Editing Spider-Man (2002 film) (section)

== Reception ==

===Critical response===
{{RT prose|90|7.6|249|Not only does ''Spider-Man'' provide a good dose of web-swinging fun, it also has a heart, thanks to the combined charms of director Sam Raimi and star Tobey Maguire.}}<ref>{{cite Rotten Tomatoes |id=spiderman |title=Spider-Man |type=m |access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}{{RT data|edit}}</ref> {{Metacritic film prose|score=73|count=38|ref=yes|access-date=June 24, 2019}} Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite web |title=CinemaScore |url=http://www.cinemascore.com |access-date=June 24, 2019 |website=[[CinemaScore]] |archive-date=November 27, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991127210934/http://www.cinemascore.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The casting, mainly Maguire, Dafoe and Simmons, is often cited as one of the film's high points. Eric Harrison of the ''[[Houston Chronicle]]'' was initially skeptical of Maguire's casting, but later said it was difficult to imagine anyone else in the role.<ref name="Harrison">{{Cite news |last=Harrison |first=Eric |date=2002 |title=Spider-Man |url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ae/movies/reviews/1394713.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012144642/http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ae/movies/reviews/1394713.html |archive-date=October 12, 2007 |access-date=January 23, 2007 |work=Houston Chronicle}}</ref> Mike Clark of ''[[USA Today]]'' praised the casting as well.<ref name="Mike Clark">{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Mike |date=May 3, 2002 |title='Spider-Man' cast spins web of thrills, intrigue |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/2002/2002-05-03-spider-man.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604015523/http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/2002/2002-05-03-spider-man.htm |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |access-date=January 23, 2007 |website=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> In a positive review, [[Joe Morgenstern]] of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' said, "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 (1978 film)|Superman]]'' or [[Jack Nicholson]] to ''[[Batman (1989 film)|Batman]]''."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10203788741684560|title=Maguire's Super in 'Spider-Man,' But Human Side Is Film's Strength|work=Wall Street Journal |date=May 3, 2002 |last1=Morgenstern |first1=Joe }}</ref> [[Owen Gleiberman]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' had mixed feelings about Maguire in the title role, writing: "Maguire, winning as he is, never quite gets the chance to bring the two sides of Spidey—the boy and the man, the romantic and the avenger—together."<ref name="Gleiberman">{{Cite magazine |last=Gleiberman |first=Owen |date=May 1, 2002 |title=Spider-Man |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,234775~1~0~spider-man,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105182819/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C234775~1~0~spider-man%2C00.html |archive-date=January 5, 2009 |access-date=January 24, 2007 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref> Kirk Honeycutt of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' applauded the creativity of the opening credits and the upside-down kiss scene.<ref name="Hollywood Reporter">{{cite web |date=April 19, 2002 |title=Hollywood Reporter review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1468913 |url-access=registration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070503002707/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1468913 |archive-date=May 3, 2007 |access-date=January 26, 2007 |publisher=Hollywood Report}}</ref>

''[[LA Weekly]]''{{'s}} [[Manohla Dargis]] wrote, "It isn't that Spider-Man is inherently unsuited for live-action translation; it's just that he's not particularly interesting or, well, animated."<ref>{{cite web |last=Dargis |first=Manohla |title=I, Bug |url=http://www.laweekly.com/film+tv/film/i-bug/3951/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221160439/http://www.laweekly.com/film%2Btv/film/i-bug/3951/ |archive-date=December 21, 2007 |access-date=May 29, 2009 |website=[[LA Weekly]]}}</ref> Giving the film two and a half stars out of four, [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' criticized the scene in which Peter is given a choice between saving Mary Jane or a cable car full of children. Ebert said the visuals "could have given an impression of the enormous weights and tensions involved, but instead the scene seems more like a bloodless storyboard."<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web |date=May 3, 2002 |title=Roger Ebert review |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/spider-man-2002 |access-date=December 21, 2024 |website=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] }}</ref> In a 2007 retrospective on the first two ''Spider-Man'' films, Richard George of ''[[IGN]]'' called the Green Goblin's costume "almost comically bad". He wrote of the Goblin's mask: "Not only is it not frightening, it prohibits expression."<ref>{{cite web |last=George |first=Richard |date=April 19, 2007 |title=Spider-Man in Film: Volume One |url=http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/782/782199p3.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017233239/http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/782/782199p3.html |archive-date=October 17, 2007 |access-date=April 27, 2007 |website=[[IGN]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

''Entertainment Weekly'' put the upside-down kiss on its 2009 list of the best pop culture creations of the decade, saying: "There's a fine line between romantic and corny. And the rain-soaked smooch between Spider-Man and Mary Jane from 2002 tap-dances right on that line. The reason it works? Even if she suspects he's Peter Parker, she doesn't try to find out. And that's sexy."<ref>{{cite magazine<!--|editors=Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate-->|date=December 11, 2009|title=The 100 Greatest Movies, TV Shows, Albums, Books, Characters, Scenes, Episodes, Songs, Dresses, Music Videos, and Trends that Entertained Us over the Past 10 Years|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|issue=1079/1080|pages=74–84|asin=B00382WGUY}}</ref> In 2008, ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine ranked ''Spider-Man'' 437th on its list of the 500 best films of all time.<ref name="empire500">{{Cite magazine |date=October 3, 2008 |title=The 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/500-greatest-movies/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104180959/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/500-greatest-movies/ |archive-date=November 4, 2015 |magazine=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]}}</ref>