Spider-ManMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 73 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
11 OK for kids 11+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 90
    Washington Post | Stephen Hunter

    An exuberance, a celebration, a hoot, a kick and a half. Read full review

  • 90
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Maguire 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. Read full review

  • 88
    USA Today | Mike Clark

    This is a rare twisted crowd-pleaser for longtime fans as well as novices -- or for those that don't know an arachnid from an insect. Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times | Dana Stevens

    Spider-Man, while hardly immune to these vices, is, like Mr. Maguire, disarmingly likable, and touching in unexpected ways. Read full review

  • 80
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    With disarmingly entertaining movies like this, dare I say, who needs big bad superhero movies? Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    A canny franchise escapade; it gets the job done. But it also leaves you hungry for something more, and I don't necessarily mean the next episode. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    Spider-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. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    Pic's happiest surprise is Tobey Maguire in the title role, as the young actor provides an emotional openness and vulnerability that gives this $120 million production its most distinctive flavor. Read full review

  • 63
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    The 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. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    The superhero part of the movie will leave audiences with a flat feeling, thanks to computery-looking special effects and a sagging story line. Read full review

View more reviews for Spider-Man on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 11+ A fun movie; may be too intense for younger kids.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this movie's PG-13 rating comes from a couple of mild words, a clingy wet T-shirt, and -- particularly -- a great deal of comic book-style violence. It can get very intense and includes not just fires and explosions, but people getting vaporized, shot (off-camera), and impaled. Characters lose people close to them; a group of schoolchildren is in peril; and parents emotionally abuse their children. But the movie's core messages about empathy and responsibility are strong, and Peter Parker is one of the comic book world's more thoughtful heroes.
  • Families can talk about the fact that two major male parent figures die. Many of the kids (particularly boys) who will be most interested in seeing the movie are at an age when separation from parents is starting to become an issue. You might want to have a conversation about real-life ways to deal with that.
  • Also, do you agree that people "love to see a hero fail"?
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: "With great power comes great responsibility" is the lesson learned here as a new hero is born.
  • rolemodels true1 Positive role models: Peter learns important lessons about responsibility. On the other hand he blames himself for one of the movie's sadder moments. The main villain is deceitful and conflicted, but wants the best for his son.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Frequent peril and fight scenes, some intense. A character is violently impaled in a climactic scene.
  • sex false2 Sex: Passionate kissing. MJ wears a clingy wet T-shirt in one scene.
  • language false2 Language: Mild: "ass," "damn," and one "s--tty."
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: Plenty of tie-ins in this franchise.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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