Customer Reviews

Spider-Man 2 (Widescreen Special Edition)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

unbelievable.the first spider man movie was awesome,but this movie was
even better.better special effects,better story,better villain.i didn't
think there was any way the first one could be topped.in this one we
have Doc Ock as the main villain,an inspired choice.the fight scenes
this time around are absolutely mind blowing.there is an interesting
and surprising subplot,which i won't reveal here .i gave the the first
movie 5/5,so i have to give this one a 5+/5 and i can't wait for the
third installment.

Not often does a sequel surpass the original, but Spider-Man 2 does. Really, this is the best movie of 2004 and if the Academy had any sense, it would be a Best Picture nominee. Unfortunately, it is too popular a movie to win awards. However, the character development is the major piece of the plot and the action just enhances it.

Peter Parker struggles with being a regular person and a superhero. His life is in shambles and his sometime employer, J. Jonah Jameson, continues to portray Spider-Man as evil. In order to make ends meet, Peter must help him do this despite the fact Peter is Spider-Man. His personal life is in the dumper too - MJ's marrying someone else, Aunt Mae is being foreclosed on, he can't pay the rent. However, the public loves and needs Spidey.

Watching Peter struggle with all of this, lose his confidence, give up Spider-Man and try and be normal shows how great a performance Tobey Maguire puts on. Critics loved the movie, moviegoers thronged to it, now the Academy should give it and its actors the awards it deserves.

The twists and turns of this movie lead to many surprises and revelations. Bring on Spider-Man 3!

In this second installment in the Spider-Man franchise, Peter Parker has his back against the wall as he tries to juggle life as a student, being best friends with Mary Jane Watson, carrying the guilt of his uncle's death, freelancing for the Daily Bugle, delivering pizza, and, of course, being ever on-call as your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man.

No matter how hard he tries, Peter just can't seem to balance everything at once and the constant sacrifices he makes in his personal life so he can help others wears him down . . . down . . . down . . . until he can't take it anymore and his spider-powers begin to change.

Then vanish.

The timing couldn't have been worse, either, because Dr. Otto Octavius's energy device backfired and has fused four robotic arms to his body, their AI worming its way into his brain, controlling him. All they care about is fulfilling their purpose and they don't care who they have to hurt to recreate the device they were made for.

Dr. Octopus's (Doc Ock) rampage through New York is met with little resistance until our favorite web-slinger attempts to take him on.

This movie thrills the inner fanboy much more than its predecessor and officially is my favorite so far in the Spider-Man series. This flick carries near start-to-finish classic superhero goodness: stellar aerial battles, eye-popping web-slinging, dual identity troubles, nerd-can't/won't-get-the-girl issues, a hardcore villain bent on his mark, trials, sacrifice--all crammed into a little over two-hour movie. But the pacing works and doesn't feel over cluttered at all.

You feel for Peter Parker every minute of this film, both when he's at the top of his game and when he's at the bottom, and when he loses his spider-powers, your heart sinks and you cry out, "No! Not Peter! His powers are part of who he is. How can you take them away?"

Tobey Maguire was extremely believable in this film and brought a real depth to Parker that--though was present in the first one--really shone through in this one. And Alfred Molina as Doc Ock? Such duality. When you first meet Otto Octavius, he genuinely seems like a nice guy, an almost fatherly figure in a way, but when he loses his project and those he cares about, things switch and he barely resembles the man he once was. Yet deep within, you see him struggling against the mechanical arms that have taken over his body and mind.

J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson was hilarious as always, and Kirsten Dunst as MJ--there was more maturity in the character this time around and though she still acted kind of "high school-ish," you also saw someone struggling with who they were--more specifically, trying desperately to reach out to the man she's fallen for but who is pushing her away.

Spider-Man 2 thrilled me to pieces. I was there on opening night and I left the theatre all smiles and in a state of disbelief at how downright cool it was. I wasn't sure if it would top the first one because most sequels--till that point because the Superman movies and the previous set of Batman films were pretty much what we had to go on except for X2--usually don't nail it like the first one.

I was proven wrong.

This movie rocked so hard I went back a couple more times and bought it on DVD as soon as I could.

Check this flick out. You're in for an amazingly cool, web-slinging good time.

Recommended.

A.P. Fuchs
Canister X

I had the disheartening feeling in the last few of Sam Raimi's films (particularly, "For Love of the Game", and the first "Spiderman"), that he had achieved enough success to be able to play in Hollywood's sandbox, but at the same time, had lost his creative flourish in able to do it. Gone seemed to be the trademark Raimi wit/creativity that made "Evil Dead 2" and "A Simple Plan" so intriguing.

However, Spiderman 2 finds us again playing in Sam Raimi's sandbox (with Hollywood's money), and I have come to the realization that he may well have created the best comic book film of all time.

Spiderman suffers from having a mythos that is not as deep for mining as Superman and Batman. Superman is a Christ-figure, who's secret identity (as so eloquently explained by Bill in "Kill Bill, Vol.2") is actually Clark Kent. Batman needs to be Batman, so driven by vengeance is he. That is rich stuff. Spiderman is driven more by a sense of decency and responsibility, and that's tougher to get much mileage out of - especially in a sequel, when the best part (the origin) has already been told. Spiderman 2 is not so much a plot-driven vehicle, as it seems to be an endless succession of moments, from the humorous (Parker turning his socks red and blue in the washing machine), to Raimiesque (the long, uncomfortable elevator ride), to the poetic (the passengers onboard the runaway train, passing the unmasked Spiderman back, away from danger, and promising to keep his secret). Raimi somehow takes all of these moments and weaves them together into a story, which is far superior to the competent first Spiderman film. Just when you thought Raimi had done all that could be done with this hero, he takes things to a whole new level, making Spiderman 2 a pretty amazing picture.

Quickly: I liked the first one better, everyone else disagrees with me. Doc Oc Rock.

Summary: you have probably all seen this one, but here ya go: Peter decides Spidey life is too much and ruins his personal life, filled with doubt he looses his powers. Meantime Doc Oc is born and goes nuts. Hobgoblin is hinted at, Parker crys alot, everyone crys alot, he decides he 'needs' to be Spidey again, his powers comeback and he kicks some butt. In the middle of all this is the messed up relationship between Parker and MJ that borders on psychotic.

The Good: the effects blew the first movie away. Watching Spidey wall crawl and web-sling all over way much more enjoyable and looked more realistic (still not great, but way better). Doc Oc Rocks, he does, they did a perfect job on him, he was played well, everything pretty much perfect. Spidey learned a power stunt! Okay showing my geeky Marvel RPG side here, but he actually did some new stuff with his webs, that was cool to see. The Super Strenght aspect came out a lot better in this one, and I liked seeing that. JJJ is still one of the best characters in the movie, perhaps even better the the Doc.

The Bad: The story. The premise for the story. I personally found this more sad then when Clark Kent became human.... well maybe not, but it's close. This was just so sappy, winney teenager, horrible love triangle, sappy, oh no Aunt May's crying about Ben again, horrible. It really bugged me. The whole battle with Doc Oc part which I loved, just seemed like a back story for the whole romance, self confidance plot. I just didn't like it and I didn't find it fit with any Spidey I know. Sure there is probably some series out there worse then the clone series where he looses his powers because Spidey interferes in his love life, I just never read it.

The Ugly: There is a part in the movie when Parker is 100% human again and Raindrops Keeps Falling on My Head is playing that I just hated. Really hated. It was as bad, if not worse ... okay maybe not... than the Clark Kent in the Dinner scene. Look at Parker all pro and confidant now, look at him trip, now lets watch him botch fixing a bike, now lets watch him do some other clumsy thing, all while that horrible song played. Danny Elfman did the music, why did they have to toss that in there... and it wasn't even raining!.

Overall: okay I know the above was more of a rant then a review. Actually the movies good, I really enjoyed it, Oc was just too cool to be true, the battles were great, the effects better then the first. I would watch it again. It's just that I liked the first one more, the story and the tacked on romance drove me nuts... luckily there were some good fights and Spidey delivering Pizza sceens that made up for it.

This movie takes up where the first one left off. Peter (Toby Maguire) has fallen on bad times he is a loner happy because he knows as Spiderman he can not have friends including Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst); the bad guys would use his friends as pawns. Everything is going to pot. He loses his job, cant pay his rent, his aunt is on foreclosure, he can not make schedule on anything he does. His best friend is out to get Spiderman. And heaven forbid he is falling behind in school.

Looks like it is decision time between his Spidy personality and Mary Jane Watson.

Which does he chose?

Which would you chose?

Is there a way out of the dilemma?

This film is very slow moving and depressing for at least the first third. They are relying on the reputation of the first Spiderman to carry this almost similar story. When the action picks up that is all it is just action. You may want to fast forward through this as nothing is said or reveled that will have any bearing on the end.

One day, I walked into my local Blockbuster the day Spider-Man 2 came out. I came twenty minutes after it opened, so I could get a copy. ALL THE SPIDER-MAN 2 DVDS WERE ALREADY RENTED. I came back a week later, because by then the rush should've been over. All the Spidey 2 DVDs were gone. Two weeks later, I finally got a copy, and I was blown away.
OK, first off, the SFX. They absolutely rocked. No flaws, screw ups, or even something that didn't look real. AMAZING. From begginning to end, there were no errors. Next, the characters. I do read the Spidey comics, and I must say that the Doc Ock presented in Spidey 2 was a lot more fun and entertaining then the one in the comic. His arms are more realistic looking, and the technology more believable.
Now, you're probably asking yourself, why the heck didn't this movie get five stars? Well, when Peter flips off his bike to avoid the car, he lands, and some kids go, "Hey, how'd ya do that?" Peter's reply: "Oh, well, you know, work out, eat your green vegetables." The kids say, without feeling or nothin', "That's what my ma's alawys sayin'. I just neva believed 'er." It was stale and boring.
The second reason, WHY DID PETER RUN OUT OF BLOODY POWERS?????? In the looniest sense in the world, Spidey just runs out of powers. Why??? I thought super heroes always just kept their powers. That part was pretty annoying and sensless to me. Oh well; all in all this is a d**n great movie, and is a must for any collection. So, what are you waiting for??? BUY IT!!!! (And if you already own it, buy it again.)

I am seriously surprised to see some of the negative reviews on here. I can't understand it.
I liked Tobey Maguire a lot more in this one than I did the first movie. He just seemed better for the role. I don't even know exactly why. He just looked, and acted the role so much better. I guess it's that it's his second go at it and doesn't need to get into the character anymore.
Kirsten Dunst, again, was awesome. I liked the hair colour more in this one. It looked realistic, like a red head should look. It fit her much better. I guess they could always say that her hair was dyed in the first movie. That would make sense to me.
Alfred Molina was a welcome addition to the cast. I felt he did the part of Doctor Octopus justice. I believe it's always hard to play a character that people already know. The character has a good 40 years of background and I feel that Molina played it to perfection. He stayed true to the character and gave it his own flare.
And it was great to see Jameson with a bigger role this time. I think that J.K. Simmons is an amazing actor and got to play with his hilarious character more.
The special effects were pretty awesome. I'm not usually one to praise a movie for it's special effects, but really, it was spotless. And it wasn't overused. Sam Raimi wanted to make sure that when it was possible to use animatronics for Ock's arms, he would. I can understand some of the action sequences needing computer animation to pull it off. How else would they do that battle on the train?!
Some people I found complained greatly about the lack of action and the copious amounts of romance. I didn't feel that was the case. Being someone who follows the comics, I found it to be true to the Spider-Man stories. It was showing that Peter was having a tough time, and it could only be emphasized by showing his relationships with his family and friends. If this wasn't to happen, we would be stuck with a film starring a protagonist that no one really cares about that much. I, for one, will not stand for that.
Besides, how is he supposed to fight when he doesn't have his powers for half the movie?
The action that was present was just amazing and surpassed the first movie in every way. Seriously, the visuals of Doc Ock and Spidey duking it out can't be beat! It just can't!
My only big complaint was the whole idea that Doc Ock's arms were alive. They squeaked at him and stuff. That's just a little too cheesy for my liking. The arm's designs were awesome, but I think it would just have been better to have him go crazy from the accident like in the comics. I'm sure they could make it work.
All in all, a terrific film. I can't wait to see the next one because I know there will be a next one.

this movie is better than the first one more action in it and a little bit of a chich flick to.a must see that wont bore the average male.

How it's possible to make a movie that goes for 1:30 hours and nothing happens? The graphics are so "good" that my Half-Life 2 game can go for Oscar for special effects. Did some kids in a school made it?

Don't ever buy it. Even don't rent it. I just lost 3.50 in Blockbuster. Not to mention the three hours of my life!