Rating: 
Summary: Look out -- here comes Spider-Man...2!
Review: After a record-breaking opening for Spider-Man 1, the makers of Spider-Man II were hard-pressed to make this movie as good if not better. Hard-pressed -- but successful. Spider-Man II is the perfect summer sequel, even going above and beyond the first movie.PLOT: Two years have passed since the first movie. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is struggling to keep a job, struggling to keep up in college, and struggling to continue living his double life as the city's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man (Peter Parker). He also struggles to conceal his love for Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), knowing that though they both loved each other, she would be in danger from those who want to hurt Spider-Man if he ever involved her in his life. This puts a strain on Peter's life, and even causes frightening malfunctions in his super powers! MJ, meantime, is enjoying a successful start on her theatrical career in an off-Broadway show. Peter's other friend Harry Osborn (James Franco), the son of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in movie one, has successfully taken over his father's corporation Oscorp, and has dreams of taking it to new heights with the scientific discoveries of Dr. Otto Octavious (Alfred Molina). Harry invites Peter to meet the great scientist, and to witness as Dr. Octavious unveils his new source of fusion energy. Otto also unveils his new assistants; four mechanical arms that respond to his mind commands. But as you probably already know, the experiment goes terribly wrong, and the arms are fused to Octavious's spine permanently. Octavious is devastated, but more so when he learns his wife died in the ensuing chaos of his experiment. Harry is devastated because his high hopes on Otto's experiment have failed -- in Harry's mind, because of Spider-Man. Doctors attempt to remove Otto's four arms, but they come alive, creating carnage and destruction in the operating room. When Octavious awakens, he flees in despair to an abandoned riverfront warehouse. He swears to begin his experiment again, bigger and better. He is willing to rob banks for resources, and destroy anyone that gets in his way -- even Spider-Man. It's up to Spidey to attempt to put a halt to "Doc Ock's" rampage. GOOD: There's an excellent theme of definite right and wrong in the movie. Spider-Man is courageous, selfless, and a true hero. At one point, he makes a job-breaking sacrifice of saving two young children from harm. He also is noble enough to conceal his love for MJ, loving her enough to keep her safe, even at personal cost. Some have even said there are some Christian allegories present, such as when Spider-Man is desperately trying to stop a runaway subway by plastering himself to the front and shooting webs to both sides...leaving him in a familiar stretched-out position. If you've seen the preview, you also know that Doc Ock delievers Spider-Man (or is it?) to Harry Osborn...wrapped in thorny wire. (You won't believe your eyes when Harry yanks that mask off) I won't go so far as to say they're obviously intended, but there's some interesting parallels if you're looking. On the whole, most of the characters behave with a sense of goodness and decency -- even Octavious. BAD: I think some younger kids could sit through the movie without catching nightmares, but I'll list some of the potentially objectionable content, and you can decide for yourself. Spider-Man and Doc Ock engage in some eye-popping battles, on buildings, atop a moving subway, etc. Both exchange non-bloody but painful blows. Ock dispatches police officers (probably to their deaths) with his metal arms. The operating room scene is actually quite scary...the electronic tentacles, behaving for all the world like giant snakes, throw, strangle, and drag people all over the place. One lady being dragged away digs her fingernails into the floor in a particularly cringe-worthy moment. Another attempts to saw off the arm that is pinning him to the wall, but the other arms come and quickly make an end to him. In an explosion, a large shard of glass is thrown towards a woman, who screams. The impact is not shown, but we see her slumped over, and later see her on a gurney, with a sheet over her head. A drunken Harry slaps Peter a couple of times. (Evidently, the old Spidey sense didn't kick in for that one) There are a couple of swear words, but not as many as in the first movie. It's either amusing or saddening, depending on your point of view, that sweet little Aunt May says "what the h**l" once. There's absolutely no immorality (not even wet t-shirts this time), but there are a couple of kissing scenes. The scenes can be and are intense, but there's no blood or gore. THOUGHTS: One has grown to expect the high threshold of amazing graphics in movies today, and Spidey II certainly doesn't disappoint. This time, the camera man is also better at filming Spidey as he swings through the city. We also get some questions answered about Spidey, like "can he really shoot web balls like in the video game?", "How comfortable is the costume?" and "What happens when Spidey runs out of webbing?" There's loads of surprises in store, and several "No WAY!" moments. It would seem that a good deal of the material in this movie harkens back to the older Superman 2 movie, with parallels between Spidey's troubles with his own super powers, and Superman's relinquishing of his own, but that's just my impression. Overall, I think I like the first movie better. Few will agree with me, but the first movie concentrated on the wonderful new changes Peter had when becoming a super hero. Spider-Man II finds Spidey much more vulnerable, and undergoing much more suffering and pain. Nevertheless, it's still an awesome movie, and I'm already looking forward to its DVD release. October is too soon to hope for, but I think marketers would be missing out on a great marketing campaign: Ock-tober!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Movie of 2004
Review: And I stand by that statement completly. Spider-Man 2 is an amazing movie, that is essentially 3 movies wrapped in one. It is a romance, a super-hero movie, and an action packed movie all wrapped in one to create what we call Spider-Man 2. The movie starts off 2 years after the first movie. Peter Parker(Tobey Maguire) is still in college, doing his Spier-Man deeds and getting heat for being late all of the time (new jobs, appointments etc.) Harry Osborn (James Franco) is still mourning over the death of his father, and wants revenge on Spider-Man, and Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) still has sort of a crush on Peter, and is now doing plays and trying to make it big in her acting career. Throughout the movie there is alot of character development. You will see Harry and Peter's relationship grow from once great friends to hatred. you will see Harry as completely disgusted with Peter, especially because he takes pictures of his father's killer. Mary-Jane and Peter will also see character development with a new man in MJ's life. These pieces of development add to the experience of Spider-Man 2 which adds so much to the great movie that it already is. The direction in the movie is great, not to mention the acting. James Franco does a great job with Harry Osborne. He is the true standout of the movie; acting wise and character wise. Overall Spider-Man 2 probably won't be the best movie of this year - but it is the best movie I have seen this year. It has amazing special effects, great directing and acting, and the story is second to none. Think - all of the hype times about two and that is truly how good this movie is. I reccomend this movie to anybody out there - but I also reccomend that you see the original Spider-Man before watching this one.
Rating:
Summary: "Go Get 'Em Tiger"
Review: Having never read the comic book, I was not drawn to the Spider-Man movies until I heard friends raving about them and now that I have watched both of them on successive nights, I'm afraid I am hooked. I enjoyed them both immensley, but agree that Spidey 2 had more meat on it's bones and a resolution of some aspects of the story that were welcome. Digitalization done well has to be seen to be believed and the special effects in these movies are highly entertaining and a bit breathtaking. The making of Spidey Three will be a challenge, but I suspect those in charge will be up to it. Until then, these movies are stepping stones to more adventures and having that to look forward to isn't all bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Big Let Down
Review: I anxiously awaited the release of Spiderman 2. I didn't see it at the theatre. I knew I would buy it when it came out, since I liked Spiderman 1. I expected it to be good. Well, it wasn't. It lacked the "larger than life" comic book feel. The acting was bad. The script was weak. The special effects were not very special at all. There was very little of the quirky humor, which I enjoyed in the first Spiderman. I felt as if Toby McGuire was just fulfilling his contract, to do the second Spiderman. I expected more. It was a big let down. I bought it on Tuesday, the day it came out and traded it in at a local game/video store on Wednesday.
Rating:
Summary: a 13-year-old review
Review: I love this movie i will buy it and i hope you buy it too Tobey Maguire Returns in this awsome action movie. All the same stars return with a new star who is Alfred Molina a great person to do the part in this movie a great action movie that all generations most likely will love i saw it in theaters 2 times and a third time tommarrow so i again this is a great movie just like the first one even better. I think this is an awsome experiance for you i recomened it to anyone!
Rating:
Summary: A TRUE MASTERPIECE! LIGHT YEARS BETTER THAN THE FIRST!
Review: I still have fond memories of seeing the first Spider-Man movie back in the spring of 2002 and it is still a very good movie. It was worth the wait and left a great deal to be desired. So how was it that they were going to follow up on a really good original especially amidst the improvement that X2 did upon "X-Men". Well my verdict on this is that "Spider Man 2" is a grand improvement over the first one, is light years better, and greatly expands Spider Man's character in the movie series and the result is without a doubt one of the greatest sequels that I've ever seen! "Spider Man 2" is the number one movie of 2004 and is a highly recommended DVD! Be mindful that this review may contain some spoilers to this movie but I'll do my best to minimize them.
Two years after the fiasco with Norman Osborn, Peter Parker starts to enter into uncharted territory in his life. Amidst the changes he's going through, things gradually deteriorate as his personal and professional life begins to come apart at the seams. Still devastated by the murder of his uncle Ben, His long time juggling of his superhero duty and his normal civilian life begin to take a massive toll on his well-being. He first loses his job as a pizza parlor when he fails to deliver the pizzas to his assigned destination and his boss fires him after repeatedly reprimanding him. He is a brilliant student at school but despite his brilliant mind, his grades rapidly deteriorate to the point that he's beginning to fail his classes. Even his teacher Doctor Connor is giving him failing grades. His peers start looking down on him due to the odd and sometimes unpleasant changes in his behavior and even Mary Jane Parker, his love of his life, parts ways with him due to his failing to meet her at the right time or the right place. Even worse is when his Spider-Man superpowers are starting to fail on him and it's believed to be the result of immense physical and emotional burnout. Literally, his life is now falling apart to the point that he finally throws the costume in the garbage and decides to leave the superhero business behind and just live a normal civilian life.
But on a whole other note, Peter Parker is invited to visit a brilliant scientist named Doctor Otto Octavius, a world-renowned scientist who Parker idolizes. During a special demonstration at a laboratory, Octavius heads a promising project that utilizes a stable form of fusion power. The new project involves a state of the art nanotechnology that involves a set of mechanical arms that are designed to work in the fusion reactor machine where an unprotected human hand could not enter without being incinerated by the intense heat and radiation. However the experiment goes horribly wrong (don't they always?) when the fusion reaction goes out of control, starts pulling unsecured metal objects in to the fusion reaction to sustain itself, and the prominence-like flares engulfs his mechanical arms, electrocute him, and fuses the nanowires into his entire nervous system. The resulting accident literally destroys his ambition, severely deforms Octavius, as well as claims the life of his beloved wife Rosie Octavius.
After the accident at the lab, Peter Parker, who finally has had enough of the demands of crime-fighting throws in the tower and decides to pursue his quest for a better life. Since putting the superhero business to rest, his life literally improves almost overnight. His grades begin to rapidly improve, and Peter is on his way to rebuilding his self-esteem. He even begins to win back Mary Jane's affection as well despite the fiasco from earlier in the film. He seems to have finally gotten firm ground in his life...or so it seems.
Driven mad by the loss of his wife as well as the destruction of his fusion power dreams, Otto Octavius who is now a deranged shell of his former self flees to a foul decrepit abandoned warehouse in the Hudson river and with the manipulation of the robotic arms fused to his body, he decides to rebuild the fusion reactor that he designed only to make it much bigger than the old one and will do whatever it takes to do it, even if it endangers the lives of millions nearby. Dock Ock as he is now called, kidnaps Mary Jane and takes her to the foul abandoned warehouse by the Hudson River and holds her hostage there while he restarts the fusion power project that he seeks to complete and achieve his goals by any means necessary.
Now with Mary Jane in peril, Harry Osborn wanting Spider-Man dead for the death of his father Norman, and the prospect of a much larger catastrophe than what happened at the lab, Peter Parker is faced with an excruciating dilemma of if he should continue to live normally or don the suit again in order to save New York City. His choices whichever one he makes till take agonizing effort to live through.
This sequel to the first "Spider Man" movie completely took my world by storm even with sky high expectations. Almost everything about this movie is nothing short of brilliant. The major action fighting sequences between Spidey and Dock Ock are among the greatest battle scenes that I've seen in years. The major conflict between all of the characters is very intense be it Peter's conversation with Aunt May, his conflict between his choices as well as Otto Octavius' descent into madness.
What especially carries this wonderful movie are the characters as well as the special effects. The special effects are really breathtaking and awesome. Pretty much everything that is more than 30 feet away are almost all CGI effects and they are highly realistic. The movie also expands the characters immensely. My favorite one was delving far deeper into Peter Parker's past. As I said in the review for the first Spider Man film, Toby Maguire was absolutely perfect for the role of the former geek student Peter Parker transformed into a superhero. The way they fleshed out his character is nothing short of phenomenal. Kristen Dunst as Peter's love Mary Jane is also better than in the last adventure and the tension between is almost revolutionary. Even Aunt May (who's at least in her 70s or 80s) brings some eye-opening surprises and some emotional moments are brought forth. Of course there's also the pompous flare-tempered J. Jonah Jameson of the Bugle newspaper.
However the number one effects shared by two things are what especially buoy this movie upwards above its Marvel Comics peers. The first one is the arch nemesis Doctor Octopus/Dock Ock/Otto Octavius. Dock Ock is one of my favorite super villains in the comic series and that he would be the villain in this movie thrilled me very much. Even better was the actor who was selected to play him named Alfred Molina. Those who are old enough may remember him as Indiana Jones' former friend later traitor that met his end in the beginning of "Raiders of The Lost Ark". Well Molina is absolutely amazing and unbelievably perfect for the role of playing a brilliant benevolent scientist later twisted by grief and rage into a deranged shell of his former self. The way he acted in his role is nothing short of a future legend. Dock Ock in this case is perhaps the class of super villains that one could almost feel sorry for. The other thing that I also enjoyed was the fusion machine itself. Perhaps I'm just a mad science nerd but the whole concept of fusion is fascinating and one of my favorite science subjects. The way they showed Octavius' fusion reaction looking like a miniature version of the Sun while grossly inaccurate was really cool and how they showed the scenes of when it went out of control were well filmed and generated. In real life though a fusion reaction like that would be unimaginably bright, and would kill any unprotected human who was standing near it. This movie is perhaps the subject of many debates over this but I'm willing to brush aside real laws of physics in this one. I just can't get enough of the fusion device and the action that results from it's activation and the metal that is pulled into the fusion itself. Real fusion machines are likely much different from the one in the movie. The only major thing that I didn't get which I won't count as a flaw was why did they conduct an experiment in an unshielded apartment building in the middle of a crowded neighborhood? That's the only questionable thing I had about this movie.
The DVD itself leaves a lot to be desired but I enjoy watching the part where they built the minature sets as well as filming the many action sequences, as well as the story behind the movies making. I still wonder why there isn't a more detailed look into how they made the fusion power machine and generating the sun-like fusion reaction itself.
Overall, this movie is just a few yards short of being perfect! I have never seen a comic book movie work so well on improving on the greatness of it's predecessor. It is brilliant, it is highly emotional and nothing short of stunning and breathtaking! With everything I said about it, I would go far as to say that it does a greater job of improving on the first movie than "X-Men United" did on improving on 2000's "X-Men" movie. To put it this way, this is perhaps my favorite sequel of any sorts since 1986's "Aliens" which also improved on its scary 1979 predecessor "Alien".
I strongly recommend that you get this movie as soon as possible. Believe me, there isn't any comic movie that took my world by storm like "Spider Man 2" did. If there is a true "Amazing Spider Man" movie, this is it! I guarantee it.
Rating:
Summary: Looking Forward to Spiderman 3
Review: I want to start by saying I love the Spiderman Series as well as most of these movies that are based on the comic books of my past. I've watched the original Spiderman time after time. Everyone knew after they watched the original that there would be more to come. Unfortunately no movie could ever live up to the great visions concocted in many of our imaginations. Overall I enjoyed Spiderman 2. The special effects were fantastic and the story line was still rather engaging. My only complaint would be that the visions in my head will have to wait for Spiderman 3. I totally overlooked any thoughts of Dr. Octavious. I was expecting to Harry Osborne to put on the mask and become the new villain. Unfortunately all Spidey fans will have to wait for that as young Osborne doesn't start to crack until the end of this film. Overall this film is another great edition in a fantastic series. I'm just afraid that the creators might start milking the series for money.
Rating:
Summary: Best Marvel Superhero Film, period
Review: In Spider-Man 2 director Sam Raimi and his talented team of writers, including distinguished novelist Michael Chabon, have crafted what is the finest film I have seen based on a Marvel Comics superhero. There's more impressive chases and fights between the hero and villain in "Spider-Man 2" than I have seen, for example, in the "X-Men" films. However, the film works best at the emotional - indeed humane - level, in which we see both the villain, Doc Ock, Doctor Otto Octavius (brilliantly performed by Alfred Molina) and the hero, Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) wrestle with their consciences. Indeed Spider-Man must make a difficult decision; whether to use his unique gifts to protect his fellow citizens or lose them to gain finally the trust and love of his long-time friend Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). He must also contend unexpectedly with his friendship with the son of Harry Osborn aka the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) unraveling, setting up the plot of what undoubtedly will be the third film in the series. Raimi has done such an excellent job in raising the stakes in the second film, which is literally a major improvement over the first, that it may be a difficult challenge for him to meet. Aside from Molina, Maguire and Durst, Rosemary Harris gives yet another splendid performance as Peter's aunt. Composer Danny Elfman's score may be his most brooding ever, equal to his excellent film score for the first Batman film. Not only is this the best film of 2004 in the action-adventure genre, it may be among the finest in recent memory.
Rating: 
Summary: Spidey sense is ringing off the scale
Review: It's plot meanders and shamelessly riffs off the first movie, slams us with special effects and brazenly ends off arrogantly predicting a sequel. Yet this could easily be one of the greatest superhero movies ever made.
SM2 picks up 2 years after the last movie. Though the last movie ended with Mary Jane confessing her lover for Peter Parker, the two remain unconnected by the start of the new movie. Trying to juggle college, a part-time job and saving the city from random acts of mass destruction, Peter Parker's life is a wreck. Both Harry Osborn and MJ have moved on with their lives (and don't dodge foreclosure like Spidey has to). After losing his job and MJ, and on the verge of flunking college, Parker begins losing his powers, and is forced to consider hanging up his sticky alter-ego for good. Meanwhile, Parker's idol, the Brilliant physicist Otto Octavius, is on the verge of cracking the key to safe fusion power, while Harry Osborn holds Spiderman responsible for his father's death, and plots revenge. Will there be an horrific accident at Dr. Octavius's demonstration? Uh huh. Will his mind become twisted as he becomes fused with a quartet of robotic arms? You betcha. Will he turn criminal to finance experiments that may blast NYC to kingdom-come? Hey, is Darkman mean?
Though a special effects treat, SM2 flies on the strength of Tobey Maguire's understated performance, it also rides the steam of the other players - Rosemary Harris as a feisty Aunt May, Alfred Molina as a likeable if scary Doc Octopus (even though the script just re-writes the same characters Defoe played in the last movie) and of course JK Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. With a script padded with tons of in-jokes yet slick enough for the non-fan who doesn't even know that superhero is one word, SM2 is a rare treat. Best of all, SM2 stays true to the every joe-a-hero theme of the first movie (a point made during a titanic battle royale between Spidey and Doc Ock on a runaway El train).
CAVEAT: The flick is, if anything, scarier than the last - a good example being the scene when the arms of the near-dead Doc-Ock come alive and tear up an OR. If you've got an 8 year-older who loved the first movie, SM2 might still be too much.
Lastly - a flick of this scale just can't be enjoyed in full screen.
Rating:
Summary: Caught in a web of indecision...
Review: It's really hard to say that I did or didn't like this movie; I mean, on the one hand, it surpasses the original in effects, storyline, character development, everything. But as they say, too much of a good thing is bad, and that's part of my feeling about this film. The story, unlike the original, instead focuses on the negatives of being Spider-Man; Peter Parker is struggling to balance a life of his own, but Spidey always gets in the way. He even forgets his own birthday! And it also shows the effects it has on his family and friends, especially Mary Jane. And to top it all off, Doctor Otto Octavius, a brilliant scientist, is turned into Doctor Octopus, complete with four mechanical arms attached to his body, thanks to a failed fusion experiment. The battles between Spidey and his foe were terrific, unsurpassed by most action films to date. But I found myself wanting more of these scenes...in the end, you really sympathize with Peter, but I just wish we could've seen our favorite webslinger in action more. But at least the ending was good (left WIDE open for Spider-Man 3.)
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