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Spider-Man 2

A movie starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst directed by Sam Raimi

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A Better Story And A Better Villain

Jun 21, 2008

by Steveo

Rating:

This review will be split into three parts, they will be split into The Story, The Characters and the Verdict. This will give you a fair and honest view of the characters, story and the movie itself.

The Story: Harry Osborn has now taken over Oscorp and he's financially backing a scientist called Otto Octavius who's experimenting with sustained fusion as a way of replacing conventional fuels. In order for Otto so sustain the fusion reaction he's developed artificially intelligent arms that attach directly to his spine that he can control as if they were additional arms. One day while demonstrating his experiment, Otto is unable to contain the reaction and it all goes wrong. The experiment becomes unstable but Otto refuses to halt it, it eventually gets worse and his wife is killed and the neural inhibitor chip on the arms is destroyed and they are fused to Dr. Octavius' spine. Thanks to the help of Spiderman the plug is pulled on the experiment and nobody else is hurt, but Dr. Octavius blames Spidey for the disaster. The AI of the mechanical arms seem to tap into Dr. Octavius' brain and begins to manipulate him into wanting to try the experiment again and set out to kill Spiderman. Spidey begins to struggle with juggling his powers, his education and his job and on top of that he has to handle the difficulty of his powers constantly halting at the worst times. Mary Jane is becoming a successful stage actress and desperately wants Peter to be there when she needs him and Harry is looking for revenge against spiderman for killing his father.

The Characters: I've discussed both Tobeys & Kirstens characters in my review for the first spiderman film and my feelings are generally the same. The character I'm going to discuss is the character of Dr. Octavius.

Doc Oc: Played by Alfred Molina this is an intelligent choice for Doc Oc as he genuinely looks like the Doc Oc from the comics. He gives us his own brand of intelligence and sophistication when showing us the mental anguish that the character is going through in the movie.

Harry Osborn: We've seen a bit of a development in this character from the first movie. In that he was the kid with high expectations and a kid who idolised his father and was chasing after the girl (MJ). In this movie we're introduced to what some could consider a very different character, he seems arrogant yet he's tormented by the death of his father so he's someone who has a lot on his mind. James Franco is great at playing the tormented figure of Harry Osborn.

The Verdict: This is clearly the strongest film of the three, the action sequences particularly the fight sequence on the train is one that really gets your heart racing. Alfred Molina really fits the Doc Oc character perfectly and he really makes it believable. It has the general comedy moments that help you relax after witnessing a strongly emotive scene or a high impact fight sequence. The mixture of CGI and real life is un-seamless which gives it all the more realistic look. This is a movie that every comic book fan should own and enjoy for many years to come.

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More Spider-Man 2 reviews

review by Stephanie_Smith19. March 16, 2011

Spiderman 2

Comic book movies often have no problems with the quality of their sequels. In fact, they are often better than their predecessors, and Spiderman 2 is definitely an example of that. It capitalizes on everything that started off this popular franchise and improves upon it, providing us with improved acting, improved special effects, an improved villain, and improved emotional development of the characters. Like the critics consensus says, an entertaining villain and more emotional development made … more

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review by TheJohn. August 02, 2010

For just $5 you can help this poor college student so that he can lighten up and have a social life

Within the first half hour or so of this movie, we could see our hero: Get yelled at by his boss, get stiffed on a bill delivering pizzas by a snotty receptionist, lose his job, get yelled at by his other boss, find he owes money to co-workers, failing his college classes, have his aunt throw him a birthday party when shes having trouble paying bills, see his best friend obsessed with killing our protagonists alter ego, hear his cute girlfriend may be leaving him, find he owes back money … more

Comments (4) Compliments (36)

review by Lopez15. November 08, 2009

A great follow up to the film that started it all..

Spider-Man to me helped jump start the Marvel revolution, it set fourth standards in comic book adaption greatness that have yet to be surpassed or matched. And with Spider-Man 2 the bar just keeps rising. Spider-Man 2 is not just your ordinary sequel, It's a sequel that improves and even over powers the original. It's dark, brilliant, … more

Comments (2) Compliments (24)

Quick Tip by TheJohn. May 04, 2010

A Quick Tip by TheJohn

Peter Parkers powers fluctuate between how badly he really wants his super hero life and a normal one. Melodramatic as HELL but awesome.

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review by MichaelN. April 29, 2009

One of the Best Sequels Ever!

Sam Rami needs to be congratulated on making a film that totally outdoes its predecessor. Tobey McGuire is great and is one of the most likeable characters (re: Peter Parker) that I have seen in a film in a long time. Alfred Molina is great as one of the more charismatic villains that have ever been portrayed on the screen. I found myself cheering several times throughout the movie. Peter Parker can't seem to hold a job (he's killing a pizza business that promises on-time … more

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review by JP_Rocky_Raccoon. May 31, 2006

posted in Movie Hype

Sticks with You the Second Time Around

"Spiderman 2" makes "Spiderman" seem like a warm-up. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) and his alter-ego, Spiderman, have enough problems to make the movie continually interesting. The melodrama envelops our attention, and the action scenes are marvelous. In the beginning Peter Parker sets his sights on Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), but he's conflicted by his role as Spiderman. He not only juggles his identities, but his responsibilities as well. As college student and breadwinner, … more

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review by BaronSamedi3. April 24, 2005

posted in Movie Hype

Ode to a Superhero, Part II

Pros: A great job bringing the comic to life Cons: At times, Mary Jane really does look like the girl next door The Bottom Line: No, I have never written another article called Ode to a Superhero. The title is merely a reference to a Weird Al Yankovic song. With great power comes great responsibility that’s the catch phrase of old Uncle Ben if you missed it, don’t worry, they’ll say the line … more

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review by Entwife. July 13, 2004

Sticky Situations for the Webbed Wonder

Pros: Tight package and well presented...the movie was good too. ;) Cons: Having to wait til 2007 for the last leg of this trilogy! The Bottom Line: Good for the whole family, on your own or with a date! The Bottom Line catches thieves just like flies! In this middle portion of the Spiderman trilogy, Peter Parker has survived both his internal, and explosive external battles with the mad Green Goblin. However, all True Believers … more

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review by kfontenot. September 24, 2004

Brilliant Action, Even Better Acting

"Spider-Man 2" is one of the best sequels around. Unlike many people, I don't think that it is any better than the first film, it just deals with a little tougher material. In this go-round, Spidey is finding it hard to deal with the fact that he is living two lives. It's so hard, in fact, that it's affecting his performance(in real life and as the Wallcrawler). Basically, his whole life is a mess. He's lost his girl, his best friend, and a mentor(Dr. Octavius) loses his mind. The film pans out … more

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review by AdamHunnicutt. September 18, 2004

A Soaring Hero comes down to Earth

I am not necessarily going to agree with everyone that this is the best comic book adaptation ever rendered on the screen, simply because I will be the first to admit I haven't viewed all of them. But I will honestly say out of the countless superhero films I have seen: this is, without a doubt, the best. What seperates Spider Man 2, a sequel no less, from its counterpart and all of the other fx crazed superhero movies hollywood has to offer? Simply put, it takes … more

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About the reviewer

Steven Stewart (Steveo)
Ranked #96

Currently studying Law at University, my main interests revolve around Politics. I read quite a lot and love learning about History. Not just the history of a specific time, place and person, but I'm … more

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About this movie

Wiki

Sam Raimi's follow-up to SPIDER-MAN finds Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) struggling to balance his everyday life with his alter ego as the web-slinging superhero. Still carrying the burden of keeping his crime-fighting identity from those closest to him--including his longtime love Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), his best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco), and his doting Aunt May (Rosemary Harris)--Parker must also face off against a dangerous new menace, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), a scientist driven mad by experiments involving powerful mechanical arms. When the deranged Octavius (AKA Doc Ock) forms an alliance with the vengeful Osborn, who blames Spider-Man for the death of his father, the wall-crawling hero is in for his biggest battle yet.

With SPIDER-MAN 2, Raimi retains--and improves on--all of the elements that made the first film so good, including an excellent story (crafted, in part, by acclaimed novelist Michael Chabon), tight pacing, and stunning special effects. Parker's ...

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Details

Cast: Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, Rosemary Harris, James Franco, Tobey Maguire, Donna Murphy, Dylan Baker, Alfred Molina, Vanessa Ferlito, Bill Nunn, Cliff Robertson, Elizabeth Banks, Daniel Gillies, Bruce Campbell, J.K. Simmons, Ted Raimi, Brooke Adams, Joel McHale, Aasif Mandvi, Bonnie Somerville, Jason Ortiz

Director: Sam Raimi

Genre: Action, Adventure

Release Date: 2004, June 30, 2004

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Screen Writer: Stan Lee, Michael Chabon, Alvin Sargent, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar

Runtime: 2hrs 4min

Studio: Sony Pictures

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