Spider-Man 2

From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.

An image of Spider-Man from a poster of Spider-Man 2

Spider-Man 2 is the sequel to the popular 2002 film Spider-Man and was released in the U.S. on June 30, 2004.

Contents

Credits

The film, directed by Sam Raimi, stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco reprising their roles of Peter Parker (Spider-Man), Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn, respectively. Alfred Molina plays the role of the villain, Doctor Octopus ("Doc Ock").

The screenplay is credited to Alvin Sargent, with screen story credit given to Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko receive additional screen credit for "comic book & characters".

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

Synopsis

Two years have passed for Peter Parker, established in his role as both a college student, and as a crimefighter. He can't keep up at school, pay his rent or make amends with his estranged best friend Harry, who wants Spider-Man dead. Mary Jane is more skeptic than ever of the man in her life. Peter's idol, a renowned scientist named Otto Octavius, resurfaces following a failed fusion experiment. Peter, at times noticing he's losing some of his powers, and is feeling the effects of the stress in his personal life, realizes he must decide between being who he once was or retaining his secret identity to stop "Doc Ock" and save New York City.

Character Analysis

Dr. Otto Octavius. Octavius is a deeply conflicted and ambiguous villain. The early scenes in the movie with his wife and Peter establish him as a gentle, peace-loving man who desires to help mankind (he tells Peter: "Intelligence is a gift, and you use it for the good of mankind.") This makes it all the more tragic and horrifying when we see what he beomes later on: a half-mechanical lunatic who's willing to risk destroying the city to realize his ambitions. His descent into villainy is often interpreted as possession by the mechanical tenatacles, but it's far deeper than that: when we see him on the waterfront after the accident, he's a broken man, having lost his wife and his fusion dreams, and he's contemplating suicide ("These monstrous things [the tentacles] should be at the bottom of the river, along with me," he says). The AI in the tentacles then offer him an escape from his failure and agony, and a chance to rebuild his experiment, since it's all he has left; and he willingly listens to them and lets them guide him. It's only at the end, when Peter makes him realize the true cost of his dreams, that he turns away from the tentacles' influence and reclaims his former identity. His final act of self-sacrifice redeems him, and, echoing Aunt May's speech on heroism earlier in the movie, he dies with honor.

Box office success

In its first six days, Spider-Man generated a record $180 million at the US box-office, which is a record as of 2004. It generated $88 million at the box office in its first week of sale.

Critical reaction

The general critical reaction to the film was almost unanimously enthusiastic, with the general opinion that the film is superior to the original, possessing a dramatic power and emotional content that many summer blockbusters lack. Metacritic.com gave the film a collective rating of 80 out of 100 based on an average of 41 reviews. [1] Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 93%, based on 195 reviews. [2]

The film received excellent critical reviews from the following newspapers: Baltimore Sun, Chicago Sun-Times, Dallas Observer, Entertainment Weekly, Miami Herald, Newsweek, The Onion, Premiere, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, Variety, Portland Oregonian, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, Slate, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Austin Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, The Globe and Mail The New York Daily News, The New York Post, Rolling Stone Magazine

The following publications have given the film good reviews: Film Threat, LA Weekly, Los Angeles Times, TV Guide, Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, Philadelphia Inquirer, ReelViews, Chicago Reader, New York Magazine, Charlotte Observer

The New Yorker rated it as average while Salon.com and Village Voice rated it as poor.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Spider-Man 2 has reached the top 10 of the US album charts and has also reached the top 40 of the Australian album charts. "Vindicated" by Dashboard Confessional reached the top of a world composite soundtrack chart in June 2004 and the top 20 of a composite world and US modern rock chart. "Ordinary" by Train has also reached the top 20 of the US adult top 40 singles charts. "I Am" by Killing Heidi has been added to the Australian version of the soundtrack and has been released as a single in the country. "I Am" debuted at #16 on the charts on 19 July 2004.

Track listing

The track listing for the US version of the soundtrack is:

"Vindicated" by Dashboard Confessional
"Ordinary" by Train
"Did You" by Hoobastank
"Hold On" by Jet
"Gifts and Curses" by Yellowcard
"Woman" by Maroon 5
"This Photograph Is Proof (I Know You Know)" by Taking Back Sunday
"Give it Up" by Midtown
"Lucky You" by lostprophets
"Who I Am" by Smile Empty Soul
"The Night That the Lights Went Out in NYC" by The Ataris
"We Are" by Ana Johnsson
"Someone to Die For" by Jimmy Gneco and Brian May
"Spidey Suite" by Danny Elfman
"Doc Ock Suite" by Danny Elfman.

On the Australian version of the soundtrack, "I Am" by Killing Heidi appears as Track 17 and is a single. On the Japanese version of the soundtrack, "Web of Night" by TM Revolution appears and was a popular single in Japan.

Allmusic.com best tracks are "Hold On", "Someone to Die For" and "Spidey Suite".

Notes and trivia

Otto Octavious's catchphrase - "The power of the sun - in the palm of my hand" is strikingly close to a slogan for a handheld gaming device called Pixter - "The power of Pixter in the palm of my hand."
If a fusion reaction were in fact initiated in a stable form, people could not go anywhere near it unless it was heavily shielded with lead. If the events of the movie had happened in real life, everyone in the room would have died almost instantly from enormous amounts of radiation exposure.
Throughout the whole movie, the only point when Otto Octavius is called 'Doc Ock' or 'Doctor Octopus' are only when Jonah Jameson suggests the names at the Daily Bugle. One of the suggested names is Doctor Strange, which is Steve Ditko's other major co-creation for Marvel Comics.
Spider-Man creator Stan Lee makes yet another cameo appearance (as he did in Spider-Man) during Spidey's first battle with Doc Ock at the side of building walls.
Actor Bruce Campbell also makes another cameo as the usher who won't let Peter into Mary Jane's play.
Voice actor Phil LaMarr makes a cameo too. He is the man in the far right during the scene where Spider Man stops the wagon.
Tobey Maguire is a vegetarian. In the scene where Parker watches police cars go by, he is actually eating a tofu hot dog.

External links

ja:スパイダーマン2