73
Metascore
38 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversMaguire 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.
- 80The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensSpider-Man, while hardly immune to these vices, is, like Mr. Maguire, disarmingly likable, and touching in unexpected ways.
- 75The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyThere'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.
- 70Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranSpider-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.
- 70Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanMildly 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."
- 70TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghThis fast-paced entertainment is a surprisingly successful mix of spectacle and human-scale drama.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe 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.
- 60New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerNew York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerDespite 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.
- 50The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneThe movie, with spiderlike timidity, scuttles into a corner and freezes. [13 May 2002, p. 96]
- 50TimeRichard CorlissTimeRichard CorlissRaimi directs the film at Maguire's pensive pace. Some scenes are just inert.