Reviewed by: Joe & Kris

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Produced by: Laura Ziskin & Avi Arad

Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, J.K. Simmons, Alfred Molina, & Rosemary Harris

Released: June 30th, 2004

Action/Adventure 2 hrs. 07 min. Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man returns in the sequel to the record-breaking blockbuster movie debut for Marvel Comics' flagship character. Tobey Maguire returns as Peter Parker, the nerd-turned-hero, to face new threats to New York City and the people he loves.

Spider-Man 2 delivers most of what the hype and promotion promise, not only in the areas of spectacular special effects and an emotionally driven storyline, but in the film’s enduring message of heroism and self-sacrifice. Before rounding off what made this sequel the fulfilling feature it was, let’s focus on items that failed to live up to the rest of the film. First, the random shots of normal civilians, though some well placed, were mainly an annoyance. There is one specific shot, when Spider-Man (costume and all) makes his first appearance, where a woman shouts, “You go, Spidey!” … this was humorous for the wrong reason and should have been left out, along with the several long focus shots of people screaming and running in terror. Not that they weren’t needed but it was the amount of time Raimi used to focus on them that was the problem. Secondly, as was said earlier, it hard to determine whether the Green Goblin or Doctor Octavius is the better villain as Doc Ock isn’t nearly as menacing as Goblin was, though he does offer up more action packed fight sequences in return. Depending on how you felt with the first film, this feature’s villain could go either way. Third, some of the sequel’s more subtle jokes, namely the homage to Butch Casidy and the Sundance Kid, are lost on the majority of the film’s target audience, though they are quite humorous to those that know what they are referring to. And finally, the film’s final sequence, in which the audience sees Spider-Man swinging between two helicopters over the rooftops of Manhattan on his way to another crime scene, is quite possibly one of the worse computer animated sequences presented this year and is a severe disappointment considering the sensational sequence the last film ended with. The problem is that the computer graphics are way too obvious and ends the film on quite a sour note considering most of the effects presented in the film were spectacular.

Though the problems of Spider-Man 2 seem to significantly out weigh the good, the film’s emotionally driven messages of self-sacrifice and heroism are what truly set this one apart from all the rest. Where the first film hammers the idea that even the most unlikely of individuals in this world can be heroes, the sequel drills home the belief that there is a hero is every one of us … we just have to make the choice listen to the voice that lets it shine through if it means we have to give up on the things we want the most in life. It’s easy to relate the idea of self-sacrifice with the fire and police departments of this country after the tragic events of September 11th but there is another aspect that many of us as Americans fail to respect or even recognize. Right now thousands of American troops are deployed overseas, either in Afghanistan or Iraq, bringing about freedom and opportunity in parts of the world that have not experienced such fundamental principles for over three decades … they are risking their lives not only for the protection of the American people but to further the causes our founding fathers endowed upon us nearly three centuries ago. It is obvious that there are polarizing views in this country on the conflicts we find ourselves in but there once was a time in America’s history where the people of this land looked upon the self-sacrificing men and women of the armed forces with respect and admiration, and, in a slightly smaller way, they still do today. But there are also the people who view these true “heroes” with anger and hatred, not understanding nor having the will to accept the good they are doing in the world, despite what many may say. Symbolism of this can be found in Spider-Man 2 and, like in the comic book adaptation, we believe that a time will come when frustration and hatred can be washed away to fully understand the reasoning behind their sacrifice, as well as the sacrifice of every “superhero” in this world … to bring justice to those that deserve it.

This is the second installment of Columbia Picture’s Spider-Man franchise. The first film was a huge success, and most people expected the same out of the second film. I enjoyed the first Spider-Man, and was looking forward to seeing this one. I was not disappointed with Spider-Man 2; it was everything I expected and more. I honestly think that Spider-Man 2 is better than the first one, and this is mainly due to the fact that the back story doesn’t need to be explained. The audience doesn’t need to get to know the characters because the main ones are carried over from the first film.

This film is very emotional; much more so than the first one, and that’s one of the main things I like about this Spidey 2. There’s so much turmoil in everyone’s life, and it’s interesting to see all of the characters interacting and allowing the turmoil to surface in those interactions. Peter Parker has the most going on in his life, and he starts to feel that being Spider-Man is starting to take away the life he wants. He’s in love with Mary Jane, but he can’t let her know because he doesn’t want her to get hurt. There are things he wants to tell Harry and Aunt May, but he can’t tell them what he wants to either because they will be hurt by what he has to say. Peter has to keep everything bottled up inside, which creates tension in the story and allows for more suspense.

There are only 2 scenes in this movie that I didn’t like. One of the scenes is near the end and is completely unnecessary. It’s just a short clip and it just doesn’t make a lot of sense being there, especially since the character in question is smiling and it’s not really the best moment to be smiling. The other scene is when Doc Ock is in the hospital. I won’t give anything about the scene away except for this; the scene was filmed in a way that is unlike the rest of the film, and I feel that it detracts from the flow of the movie. This scene is filmed from an almost horror film feel, and I just didn’t like it.

I have a few favorite scenes, but I’ll just tell you my favorite part. I love the title sequence. I know most people don’t consider this to be a real scene, but I thought it was clever. The director, Sam Raimi, gives the audience a little recap of what happened in the first film by adding some drawings of memorable scenes from Spider-Man. The other few parts I like involve cameos by a few celebrities that most people wouldn’t notice, and that kind of gives the film an inside joke feel.

This is definitely one of the best films of the summer. Go see it if you haven’t yet. This one is better than the first; therefore if you liked that one, you should like this one.