*** Official SPIDER-MAN 2 Review Thread (1 Viewer)

ok, i just saw an advanced screening of the movie last night.

after not being too thrilled about the first one, and after having been disappointed by almost every superhero movie so far, i went in assuming it would be another mediocre installment.

well, holy. friggin'. crap. what an awesome show. i was totally unprepared for how much i loved it.

this movie represents the most successful mix of human drama and superheroics thus far committed to film. at least as far as my personal tastes are concerned. my head was in my hands, and my jaw was on the floor when spidey and doc-oc were going at it; and, i'm not ashamed to say, i exclaimed out-loud at more than one nutty point during the unqualifiedly stunning fight choreography.

anyway. i'll be back when the discussion thread starts up....

oh, and just so as not to give too imbalanced an impression of the movie, the writing is restrained and intelligent, and because of this (mostly) understated restraint, the movie is both genuinely moving and funny.

not being a huge fan of the comic character (except for the hulk, i'm a DC man all the way), this movie actually managed to communicate something to me about peter parker that i missed in all the many spiderman comics i've read down the years.

if you'd asked, i'd have said they weren't capable of making this sort of superhero movie.

i'm so, so, so glad i was wrong.

I just got back from a special screening of Spider-Man 2 last night, and all I can say is ... "WOW!"

A couple things I imagine will happen in Spider-Man 3, based on the events that unraveled in Spider-Man 2...

The next villian will be Harry Osborn as Green Goblin. At the end of the movie Harry found his fathers secret room with his costume and several of his weapons.

I think Mary Jane and Spider-Man will break up... it just doesn't go with Peter Parker's character to be happy.

As for thoughts on Spider-Man 2...

I loved the Doc Oc character, and the CGI wasn't too extreme; it was "just right" in my opinion.

The fight scenes were magnificent, particularly the subway scene.

I'm not sure if I like the fact that Parker's identity was revealed to so many people, but I don't think it detracted from what the film was trying to do.

I can't wait to go see this movie again!

Just got back from the midnight showing of Spider-Man 2. It was great to attend it with such an attentive crowd who was totally into this film.

Delving deeper into the sacrifice and psyche of Spider-Man and Peter Parker, the film shows us that the life of a super-hero isn't all that glamourous, but the call to duty and responsibility can't be ignored, regardless of personal ambition and desire.

I had some quibbles with the CGI, it reminded me of the Burly Brawl quality from The Matrix Reloaded when Spidey and Doc Ock were fighting each other, but it was still great to see some amazing comic book fights brought to life on the big screen with such ferocity and speed and power.

There are aspects of this film that call to mind Superman II, and the parallels of how Peter Parker tries to balance his Spider-Man persona and his Peter Parker persona. This film earns the emotional payoff in the 3rd act, and leaves the audience wanting more.

What more could you want in a sequel?

I give it 4 stars, or a grade of A.

MINOR SPOILERS AHOY

Wow! What a fantastic film. I liked the first, and it's grown on me even more of the last 2 years, but this film knocks it right out of the park.

I thought Molina was fantastic as Doc Ock. I still think I prefer Dafoe's Green Goblin, but Ock was strong. I agree with some of the thoughts that a villain should be more "bad" and less "mis-guided" so hopefully we'll see Harry as full-on Evil Green Goblin II. I found it strange that even though Ock was doing such evil things, he was doing it to possibly create something that would benefit the whole of humanity. Gotta love those multi-dimensional characters.

Maguire was good and Dunst was better than last time around. Their chemistry really is terrific. J.K. Simmons stole every damn scene he was in...more great casting. I was really happy to see Willem Dafoe and Cliff Robertson back. The Bruce Campbell and Stan Lee cameos were great too. I was surprised to see my audience clap at both appearances.

What an ending! I can't wait to see Spidey 3

*****/*****

Just got back from a midnight show and I have to sy thsi movie was great. Considerably better than the original, which was itself pretty good. New York is once again showcased very nicely and thsi time we have a villain who doesn't look dumb. I won't say too much spoilery here, but go see this movie as soon as possible before the prints get all worn and crappy.

I wasn't much of a fan of the original, and I didn't find myself totally entranced with Spider-Man 2, but it was definitely an improvement.

I caught a midnight show last night and all I can say is... WOW! This is a highly successful attempt at bringing a comic book to life. One of the things I enjoyed most about this film is how it revels in its comic book roots and celebrates them. It is VERY comic bookish, but not campy. It is exciting, funny, dramatic, powerful and touching... much like the early Stan Lee - Steve Ditko Marvel Comics that inspired it. Alfred Molina complements the main cast beautifully and turns in a bravura performance as Doc Ock. The action sequences are dizzying and spectacular!

Overall, the most unexpected part of the movie for me was the story's unpredictability and all of the surprises. As Patrick mentions, the 3rd act is dynamite and definitely sets the stage for a sequel with the introduction of at least three potential villains. Bring it on!

We also took in the midnight showing. Jammed packed. And I agree with those who have posted that the first one was not warmly recieved by me. Although the box office went gangbusters.

This sequel is really good. Probably should say great. There were times that scenes with the aunt were a bit hokey etc...but this is also true with family type scenes in Superman.

The audience was totally fascinated and laughed, and oohed and awed quite a bit.

There was a big crowd groaner at the end when
MJ says, "go get 'em Tiger"...
but I understand this was what she says alot in the comics???

(admin note - this question is answered in the Discussion thread, please pose questions in the Discussion thread.)

Dunst was terrific as usual. In fact her scenes with Maguire were the best in the movie.

After a disappointing entry into Spiderman for me, this one has me believing.

Good stuff. :star: :star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

In a film with so many high points MJ's "Go Get em Tiger" line was definitely the highest point for me. It was one of the most true to the origins moments in any comic book film so far. I just loved how she stood by her man and supported him although she knows the road ahead is going to be a hard and trying one. This movie greatly improved over the first one.
I liked the first one but after reflection it had a few problems that kind of brought it down. There are a few moments that I didn't like as much in this one but compared to the moments that moved me, had me laughing out loud, and just straight up kicked my ass all over the theater they mean nothing. This movie is simply fun, and that's the greatest compliment that I can pay to a summer blockbuster.

No insulting my intelligence like Van Helsing, no pandering to a specific audience at the expense of another,just pure entertainment bliss wrapped up in a warm blanket of believable characters, emotional impact, and mind-blowing action. If you can't tell I loved it, and to steal the HTF DVD review system, this one comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Solid and pretty enjoyable film, but it would have been even better had Raimi shown some restraint in a few places.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

See my thoughts in the discussion thread.

Saw the midnight last night. I'll start off by saying it was amazing. I liked the first a lot, but this one was definately more mature, delved into characters better, and the CGI was up a notch.
Visual:
In the first, when spidey was web-slinging it looked like the CGI fights in Blade2... definately gumby like. This one has a major improvement. The Doc character had the most believable CGI I've ever witnessed. While the city was rearranged a little (along with transplanting a west coast structure into the big apple!!) the cityscape looked great.
Sound:
Very dynamic. For those who loved bass, you will not be dissappointed. When the Doc stomps around and when the 'machine' is in action the theater will shake. Well, that's providing it's a decent theater. Surround channels were vague but there, perhaps just a symptom of the loews at the Boston Common, I'm sure the superbit DTS will be better.
Story:
Couldn't be better. The ending was a shade choppy (like LOTR ROTK if you ask me) however the fit the ending in the allotted time it had to be. Characters were great. Aunt May played a pivitol role which was good to see her on screen for more than a minute. MJ broke out some decent acting.
Also, the comedy was great. There were some very restrained comedic moments that were classic.
There was throwbacks to Rami's earlier days of movie making. The addition of screaming women (old horror flick style) was a departure from the first, but the movie pulled it off somehow.

Anyway, this is one of the best movies I've seen in a while... Probably since the LOTR TTT.

AMAZING Indeed!

Spiderman 2 is that rare sequel that is an improvement on the original in every way.

First and foremost, it is primarily a character study supplemented with great action and not the other way around. The focus of the film, and rightly so, is on it's story and characters and neither one is given short shrift.

Every aspect of what it takes to be a superhero is examined, along with love, friendship, sacrifice and selfishness. This film is that deep and it doesn't suffer for it.

Sure it has great action scenes, thrilling and exciting. I was expecting that. What I wasn't expecting was such a wonderfully heartfelt story with such deep issues and great performances.

Toby Maguire is excellent. He holds the film together with his performance as Peter Parker/Spiderman. I actually enjoyed the Parker scenes more than the Spidey scenes (by a bit mind you).

Alfred Molina is great as Doc Ock. Even his character is fully fleshed out. Kirsten Dunst, Rosemary Harris, James Franco all had great scenes. No one was ignored.

This is the kind of superhero film that all others should aspire too.

Intelligent, emotionally powerful, awesome action scenes and sincerely heartfelt characters, Spiderman 2 is one of the years BEST films!

:star::star::star::star:

Went to a midnight screening last night and you can count me as another who thinks the sequel is way better than the original. I liked Spider-Man, but I thought it could have been much better. Spider-Man 2 is definitely a superior film to it's predecessor. I felt it got a little bogged down in a couple of spots and the pacing probably would have been better if it was 10 min. shorter, but that's only a minor complaint in an otherwise fantastic film. My favorite superhero movie of all-time is still Batman(1989) and Superman: The Movie is second, but Spider-Man 2 jumps to a very close third place behind them. I can't wait to see it again and I give it a very enthusiastic

I guess I'll add my gushing comments to this thread. Just got back from Spider-Man 2 with the kids. W-O-W! I thought it was a great film. Not just good, great. It certainly had it's flaws but the emotional depth of the screenplay, the characters, and the acting suprised me. Raimi and cast took everything that was good about the first movie and made it even better.

Maguire was excellent as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, wrestling with his feelings of guilt, responsibility, and anguish over unrequited love. His ability to convey how powerless his character felt in managing his personal life, even though he was an amazingly powerful human being, carried the film.

Alfred Molina was equally good as the internally tortured Doc Ock. Although I think his charcacter could have been explored a bit more in-depth I felt he was a MUCH better adversary for Spider-Man than the Green Goblin. Molina is both menacing and tragic at the same time. And those tentacles! Fantastic.

Kirsten Dunst disappointed me somewhat with her performance. I found her efforts slightly wooden compared to the work everyone around her was doing, but she was still fine.

J.K. Simmons once again dominated every scene he was in as J. Jonah Jameson. I couldn't imagine another actor doing the role this right.

The big surprises for me were James Franco and Rosemary Harris. Franco took his rather whiney Harry Osborn from the first film and turned him into a much more mature, multidimensional, and interesting character. He was a pleasure to watch. And Rosemary Harris, well, I felt she stole every scene she was in as Aunt Mae. She was just perfect.

I could go into the effects, cinematography and sound aspects of the movie, but others already have. I wanted to comment on the characters because make no mistake, this is a character driven film that makes you care about the people you're watching on-screen. That is IMHO it's biggest strength. Go see it.

:star: :star: :star: :star: / :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

Pretty much everything I wanted to say has already been said. I already loved the original, but this one is indeed better.

I absolutely loved Molina as Doc Ock. He added a depth to the character that I hadn't really seen in any previous incarnation, including the comics. And the big "OMG" scene with Harry... truly great stuff. JJJ getting more screen time was also a big plus. And I got big chills when MJ said "Go get 'em, Tiger".

My favorite film of the year so far and I seriously doubt anything will top it.

:star: :star: :star: :star:

BTW, I did have three problems while watching the film, but they had nothing to do with the film itself:

- There were two kids behind me who simply would not shut up. I honestly wanted Doc Ock's tentacles to pop out of the screen and kick these clowns out of the theater.

- The print was unusually flawed for a brand-new release. And the fact that the left and right sides of the screen were slighly covered by the curtain did not help.

- And finally, the fact that Spider-Man 3 is coming out in 2007. Three years is just too much to wait to see the rest of this story.

I don't know where to begin. SPIDER-MAN 2 put a lump in my throat and butterflies in my stomach the way very few movies do. From the opening scenes to the unforgettable last shot, I had a big smile on my face and kept thinking "This is the way to do a comic book movie!". It hit all the right notes, never faltered, and improved on the first film in substantial ways. The chemistry between Toby and Kirsten is magical; Rosemary Harris is just perfect as Aunt May. Alfred Molina added dimension to Doc Ock and made him a mesmerizing, sympathetic and complex character. And kudos to James Franco, who I can't wait to see wreak havoc in the next film. Sam Raimi hit this one out of the park. This ranks with SUPERMAN and SUPERMAN 2 for me(and it resembled the latter film in substantial ways), and is better than both of them in many respects.
:star: :star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star: .

I can't wait for SPIDER-MAN 3.

Saw it again, this time with the girlfriend. Again. Awesome. That's really it.