SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 2 Hours, 8 Min.
In 2004, Columbia Pictures released director Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, theatrically and later to DVD. Peter Parker’s (Maguire) dual identity as Spider-Man continues to provoke multiple crises simultaneously. Coping with his beloved Mary Jane’s (Dunst) imminent nuptials to celebrity astronaut John Jameson (Gilles), Peter experiences slow-brewing tension with best friend Harry Obsorn (Franco), who already blames Spider-Man for his father’s death.
Above all, a freak accident sets in motion a deadly feud pitting Spidey against Peter’s former mentor, Dr. Otto Octavius (Molina), soon to be publicly known as the monstrous Doctor Octopus.
Peter Parker / Spider-Man: Tobey Maguire
Mary Jane Watson: Kirsten Dunst
Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus: Alfred Molina
Harry Osborn: James Franco
Aunt May Parker: Rosemary Harris
John Jameson: Daniel Gilles
J. Jonah Jameson: J.K. Simmons
Dr. Curt Connors: Dylan Baker
Robbie Robertson: Bill Nunn
Betty Brant: Elizabeth Banks
Norman Osborn / Green Goblin (flashback): Willem Dafoe
Uncle Ben Parker (flashback): Cliff Robertson
Notes: This title is also available in Blu-Ray, including as part of various combo packages, and as a digital purchase. Both Maguire & Molina reprise their roles in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.
REVIEW:
The film deserves its reputation as the best of Maguire & Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, as its surefire creative content (including Danny Elfman’s instrumental score) is balanced by top-caliber special effects. The only caveats would be: first, too many maskless scenes to spell out Maguire’s facial reactions as Spider Man, which should leave Peter’s secret identity fair game to the public; and, secondly, one can cite the ludicrous runaway subway train sequence as a prime example of going ‘maskless’ in public.
Risking a plot credibility-killer, Maguire’s Spider-Man demonstrates a desperate burst of Superman or Hulk-caliber strength when, logically, his arms should have been ripped off. All super-hero fantasies aside, this subway scene should have been reworked, so an unmasked Spider-Man’s powers (not to mention, his secret identity) could still be grounded in some semblance of sci-fi reality. Still, the sequences before and after the subway rescue demonstrate Raimi’s Spider-storytelling at its best.
Though the movie misses the original film’s supplemental rock tunes, composer Elfman continues his Spider-Man repertoire to flawlessly narrate Raimi’s plot. With Maguire and the ensemble cast in vintage form, Spider-Man 2 sets an impressive bar for excellence that even Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films are challenged to live up to.
BONUS FEATURES:
Available languages are English, French 51. (Dolby Digital), and Spanish (Dolby Surround), as each of them has applicable subtitles. Disc 1’s extras consist of: commentaries from Maguire, Raimi, and producers Avi Arad & Grant Curtis; a technical commentary; blooper reel; a ‘Spidey Sense 2’ pop-up trivia track; Train’s “Ordinary” music video; four ‘web-i-sode’ featurettes hyping the film’s theatrical release; and some obligatory trailers.
The more extensive Disc 2 adds various documentaries and featurettes. Specifically, they are:
- “Making the Amazing” – a 12-part step-by-step evolution revealing the film’s production through to its premiere.
- “Hero in Crisis” explores new problems for Maguire’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
- “Eight Arms to Hold You” ock-umkentary explains how Molina’s Dr. Octopus was translated from comics to live-action.
- “Interwoven: The Women of Spider-Women” is self-explanatory.
- “Enter the Web” is a close-up of behind-the-scenes work filming the ‘Pier’ sequence.
- an Alex Ross concept art gallery used for the opening credits.
- “Spider-Man 2: Spinning the Game” hypes Activision’s video game tie-in.
- various weblinks.
PACKAGING:
Each disc has a separate casing. As indicated on the case, the contents are accurately advertised.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 9 Stars
