 | |
List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 3199
Released: November 30, 2004 |
| Our Price: $1.98 |
| Used Price: $0.28 |
|
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Peter Parker's adventures as Spider-man continue as he battles Dr. Otto Octavius.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 4-APR-2006
Media Type: DVD
Description of Spider-Man 2 (Widescreen Special Edition):
More than a few critics hailed Spider-Man 2 as "the best superhero movie ever," and there's no compelling reason to argue--thanks to a bigger budget, better special effects, and a dynamic, character-driven plot, it's a notch above Spider-Man in terms of emotional depth and rich comic-book sensibility. Ordinary People Oscar-winner Alvin Sargent received screenplay credit, and celebrated author and comic-book expert Michael Chabon worked on the story, but it's director Sam Raimi's affinity for the material that brings Spidey 2 to vivid life. When a fusion experiment goes terribly wrong, a brilliant physicist (Alfred Molina) is turned into Spidey's newest nemesis, the deranged, mechanically tentacled "Doctor Octopus," obsessed with completing his experiment and killing Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) in the process. Even more compelling is Peter Parker's urgent dilemma: continue his burdensome, lonely life of crime-fighting as Spider-Man, or pursue love and happiness with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst)? Molina's outstanding as a tragic villain controlled by his own invention, and the action sequences are nothing less than breathtaking, but the real success of Spider-Man 2 is its sense of priorities. With all of Hollywood's biggest and best toys at his disposal, Raimi and his writers stay true to the Marvel mythology, honoring Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and setting the bar impressively high for the challenge of Spider-Man 3. --Jeff Shannon
DVD Features:
The first commentary track is by director Sam Raimi and a self-deprecating Tobey Maguire speaking in tandem, and producer (and Marvel CEO) Avi Arad and coproducer Grant Curtis speaking in tandem. They discuss a number of topics, including Raimi's memory of his excitement over Richard Donner's Superman and how the character of Black Cat had to be dropped from the film. The second commentary is by six members of the Oscar-nominated effects team, and one of their primary focuses is how Doc Ock's arms were achieved by a combination of puppetry and CGI.
The centerpiece of the second disc is a massive two-hour documentary that can be viewed all at once or in 12 separate pieces. It covers the development of the story, the visual effects, costumes, stunts, and sound and music. Three shorter featurettes cover Peter Parker's struggle between his personal and hero lives, Doc Ock, and the women in Spider-Man's life, and what's interesting is how they discuss those topics not just in relation to the movies but to the comic books as well. (For example, Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy had a much greater impact in the comics.) There's a scene in which you can toggle among three different camera angles, and a gallery of 17 paintings Alex Ross created for the opening sequence. The sound and picture are spectacular, though only the Superbit edition has DTS. --David Horiuchi
More Spiderman on DVD
The Spiderman Toy Store |
The First Film |
Spider Man on the small screen |
The Soundtrack |
Game Boy Advance |
The Book |
More Superheroes on DVD
|
- Jimmy Neutron
- Justice League
- Kim Possible
|
- Robocop
- Spider-Man
- Superman
|
- Wonder Woman
- X-Men
- Also see our Action & Adventure Store
|
Stills from Spider-Man 2 (click for larger image)
Spider-Man 2 (Widescreen Special Edition) Reviews:
Good 
2008-09-18 - The dread franchise film has killed off many a potentially interesting character (Superman, Batman, Ripley, Rocky) & given leases of life to characters that are paper-thin (Indy Jones, Jason Voorhees, Catwoman). The latest franchise film is Spider-Man 2, directed by Sam Raimi. The 1st Spider-Man was probably the best comic book film ever made- mostly because its leads- Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, & Kirsten Dunst as his love- Mary Jane Watson a) can both act (unlike, say Christopher Reeve as Superman), b) are well cast (unlike Michael Keaton in the 1st 2 Batman films). & c) have chemistry (unlike Reeve & Margot Kidder in the Superman films). Maguire, especially, is so good an actor that he is 1 of those rarities that can run a panoply of emotions through just his eyes. He is almost irresistible to watch onscreen.... All in all, a very good film, & along with the 1st film, simply the best superhero films ever made. I hope the writers from this film stick with the whole series because, next to Batman, Spidey probably has the best pantheon of villains in comic book lore. Future baddies could include Dr. Doom, Venom, Carnage, the Sandman, Rhino, the Lizard, & Electro, among others. But, what makes good writing in such a film valuable are the little moments- like Peter's confession to Aunt May about how & why Uncle Ben really died, a surreal moment on an elevator between Spidey & a shocked citizen, references to other characters in the Marvel Comics universe, allusions & parallels to Oscar Wilde's The Important Of Being Earnest, & a street musician singing the old Spider-Man tv cartoon series theme song from the 1960s. Such touches are what invigorate this franchise above the others & what killed off the increasingly dark & directionless Batman franchise. Sam Raimi proves he is a director who knows how to milk a proven commodity without imposing his own distorted `vision' on it- unlike Batman director Tim Burton.
Good for Geeks, Though a Bit Short on Features
2008-09-11 - If you liked Spider-man 2, you should love Spider-man 2.1. The extra scenes are all great scenes that add nuance to the already-excellent film. They're mostly extra character bits, things that weren't needed, but certainly help paint the picture. The extra bits are so well-blended into the old footage that I didn't even recognize one new shot as such until, when watching the original version again, I noticed that it wasn't there.
Most memorable to me were J. Jonah Jameson wearing his newly-found Spider-man suit and pretending that he's the superhero, a much more rational and less venal confrontation between Peter and Harry at his birthday party (I'd always thought that scene in the original version was a bit choppy and emotionally sporadic) and a wonderful conversation between Mary Jane and her Maid-of-Honor about why she's marrying John Jameson.
The DVD set was lacking in features. There is a new commentary track featuring Producer Laura Ziskin and Writer Steve Ditko, but it's not very interesting. In addition, the other two commentary tracks were removed. For commentary buffs like myself, this should not be.
Most of the rest of the special features are all new, including a featurette about the new material. Unfortunately, these few extras have replaced the old bonus disc. You could do what I did, find a cheap copy of the original Spider-man 2, keep that bonus disc and give the movie itself to a friend so you have a 3-disc set, but that seems a lot to do just to have the complete set of bonus features.
In all, I would highly recommend this version. If you're a Spider-man fan or just a DVD geek, get this movie, just be prepared to have less bonus features than before.
One of the best superhero movies made.
2008-07-13 - Very few directors really understand the appeal of superhero comicbooks. It's a short list of successful superhero adaptations.
Sam Raimi was firing on all cylinders when he made this movie. The result is solid action-adventure with well developed characters that pull you into the story and keep you emotionally invested. The action choreography is stunning and the special effects are polished. Spider-Man 2 has a talented cast that really brings this story to life - with Alfred Molina being a particularly inspired choice to play Dr. Otto Octavious and J.K. Simmons delivering a larger-than-life J.Jonah Jameson. Some serious writing skill is in evidence here - the story has excellent pacing and a great sense of increasing stakes. There are moments of emotional gravity, but the tone remains light while delivering the goods at the "big moments" - just like a summer movie should.
Some nice cinematography really makes the most out of some truly inspired set pieces and it's all edited together rather elegantly. When all is said and done, there is more than enough fun and visceral thrills to go around - handled in a way that keeps the material close to it's pulp roots. More importantly, the conclusion is satisfying without everything being tied up into too neat a bow.
Part two and my personal favorite. 
2008-06-25 - I liked the first one but this one surpasses it on EVERY level.
Spidey 2 has a better villain, better FX, better everything.
The story is more engaging; the whole wedding scene at the end with Mary Jane running through the park is just soooo cool.
The action is nonstop.
A brilliant story, a brilliant movie.
Loved it!
Loved it!!
Loved it!!!
Superb acting from the entire cast, one of the best if not THE best super hero movie ever.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!
A Better Story And A Better Villain
2008-06-21 - This review will be split into three parts, they will be split into The Story, The Characters and the Verdict. This will give you a fair and honest view of the characters, story and the movie itself.
The Story: Harry Osborn has now taken over Oscorp and he's financially backing a scientist called Otto Octavius who's experimenting with sustained fusion as a way of replacing conventional fuels. In order for Otto so sustain the fusion reaction he's developed artificially intelligent arms that attach directly to his spine that he can control as if they were additional arms. One day while demonstrating his experiment, Otto is unable to contain the reaction and it all goes wrong. The experiment becomes unstable but Otto refuses to halt it, it eventually gets worse and his wife is killed and the neural inhibitor chip on the arms is destroyed and they are fused to Dr. Octavius' spine. Thanks to the help of Spiderman the plug is pulled on the experiment and nobody else is hurt, but Dr. Octavius blames Spidey for the disaster. The AI of the mechanical arms seem to tap into Dr. Octavius' brain and begins to manipulate him into wanting to try the experiment again and set out to kill Spiderman. Spidey begins to struggle with juggling his powers, his education and his job and on top of that he has to handle the difficulty of his powers constantly halting at the worst times. Mary Jane is becoming a successful stage actress and desperately wants Peter to be there when she needs him and Harry is looking for revenge against spiderman for killing his father.
The Characters: I've discussed both Tobeys & Kirstens characters in my review for the first spiderman film and my feelings are generally the same. The character I'm going to discuss is the character of Dr. Octavius.
Doc Oc: Played by Alfred Molina this is an intelligent choice for Doc Oc as he genuinely looks like the Doc Oc from the comics. He gives us his own brand of intelligence and sophistication when showing us the mental anguish that the character is going through in the movie.
Harry Osborn: We've seen a bit of a development in this character from the first movie. In that he was the kid with high expectations and a kid who idolised his father and was chasing after the girl (MJ). In this movie we're introduced to what some could consider a very different character, he seems arrogant yet he's tormented by the death of his father so he's someone who has a lot on his mind. James Franco is great at playing the tormented figure of Harry Osborn.
The Verdict: This is clearly the strongest film of the three, the action sequences particularly the fight sequence on the train is one that really gets your heart racing. Alfred Molina really fits the Doc Oc character perfectly and he really makes it believable. It has the general comedy moments that help you relax after witnessing a strongly emotive scene or a high impact fight sequence. The mixture of CGI and real life is un-seamless which gives it all the more realistic look. This is a movie that every comic book fan should own and enjoy for many years to come.
