It improves on the first one: better action, better comedy.
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
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Reviews Counted:42
Fresh:40
Rotten:2
Average Rating:8.1/10
Consensus: A nimble sequel that improves upon the original.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for stylized action violence
Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Jun 30, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $373,377,893
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
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Release:
Aug 4, 2009
Reviews for Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 is much more a grown-up love story than its predecessor.
For a big-budget action movie Spider-Man 2 is modest and not assaultive -- it has a boring decency.
Easily the most fun movie of the summer, an all-ages show that crawls deep into the heart.
A terrifically entertaining comic book of a movie that mixes action and romance in ways that give it heft and heart.
This triumphant sequel to the hard-to-top 2002 original may be the first great comic-book movie in the age of self-help and CGI wizardry, an entertainment in which both the thrills and the therapeutic personal growth are well earned.
This Spidey ain't heavy, this Spidey ain't light -- this Spidey weighs in just right.
Doc Ock is a far more interesting character than Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin from the first picture, and he's a lot funnier, too.
As fine a repeat experience as our foolish, creativity-challenged tradition of sequelizing allows.
Maguire, with his dim eyes and his forlorn voice, gives the movie an emotional center utterly rare for this sort of thing.
Smart, fun entertainment made by people who took nothing for granted, including the audience.
Sequels don't get much better -- or smarter -- than the action-, drama-, romance- and comedy-packed Spider-Man 2.
Spider-Man 2 is a perfect blend of summer action, a big movie with a deeply personal story.
Sensational enough for power-fantasy fans, it also tells a strong story that tugs agreeably on our heartstrings.
Well worth seeing for comic and action fans, but let's hope for a lower hand-wringing quotient next time around.
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