Product description

Spider-Man 2 [2004]

Price: £3.45
RRP: £5.99
Average customer rating: 4.0

Binding : VHS Tape
EAN : 5023940480188
Label : Uca Catalogue
Manufacturer : Uca Catalogue
Publisher : Uca Catalogue
Release date : 2005-12-19
Title : Spider-Man 2 [2004]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Parental Guidance
Format : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 2004-07-16
Running time : 122
Studio : Uca Catalogue
Theatrical releaseDate : 2004-07-08

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
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, honouring Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and setting the bar impressively high for the challenge of Spider-Man 3. --Jeff Shannon

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-09-06 rating:

Dynamic and entertaining, with some some fine arty touches
Very dynamic production which really swings into the action side of Spiderman. The essence of the comic strip is also well defined, with the sets suitably cramped and very inner city like. Trump card though for me was the stuttering relationship between Parker and his dame, the very edible Miss Dunst. The final flowerng of their love and the revelation of Parker's heavy secret is just superb, and cuts across the electrifying action of the movie, to land a sublime contrast which lifts this picture out of the everyday - this is a masterpiece of the genre. For all the thrills and spills, my favourite scene of the movie - the incredibly arty shot of Spidey and his muse splayed out both lovestruck on one of his webs. Maybe not that hard to dream up for a writer, but it was beautifully shot and played. It easily compensated for the slight frustration one has for some of the less than real looking CGI sequences.

review by: Stuff lover date: 2008-07-08 rating:

Does whatever a spider can
The first Spider-Man movie was a huge success based on any number of factors so the weight of expectation was on this film. Pretty much the entire original cast was reassembled (dream sequences and insanity are wonderful tools for allowing dead characters to pop up) and one of Spider-Man's greatest villains was thrown into the mix.

Storyline wise this is a film about Peter Parker's struggle to balance the dual identities that he has. He's no Bruce Wayne in an isolated mansion or Clark Kent with the superspeed to almost be in two places at once, no Peter is just an ordinary guy who happens to have the proportionate speed, strength, and agility of a human sized spider. He is present at a laboratory experiment where kindly scientist Otto Octavius has a set of mechanical arms accidentally grafted onto his back and directly in into his central nervous system sending him a bit mad. Peter and the newly psychotic Doctor Octopus have a few throw downs before the hero's crippling self-doubt lead him to abandon his Spider-Man persona. This is all further complicated by the fact that Pete's best friend Harry is obsessed with seeing Spider-Man dead after the finale of the first film.

As with the first Spider-Man the cast all play wonderfully. Tobey Maguire continues to be geeky cute and utterly sympathetic as Peter while winsome Kirsten Dunst is affecting as his love interest Mary-Jane (their romance is far more central to the plot of this movie than its predecessor. The supporting cast carry the day again with a subtle, occasionally heartstring tugging performance from Rosemary Harris and pure comedy gold from JK Simmons as J Jonah Jameson. Hardcore thespian Alfred Molina is brilliant as the kindly Otto before his accident and then as the nasty and dangerous Doc Ock afterwards.

The effects are a big improvement with the CGI picking up noticably over the first film. A lengthy battle on the top of a train could have been a train wreck but looks magnificent. Doctor Octopus's arms, a mixture of CGI and animatronics are excellent and even manage to convey emotions. The script is funny when it wants to be, romantic when it sets out to be, and touching when it needs to be. One thing that I would say is that as a PG this has the least strict rating of the Spidey movies but it has a very harsh scene set in an operating room that I think is far less suitable for really young kids than many 12A movies are. The plotline with Peter giving up the Spider-Man identity is just a shade too long which disrupts the flow of the movie slightly but this remains a top drawer super hero flick and a great evening's entertainment.

review by: martin thomas date: 2008-06-07 rating:

best of the three
not as bad as the original this is passable enough rubbish but its still a long way from being a great comic book movie

review by: date: 2008-04-20 rating:

Excellent superhero sequel
In one of the best superhero sequels ever made, Tobey McGuire reprises his role as Peter Parker who is struggling with life's challenges, money, love and living and what's more he is losing his powers. And with more crime arising, Parker faces difficult choices concerning his personal life.

Breaking the opening weekend Box Office record, the Spider-man franchise grew wider and this 2004 sequel has been described as one of the best superhero sequels ever made, and I couldn't agree more.

With a much better opening to the first film, we are thrust straight into Parker's life as he tries to balance his job, his money and his university classes. Having many issues gives the film depth and is intriguing to watch each situation develop.

This film is similar to the first, with a focus upon dramatic issues such as his love for Mary Jane and the loss of his Uncle Ben. There is a slight feeling of repetition but in context it is understandable and gives the characters more emotion and understanding.

There is more action in this sequel, watch out for one of the best fantasy fight scenes in motion picture history, which so happens to be on a train. Excellent direction and nail biting close scenarios. There is always a question of realism but nevertheless that situation was simply outstanding.

The effects are great, as you would expect and much better than the first. I'm personally not a big fan of CGI but regardless this was special and was made so by Raimi's direction.

There are plenty of twists and turns in store and with the added action and more deep situations it makes the plot even more special.

Though the love scenes are questionable they aren't as corny as the previous films and are enjoyable to watch. The green Goblin was a much better villain than Dr Octopus and J.K Simmons is brilliant as the newspaper boss and overall, Spiderman 2 is my favourite superhero film of all time.

8.5/10

review by: date: 2008-03-06 rating:

Impressive CGI, but poor
Audiences may lose patience with Spider-Man 2 - it is quite dull.

If the function of cinema is just to produce CGI action then Spider-Man 2 does that with ease. The CGI is impressive (e.g. the train sequence).

Moments of self-mocking comedic brilliance (e.g. the Chinese player interjecting every so often with the Spider-Man theme tune) are to the film's credit. But there are too many over-long, cranky and sentimental sequences where the film is plodding.

Like Spider-Man 3 it is one hour too long.

The acting doesn't work either. This film needs actors who know what they're about. Batman (1989) worked because there was a sense of light-heartedness and artistic direction and the actors were well chosen and credible. Superman (1978) was equally good. Raimi's Spider-Mans do not even compare.

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