refuses. They fight, and Spider-Man is wounded. At Thanksgiving dinner, May invites Mary Jane, Harry, and Norman. During the dinner, Norman sees the wound, and realizes Spider-Man's identity: Peter Parker. Shortly after he leaves, the Green Goblin attacks Aunt May while she was reading a prayer for Ben and hospitalizes her.

Mary Jane admits she has a crush on Spider-Man, who has rescued her on numerous occasions, and asks Peter whether Spider-Man ever asked about her. Harry, who loves Mary Jane, arrives and learns she has feelings for Peter. Devastated, Harry tells his father that Peter loves Mary Jane, unintentionally revealing Spider-Man's biggest weakness: his love for Mary Jane.

The Goblin strikes and holds Mary Jane and a Roosevelt Island Tram car full of children hostage alongside the Queensboro Bridge. He forces Spider-Man to choose whom he wants to save, and drops Mary Jane and the children. Spider-Man manages to save both Mary Jane and the tram car, while the Goblin is pelted by garbage and metal pipes by civilians who side with Spider-Man. The Goblin then grabs Spider-Man, and throws him into an abandoned building where they battle. The Goblin overpowers Spidey. When the Goblin boasts about how he will later kill Mary Jane, an enraged Spider-Man overpowers the Goblin. Now with the Goblin at Spider-Man's mercy, he reveals himself to be Norman Osborn. Peter is shocked and Osborn starts to try to stop Peter. But the evil side isn't defeated yet, he activates his glider to impale our hero, but thanks to his spider-sense he backflips and the glider doesn't impale him, it impales Osborn. His last request is Peter not tell Harry about Osborn's secret. A horrified Peter watches as Norman Osborn dies.

A badly injured Spider-Man takes Osborn's body back to his house and gently lays him on a sofa. But Harry comes in and sees Spider-Man with his father's body. Thinking that the web head killed his dad, Harry grabbed a gun from a drawer and tries to kill him, but the spider already got out from the window he opened to get in.

At Osborn's funeral, Harry swears revenge and says that Peter is the only family Harry has left. While Peter stands over Ben's grave, a Mary Jane Watson comes and confessed her love for Peter. Peter walks off and remembers his uncle's words: With great power comes great responsibility.

We are then shown the final swing.

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

Rosemary Harris as Aunt May/ May Parker

Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben/ Ben Parker

J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson

Bill Nunn as Robbie Robertson

Ted Raimi as Hoffman

Elizabeth Banks as Betty Brant

Joe Manganiello as Flash/Eugene Thompson

Michael Papajohn as the carjacker

Ron Perkins as Dr. Mendell Strom

Randy Savage as Bonesaw McGraw

Octavia Spencer as check-in girl

Lucy Lawless as the punk rock girl

Bruce Campbell as ring announcer

Stan Lee as man dodging debris

Macy Gray as herself

Robert Kerman as tugboat captain

Hugh Jackman was going to make a cameo as Wolverine, but it never happened.