This movie is very good. It has good role models. The end is a little violent at the end and SpiderMan gets his butt kicked. It swears sometimes, but not usually. A few of the scenes are pretty pointless, but it is still a good movie. It is not as good as the other SpiderMan movies, though.
Spider-Man
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
A fun movie; may be too intense for younger kids.
Themes in this movie include: dating/crushes, family relationships, loss
updated 09.17.09
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 11 and Up
The good stuff
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Role models:
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Spider-Man was written by Nell Minow
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
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- 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"?
Have you seen it? Review It!
More on Spider-Man
What’s the Story?
Toby Maguire stars as Peter Parker, a brilliant and sensitive high school student who's so deeply in love with his next-door neighbor Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) that he can barely bring himself to say hello to her. On a school field trip, he's bitten by a genetically engineered spider; the next morning he wakes up with some distinctly arachnid-like qualities: He can see without his glasses, climb walls, eject webbing with the swinging power of rope and the strength of steel, and anticipate danger. Peter plays around with his newfound superpowers but quickly learns that power comes with great responsibility. Great risk comes as well: Everyone Peter cares about is put in danger because of who he is. Meanwhile, Peter's best friend's father, industrialist Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), has decided to try out his company's new product on himself. He, too, develops extraordinary power -- and a mad fury. His new alter ego is dubbed the Green Goblin for his bizarre armor-like covering.
Is It Any Good?
Maguire is just right as Peter, the supporting cast is great, and the script is excellent, striking just the right note of respect and affection for the source material. It has a contemporary feel without being showily post-modern or ironic. The special effects are thrilling. New York City is brilliantly stylized. Peter's relationship with MJ is sweetly romantic. The movie's weakest point is that it fails in the single most important requirement for a comic book-based movie: The villain isn't unforgettably crazy or evil or larger-than-life. Dafoe is a brilliant actor, but the part of Osborn/Green just isn't interesting enough to be truly scary.
Parents who are struggling with whether this movie is appropriate for kids under 13 should know that it's at about the same level as the X-Men movies. Keep in mind that just because kids can repeat after you that "it's only pretend" doesn't mean that they fully understand what that means until they're 10 or even older. Some kids may see the movie and appear to have no problems with it but later act out in other ways. Be watchful for kids who respond by desensitizing themselves to violence or re-enacting it.
Movie Details
Studio: Columbia Tristar, Director: Sam Raimi
Run time: 121 minutes
Theatrical release: 5/3/2002, DVD release: 11/1/2002
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence.
Run time: 121 minutes
Theatrical release: 5/3/2002, DVD release: 11/1/2002
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence.
Our Members Say
See all 55 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Pretty Good
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Negative role models
This is the best spider man movie ever made i love the orginal spider man nothing can top this.
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Negative role models
This is the best spider man movie ever made i love the orginal spider man nothing can top this.
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Awesome for tweens
This is a great superhero movie. It has lots of action, and some funny parts. But the Goblin's board of directors are turned into bones, some people get blown up, Uncle Ben's shooting is implied,. and for the grand finale, the Goblin gets impaled, although bloodlessly, on a row of spikes from his glider. Although a little bit less violent than your average PG-13, I would get at least into the double digits before you pop in this DVD.
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I rate this title off for age 6 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
THE BEST SPIDERMAN MOVIE!!!
This a great movie with disturbing action scenes that are NOT for kids under 7. Like when a knife pierces somebody'd body and he coffs up blood.
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
good movie. Go spider man!!!!!!
spider man #1 has always been my favorite one! thing you need to watch out for our: vilonce, some times really intense. And romance between teenagers and some language. Besides that it is a age apropreat movie.
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
good movie. Go spider man!!!!!!
spider man #1 has always been my favorite one! thing you need to watch out for our: vilonce, some times really intense. And romance between teenagers and some language. Besides that it is a age apropreat movie.
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
good movie. Go spider man!!!!!!
spider man #1 has always been my favorite one! thing you need to watch out for our: vilonce, some times really intense. And romance between teenagers and some language. Besides that it is a age apropreat movie.
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
good for teens.
i thought this was a very good movie, a little violent in the end but still very good.
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
My sister can watch this, and shes 9
Spiderman is great and has good role models!
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
for tweens
Violent like bombs and falling concret spider man kisses upside down some language
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
pretty good
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I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Negative role models
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Good for preteens
Pretty good.
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
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I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
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I rate this title iffy for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
one of the best movies of all time
the best spidy movie yet and yes you can see her nebles a whole bunch of violence
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
Still iffy for 13-14 year olds.
A little iffy for a 13y/o. This has more blood than other recent superhero films. The scene with MJ and SM is quite sensual, cos you can see her nipples poking through her top. The Green Goblin is quite scary.
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
spider man review by critic07
It is the best movie of all time, no super hero movie can top, i mean the dark knight came close but ya' know, it can't be toped. SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!
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Ratings at a Glance
| 100% | of parents say it's too violent |
| 50% | of parents say the sexual behavior isn't age appropriate |
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