Spider-Man 2

[SomethingBig]

Yes, there will be spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie, yet, I suggest you stop reading right.............................................. now.

These are a couple of things that I've said in another forum:

"I liked the movie. The first movie was better, though. First movie was about the transition into becoming Spider-Man. Second was about the trials and tribulations on being Spider-Man. Third will be about revenge. The reason people didn't like the sequel was because it focuses on Peter and his ongoing struggle as Spider-Man. I've been a Spider-Man fan since the cartoon that Wilibus is talking about started. People complain about how it was too focused on his struggles as Spider-Man, but if you've some knowledge from the comics, then you'd know that he goes through much more in the comics.

Raimi did a pretty fine job portraying Peter's constant battle within his mind. Spider-Man or not? Also, Peter lost his powers for a period of time, so he had to stop being Spider-Man sooner or later. Even though that shouldn't have happened until later on, it fit quite perfectly into his not wanting to be Spider-Man, anymore. A movie about his constant struggle was bound to pop up, anyway, and it's a good thing it's the second movie, since the third should be incredible, as it is a struggle between two best friends.

As for the acting, I didn't notice any bad acting at all. I noticed many flaws on acting in the first movie, but little in this movie. The part in the sequel, that I can remember, with bad acting was during the train scene when that kid tells Spider-Man that it was good to have him back. That part made me cry because the acting was so bad. I was expecting Peter to say something like, 'It's good to be back, kid.' Other than that, I didn't really notice any acting flaws."

"I also noticed the flaws in the CGI. They were just nowhere near as good as the first's. I was watching a behind-the-stage special on Spider-Man 2 on MTV and they explained why the CGI wasn't as good as the first's. They said that CGing was very expensive and whatnot.

I also agree with the last battle. The train scene was great, but second to last battle's aren't supposed to be more suspenseful than the last. The last lasted 2 minutes, for God's sake. What's worse is how Octavius died. He's supposed to be a recurring villain. Damn you, Raimi! There's supposed to be a gigantic villain team-up, which would surely have Octavius.

About characters that haven't been introduced, it's a shame that Gwen wasn't added in. She's supposed to be killed by Hobby after Peter's identity is revealed to the Hob Goblin. Her murder is supposed to have a major impact on Peter and how he can never have a love life. Raimi can't do that with MJ because she has such a big role. Another thing that nags me is how Eddy Brock hasn't been introduced, yet. Raimi couldn't possibly fit in the ruination of Eddy Brock by Spider-Man and still have time to explain Venom in just one movie. It's ridiculous. He should've been introduced in the very first movie."

What boggles my mind is how they're going to have a movie with a super hero who has a "secret identity" that's known by 30 people. Harry, as the Green Goblin, could also tell many more people.

[TheAbominatrix]

Well as for the secret identity thing, no one on the train could say "That's Peter Parker", because no one knew him. But Harry wont tell, in the comics, even when the Goblin persona had taken over completely, he cared too deeply for his friend to rat him out.

Anyway, I loved the movie. I thought it was way better than the first. It was funny, dramatic, and really deep. The acting and the CG were great. Of course, it doesnt matter how good a movie is, there will always be someone to nitpick and complain about it.

[American Badass]

"I liked the movie. The first movie was better, though. First movie was about the transition into becoming Spider-Man. Second was about the trials and tribulations on being Spider-Man. Third will be about revenge. The reason people didn't like the sequel was because it focuses on Peter and his ongoing struggle as Spider-Man. I've been a Spider-Man fan since the cartoon that Wilibus is talking about started. People complain about how it was too focused on his struggles as Spider-Man, but if you've some knowledge from the comics, then you'd know that he goes through much more in the comics.

Actually, I liked the sequel more because it focused on the consequences of Peter choosing to be Spider-Man. He can't hold a steady job, and his only semi-recurring payflow is from a source who slanders his alter-ego. Then there's the face that he has no time for school and his grades are suffering because of it, plus the fact the he can't have MJ because of the risk it would pose to her.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the first one, but as which any first movie in a series it had to introduce the characters. The sequel, however, was loaded with character development for Peter, and some for Harry and MJ and Doc Ock of course. And I love a good story and great character development, and that's something the sequel had better than the original.

Raimi did a pretty fine job portraying Peter's constant battle within his mind. Spider-Man or not? Also, Peter lost his powers for a period of time, so he had to stop being Spider-Man sooner or later. Even though that shouldn't have happened until later on, it fit quite perfectly into his not wanting to be Spider-Man, anymore. A movie about his constant struggle was bound to pop up, anyway, and it's a good thing it's the second movie, since the third should be incredible, as it is a struggle between two best friends.

Actually, the movie gave me the impression that he was losing his powers because Peter had no focus. He couldn't resolve the conflict in his mind of whether he REALLY wanted to be Spider-Man. Note that when he made the decision mentally to quit being Spider-Man, he all of a sudden needed to wear his glasses, something he didn't have to while he was conflicted. And then when MJ gets abducted, Peter's choice is clear: to save MJ he needs to be Spider-Man and voila, his powers are completely restored because he's completely focused.

I also agree with the last battle. The train scene was great, but second to last battle's aren't supposed to be more suspenseful than the last. The last lasted 2 minutes, for God's sake. What's worse is how Octavius died. He's supposed to be a recurring villain. Damn you, Raimi! There's supposed to be a gigantic villain team-up, which would surely have Octavius.

Well, Raimi is only signed on for three Spider-Man movies, plus his don't adhere to anything as far as comics and/or the cartoons go. They may show similarities, but they don't exist in the same continuity.

And I liked the fact the Octavius died a hero, which was a big theme of the movie. I liked the attachment between he and Parker (evident when they had dinner together) and Octavius came off as a generally good man who loved his work and loved his wife more. That's one thing Norman Osbourne never was: likeable. So in the end, it made sense for Ocativus to regain control of his senses and put an end to something he knew he had done wrong.

Another thing that nags me is how Eddy Brock hasn't been introduced, yet. Raimi couldn't possibly fit in the ruination of Eddy Brock by Spider-Man and still have time to explain Venom in just one movie. It's ridiculous. He should've been introduced in the very first movie."

Raimi has gone on record as never having any intention of doing Venom. And honestly, I don't know how well Venom would fit in Raimi's style of Spider-Man. But here's the thing, if Raimi indeed stops after the third Spider-Man movie, they could get another director who would do Venom.

I'm kinda split. I wouldn't mind seeing Venom, but I can live with it if I don't. Depending on the direction Sony pictures go, I don't know if I'd want to see a Spider-Man movie without Raimi doing it.

Oh, and since Raimi's Spideyverse doesn't really follow any known continuity, if Venom is done, Eddie Brock doesn't necessarily have to be Venom. They set John Jameson up pretty good where he could be Venom. Just a thought.

What boggles my mind is how they're going to have a movie with a super hero who has a "secret identity" that's known by 30 people. Harry, as the Green Goblin, could also tell many more people.

I doubt anyone on that train knew who the guy in the Spidey suit really was. There's no link. Some people may notice that Peter Parker takes Spider-Man's pictures, but I doubt anyone on the train knew Peter Parker by face.

All in all, I think the movie was fantastic. And I am anxiously awaiting Harry and Peter go at it in 2007.

[Del Murder]

I enjoyed reading both your posts, guys.

I think I like this movie better than the first because whenever you do an orgin story it takes a while to get it off the ground. In this movie Spidey is alread established and you can get right into the main plot.

I think Octopus was brilliantly played and I seriously could not think of a better way he could be portrayed on the big screen. It's interesting the way he died in the movie. He had to die of course, because it's a movie and the villians always die. If it was a TV show or comic where they could use him again a whole bunch of times it would make more sense to not kill him off, but you're really only going to get 3 movies, maybe a couple more, but there are so many other villians left in the Spideyverse that you don't need Ock running around. A villian team-up would be cool, but you'd need at least two more movies to set up the other villians and it just isn't feasible.

I think the twists were good ones with MJ/Harry discovering Spidey's identity. MJ has to learn it at some point and now Pete has a confidant which would hopefully create some good moments. One thing I was wondering as soon as Harry unmasked Spidey was if they would get Defoe back for the third movie to help Harry go nuts but my question was answered early! That was a great end. The end was most certainly better than the first one.

Couple things I didn't like. I didn't like how the tentacles controlled Octavious, it took a lot of his personality out of it. But the casting was so good that he eventually convinced me that the arms were just tapping into his own emotions and resentment for his losses and magnifying them, so I was cool with it. The other thing was Peter losing his powers because he 'didn't want to be Spider-Man'. I'm hoping that was just a metaphor and it was really the mutation disease that caused it, but I wouldn't be upset if they just left that whole plot out of further films.

So it looks like Spider-Man 3 will be vs. Green Goblin 2. That's kind of redundant. I hope they throw in a lesser villian like Lizard (we did see some of Doc Connors after all) to keep Pete busy while he deals with the main issue of Harry pumpkin bombing the hell out of everyone. I don't like it when they use two villians (Batmans 3 and 4) but in this case it might work because the characters are so familiar to Peter and Lizard can't really carry his own movie. That's what I like most about Spider-Man. The heroes'/villians' identities are just as important as their costumed alter egos.

[Rain]

(Abridged from a much larger post on another forum)



I'll get the fanboyism out of the way for those familiar with the comics.

First of all, Spider-Man 2 featured a number of homages to classic Spider-Man comics.

The theme:



A classic and oft-visited part of Spider-Man's heritage is his struggle with the dual life he leads. Sure, other characters have dealt with the same sort of thing before, but Spidey's case has always been a little more pronounced, because readers can identify with Peter Parker more than they can, say Clark Kent.

And the cliches--and they're there--aren't cliche to those who follow the comics--they're exciting! The so-called melodrama (which I didn't find any of, but I've heard claims of it) is expressive development of the characters' relationships. Parker is continually battling with more things in his life than supervillians, and the tension between he and Mary Jane and the constant back-and-forth illustrates his internal struggle far better than an internal monologue and a few asides ever could.

The camera work in the action scenes was incredible on many occasions. Let's consider when Doc Ock flips a car over Parker's head, missing him by mere inches as shards of glass flitter by in slow motion.

Or perhaps we should consider watching Spider Man's reflection in Doc Ock's glasses as he swings in towards his perch, the dramatic upshot framing a very pissed Spider-Man and a very confident Octavius in a strong angle.

We'll even consider the camera panning as Spidey does battle with the Doc on the roof of a monorail, the panning camera swinging in time with the dizzying pace of the battle.

The action scenes, though not revolutionary, kicked hardcore amounts of ass.

Let's also not forget the web (pun intended) of subplots woven between the characters by film's end.

We have Parker, finally at peace with the world yet still struggling with the knowledge that he's been revealed, and his friends and family are almost certainly headed for danger. But, as always, with great power comes great responsibility, and this further emphasizes Parker's strength as a hero and--more importantly--as a person.

We have Mary Jane, who ran away from her wedding to be with Parker, a move she knows will lead to more danger--a move she takes willingly, though not without some reservation. This begins to show the strength and courage that MJ has; characteristics we fanboys know all too well in that character.

Then we have Harry Osbourne, who at once loathes and loves Spider-Man/Peter Parker, and is already beginning to show signs of his father's schizophrenia (which is also a classic series of arcs in the comics, for all of you people who said, "aw, what the " when he started wigging out near the end) and must struggle with the torrent of emotions that tears through his heart. Here we see Harry's ultimate tragic flaw, and yet we see that he does have goodness in him just from his reaction to learning Spidey's identity.

Right there, we have the makings of three separate movies on their own.

[darkchrono]

I really liked this movie as well. Though it's difficult for me to say. But I thought the love story was the best part of the whole film.

I thought the love story was put together very realistically in Spiderman 2. Unlike some other notable love stories like Titanic.

I thought they put the aspects of young people's love stories together very well in the movie. In most young people's love stories the love between the characters seems very cheesy and unrealistic. The two meet and instantly fall head over heals with eachother and the only thing they have to battle is others who don't want them to be together.

But in Spiderman 2, the two characters aren't battling others. They are much more realistically battling the love against eachother.

I think the movie showed very well the frustration that often happens between two young people in love. The mind games that start getting played because of all the frustration the two are feeling towards eachother.

I thought it was very interesting how they completely switched the roles inbetween film 1 and film 2. In film one Peter was the insecure individual who was struggling with the thoughts that his feelings were not being recipocated by MJ. And in film 2 MJ was the insecure one who felt that her feelings were not being recipocated by Peter.

And then MJ because she is struggling with the idea of the unrequated love she has towards Peter she constantly tries going about playing mind games with him throughout most of the movie. Telling him about the guy she is seeing as a way of making him jealous. And you know she was playing a game with Peter when she had Peter come to her concert and she had plans for the guy she was dating at the time to pick her up after the play was over. Again in hopes of trying to make Peter jealous. (You could argue that that whole relationship with that guy was just to try to make Peter jealous.)

And then at the end of the movie when MJ puts all the pieces together when she finds out who Spiderman really is and suddenly all Peter has been telling her finally makes sense. And the ton of bricks seems to be lifted from her shoulders. And the ton of bricks that seems to be lifted off Peter's shoulders when the burden of having to hide everything from MJ is suddenly gone.

I was going on about the games MJ played with Peter more so than the games Peter played with MJ because MJ had to go to more drastic measures than Peter did because she acknowledged to Peter how she felt about him. While Peter in the first movie didn't have to go to those extreme of measures because he simply never told MJ how he felt about her.

I thought the love story was one of the best parts of the film because it illustrated what young people's relationships with eachother are generally like much better than most movies do.

[edczxcvbnm]

I am going to sum this up as saying it was way better than the first and the acting was good(apart from Dunst who can't act her way out of a box). I can't wait to see who the villian in spider-man 3 is and I hope who ever the villian may be they kill losts of innocent people...or attempt to. Hob Gob or the Green Gob bombing the hell out of places yet no one dies....Yeah right. I want to see some mass destruction and some bodies. Makes it seem much deadlier and more urgent.

I can see a good duel of Harry either using conners as the lizard to go after parker while he is the green gob(or hob gob depending if they want to use the same name again) and holding the lizards leash. Or hire someone to be the hob gob and he will be the green gob and tag team spider-man.

Thats what I see for the next one....and he will need the black suit to beat both baddies which would be a nice lead in for venom.

[Gerbillcat]

I haven't seen Spiderman 2 yet seen as i live in England i have to wait till the 15th July. But the one thing about the movie i'm not looking forward to is Kirsten Dunst, this is only my opinion but i really can't stand the way she plays mary-jane. It just doesn't feel like MJ to me she's not as feisty or as witty. I know that's probably not down to Dunst alone but to be honest i don't like her as an actress either.

[Imperia]

Is it really good? I've never been too fond of Spiderman, plus that Mary Jane appears weak, helpless, and boring to me. Looks like a Rinoa-clone.

[Shlup]

I agree with everything that everyone said. It was very good, few complaints. I liked it better than the first one because it was funnier, and because it required less character introduction and involved deeper character development. Yeah, sure, Mary Jane can be obnoxious but its a better love story then most others I can think of. Before the movie came out I was a little wary because all the "Spidey fans" I knew complained that they didn't like Doc Ock, but I thought he was great.

Also... the scene with Mary Jane running through the city in her wedding dress was hillarious.

[Shoeberto]

Brock was mentioned <i>very</i> briefly in the first movie, for whoever mentioned him.

The second one was good, yes.

I'd rather have Venom in the next movie rather than Hobgoblin, and they've very subtley set it up (Jameson's son brought the symbiant back from the moon, and Brock has been mentioned). Hobgoblin and Green Goblin were some of my less-favorite villains.

[Kirobaito]

I just saw it today. I liked it probably just as much as the first one. I can't really put one above the other.

I don't think that doing Venom is that feasible, considering it would probably take more than one movie to explain it all.

[-N-]

Spiderman 2 : Spiderman :: Matrix Reloaded : Matrix

i.e. taking a good movie, adding on cool action looks, and lame philosophy insertions in between scenes.

[Zell's Fists of Fury]

(Jameson's son brought the symbiant back from the moon,

I must have missed that. When did they say that?

[*ETERNAL FANTASY*]

a sequel calls for the director to step up from the original....most fail.... this didnt....im glad to say im proud of how this movie turned out in comparison to all the other marvel dissapointments....with the exception of xmen and x2