Raimi weaves a wonderfully seductive web of arachnid action, human drama, and wink-nudge comedy.
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:231
Fresh:216
Rotten:15
Average Rating:8.3/10
Consensus: A nimble sequel that improves upon the original.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for stylized action violence
Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:15-07-2004
Synopsis: Columbia Pictures' Spider-Man 2, the next installment in the adventure series that began with the 2002 blockbuster Spider-Man, swings into theaters on July 2, 2004. Spider-Man, a Marvel... Columbia Pictures' Spider-Man 2, the next installment in the adventure series that began with the 2002 blockbuster Spider-Man, swings into theaters on July 2, 2004. Spider-Man, a Marvel Enterprises/Laura Ziskin Production, grossed more than $820 million worldwide and became the fifth highest grossing movie in U.S. history. Spider-Man is based on the classic Marvel Comic book character. Spider-Man 2 reunites the filmmakers and cast from the first film, including Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris and J.K. Simmons, along with director Sam Raimi, and producers Laura Ziskin and Marvel's Avi Arad. Stan Lee and Joseph M. Caracciolo serve as executive producers for Spider-Man 2, and Grant Curtis serves as the film's co-producer. Sam Raimi directs Spider-Man 2 from a screenplay by Alvin Sargent and Alfred Gough & Miles Millar and Michael Chabon, based on a story by David Koepp and Alfred Gough & Miles Millar. In Spider-Man 2, the webslinging superhero encounters a new nemesis, the villainous "Doc Ock," who will be portrayed by Alfred Molina (Frida, Identity). Two years have passed, and the mild-mannered Peter Parker faces new challenges as he struggles with "the gift and the curse," desperately trying to balance his dual identities as the web-slinging superhero Spider-Man and his life as a college student. Tormented by his secrets, Peter finds that his relationships with all those he holds dear are in danger of unraveling. His life-long yearning for M.J. (Kirsten Dunst) becomes even stronger as he fights the impulse to reveal his secret life and declare his love. His friendship with Harry Osborn (James Franco) is complicated by the young Osborn's bitterness over his father's death and his growing vendetta against Spider-Man. Even Peter's beloved Aunt May (Rosemary Harris), who has fallen on hard times after the death of Uncle Ben, begins to have doubts about her nephew. Peter's life is about to become even more complicated as he encounters a formidable new foe -- Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina). Peter must use all the powers at his disposal to try to stop this diabolical madman in his octagonal tracks. Director Sam Raimi and producers Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad lead a top creative team which includes Director of Photography Bill Pope, ASC (the Matrix film series), Production Designer Neil Spisak (Spider-Man, The Gift), editor Bob Murawski, (Spider-Man, The Gift), Visual Effects Supervisor John Dykstra, ASC (Spider-Man, Academy Award winner for Star Wars) and Special Effects Supervisor John Frazier (Spider-Man, The Perfect Storm). The Executive Producers are Stan Lee and Joseph M. Caracciolo. "ACADEMY AWARD" and "OSCAR" are the registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. [More]
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons
Director: Sam Raimi
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Alvin Sargent
Story: Michael Chabon
Producer: Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad
Composer: Danny Elfman
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Reviews for Spider-Man 2
Raimi has once again crafted a blockbuster that thinks as hard as it thwacks -- in a word, amazing.
Spider-Man 2 is probably more of a lateral step but that doesn’t stop this episode from being a lot of fun.
Raimi handles it effortlessly because he keeps his focus tightly in the characters' hearts and minds.
All in all, this sequel is a blockbuster with both a heart and a brain.
A mind-boggling piece of showboating and the most rigorous fairground ride of the year
Exciting sequel that improves dramatically on the effects of the first, but also has an emotional depth that is surprising in a blockbuster this big.
Whatever sins this film commits at the start of the show I forgave when I saw how they worked out.
Raimi did a terrific job in both films of never forgetting the audience needs to connect with the flesh and blood actors.
You have to acclimate yourself to the fact that this sequel will not be your idea for how the story will continue. It will be somebody else’s.
This is pure SPIDER-MAN, straight from the tap, and it’s absolutely transporting.
Never have I seen such an intelligent, emotionally resonant screen adaptation of a comic book. Spider-Man 2 takes the genre to a whole new level.
Does a near-perfect job of amalgamating effects with filmmaking and will definitely set the standard for action movies that want to be both a spectacle and seem real.
Tough to watch without getting bored in the middle - it's a two-hour-plus film that easily could have shed half an hour - and not imagining how it could have been better.
As visually stunning and loyal to character development as the first film.
...a well-realized stab at melding comic book pow-sock-bang with a more adult psychological drama
Latest News for Spider-Man 2
October 31, 2007:
Spider-Man 4 Script On Its Way
The questions of who will be directing and starring in it remain unanswered, but Spider-Man 4 just got itself a screenwriter. More...
July 31, 2007:
Early Production Underway for Spider-Man 4
Yep, just a little more vague mumbling about what might happen on Spider-Man 4, but when Sam Raimi has something to say, it's usually worth listening to. More...
July 13, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: "Potter" Power Takes Control of Multiplexes
The Hogwarts posse is back with the highly anticipated launch of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", the fifth film in the blockbuster wizard series which has... More...
July 12, 2007:
"Harry Potter" Conjures Up Box Office Records
Four years after "The Return of the King" set the $8 million record for a midnight screening, cinemagoers have boosted the latest "Harry Potter" flick above... More...
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