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Movies / On DVD / Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2

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Spider-Man 2 (2004)

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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

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Spider-Man 2

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81 - 100 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

It's a two-hour epic, sprawling but never messy and moving without ever turning maudlin.

Full Review Source: Dallas Observer | comment Comment
07/03/04
Robert Wilonsky
Robert Wilonsky
Dallas Observer

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/03/04
Scott A. Mantz
Scott A. Mantz
Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews

This is the most honest and entertaining comic book film ever made.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
07/03/04
Tyler Hanley
Tyler Hanley
Palo Alto Weekly

For a big-budget action movie Spider-Man 2 is modest and not assaultive -- it has a boring decency.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment 2 Comments
07/03/04
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor
Salon.com

The down-home dialogues are as involving as the aerial exhibitions.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
07/02/04
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

Surges and sags in massive sections.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
07/02/04
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

It's the exposure of his precious face -- sign of his secret self -- that's most frightening, ordinary, and exciting.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
07/02/04
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Not a perfect film or an indelible moment in American cinema ... just one enormously entertaining night at the movies.

Full Review Source: Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) | comment Comment
07/02/04
Jonathan R. Perry
Jonathan R. Perry
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)

Director Raimi manages to combine the exaggerated quirkiness of his Evil Dead trilogy with the emotional impact of his taut morality play, A Simple Plan.

Full Review Source: Lawrence Journal-World | comment Comment
07/02/04
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

What’s at stake, besides the soul of the superhero, the continued health and well being of New York City and all that, is the lot in life of the little guy.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
07/02/04
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

Sam Raimi has once again raised the bar for superhero films and summer blockbusters, this time to the top of a skyscraper where only spider-men dare to crawl.

Full Review Source: MovieCrypt.com | comment Comment
07/02/04
Kevin A. Ranson
Kevin A. Ranson
MovieCrypt.com

Um filme ambicioso e maduro que, ao mesmo tempo em que impressiona com suas seqüências de ação, jamais deixa de lado o desenvolvimento de seus personagens.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
07/02/04
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

Spider-Man 2 swings

Full Review Source: Sun Newspapers of Cleveland | comment Comment
07/01/04
Gerry Shamray
Gerry Shamray
Sun Newspapers of Cleveland

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.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
07/01/04
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

As a summer blockbuster, Spider-Man 2 is unassailable, the most you could possibly ask for from a film of its type.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
07/01/04
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

Playing like one of the conflict-surfeited Marvel comics of the late 1960s, the sequel has plenty of daytime drama for Raimi to wring his fanboy hands over.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
07/01/04
Steve Schneider
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly

An entertaining warm-weather spectacle.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
07/01/04
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

Richly poignant, vigorously thrilling, and abundantly playful, it swings, it skyrockets, it soars. It's a genuine marvel.

Full Review Source: Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) | comment Comment
07/01/04
Randy Shulman
Randy Shulman
Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)

...a plot that is in all but the fine details a retread....But it’s such an entertaining retread that it’s hard to complain.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
07/01/04
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Inspiration strikes when Spider-Man returns to full-tilt, but with a better balance of spectacle and sentiment, it could have been a four-star, fist-pumping triumph.

Full Review Source: State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) | comment Comment
07/01/04
Nick Rogers
Nick Rogers
State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)
 
 
81 - 100 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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Latest News for Spider-Man 2

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