Spider-Man (2002)

Discovering you have extraordinary gifts is exciting, until you learn the heavy responsibility that comes with them. Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man," written by David Koepp, delivers exactly what fans and newcomers alike expect from a superhero blockbuster, no more and no less. Raimi, who showed his flair for comic book style with "Darkman," brings plenty of energy to the hero's origin story. Tobey Maguire plays Peter Parker, a shy, brainy high school outcast living with his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) in Queens, who reacts with fitting delight, and surprising maturity, when a genetically engineered spider bite gives him incredible agility, strength and the power to spin webs. After a tragedy teaches him a painful lesson about power and responsibility, he becomes the masked hero Spider-Man. Kirsten Dunst is appealing as Mary Jane Watson, the girl next door Peter has always loved, and James Franco plays his best friend, Harry Osborn. Where the film stumbles is in its frenetic computer-generated action, which feels more like a video game than the gravity-defying feats of a real hero. Willem Dafoe is perfectly cast as Harry's brilliant, unhinged father, Norman, who becomes Spider-Man's split-personality nemesis, the Green Goblin, and J.K. Simmons steals scenes as blustery newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson. It's a lot of fun overall. It doesn't quite match "Superman" or "Batman" in bringing a beloved character to the screen, but it earns a respectable third place.