Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
For a generation of movie fans, Tobey Maguire will forever be their Spider-Man, and director Sam Raimi's trilogy, beginning with 2002's "Spider-Man," will always be the best on-screen representation of the most famous wall-crawler in movie history.
"Spider-Man" stars, as stated, Maguire as Peter Parker, and he's supported by an all-star cast of Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, and more. The story watches Peter go from gawky teenager to the super-powered, spandex-clad Spider-Man as he faces off against the Green Goblion (Dafoe), who is determined to take away everything that matters to Peter.
"At its best, 'Spider-Man' takes the adolescent yearning at the heart of most superhero sagas and gives it a lovely swing. The script, by David Koepp, isn't inspired, but it keeps the emotional beats clean, and director Sam Raimi treats his hero tenderly: He gives him space to watch and think as well as act," wrote Slate's David Edelstein.