Spider-Man 2 (2005) Movie Info
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | Spider-Man 2 (2004) |
| Director | Sam Raimi |
| Screenplay Writer | Alvin Sargent (Story: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Michael Chabon) |
| Based on Novel by | Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko |
| Lead Actors | Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina |
| Cast | Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Donna Murphy, Daniel Gillies |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Superhero |
| Release Date | June 30, 2004 (United States) |
| Duration | 2h 7m (127 minutes) |
| Budget | ~$200 million |
| Language | English |
| Country | United States |
| Box Office (Worldwide) | ~$789 million |
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Summary
Sam Raimi and his cast improve on the 2002 blockbuster with the archetype of what a superhero flick should be. Spider-Man fights Doctor Octopus as his life falls apart around him and the audience cheers.
Review
First of all, I like, but not love Spider-Man. My review (also on this site) points out my problem with the flick outside of the origin, the movie’s a beautifully made mess when it comes to things like, oh, a story. The second, thankfully, rectifies these issues and gives us the best superhero movie yet, surpassing even Superman II.
Continuing from the first movie, Peter Parker’s life is still pretty crap. He can’t be with the lovely Mary Jane Watson, his best friend is convinced that Spider-Man murdered his dad, and money ain’t what it could be. He’s living in a ramshackle apartment, is vilified almost daily by J. Jonah Jameson, and, oh yeah, his powers are now mysteriously going in and out.
It’s finally when he spends time with Doctor Otto Octavius that he seems to find a connection with someone like him a genius who’s hampered by others. Of course, their bonding is not long for the world as an experiment explodes in Octavius’s face, killing his wife and nearly slaughtering a room full of people before it’s under control. He makes it out alive, but the mechanical arms that he uses in his experiements are now permanently fused to his back and Dr. Octopus is born just as Peter’s relinquished the Spider-Man identity in search of a better life.
Yes, it’s over the top in a lot of ways, but the combination of story, character, and sheer exhuberance makes this a winner and even the slightly over the top maudlin romance seems perfectly in pace with the superhero comic book hijinks. If they manage to do as well with the third, then consider my ass in the seat already.
Comic Book Nerd Note:
In a couple of scenes, there’s out and out swipes from the comics that influenced this movie so heavily. I found that they worked much better than I expected and the crowed seemed to dig when they cropped up, even if they didn’t get why exactly the shot of Peter walking away from the costume in a garbage can was done the way it was.
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