Spider-Man 2: A Review (949 hits)
Category: Movies & TVRating: 0.71 on 21 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Malificent (View user info) at 2004-07-23 07:55:31 EDT
Between my step-father raising me on Marvel lore, being a huge fan of director Sam Raimi's work, and having a huge crush on Tobey Maguire (I dunno, geeky-looking guys just do it for me), Spider-Man 2 was set to be the summer blockbuster to end all summer blockbusters for me.
Being the total movie buff that I am, I had no high expectations going in that the adaptation from comic to silver screen was going to be seamless. Already, a lot of the original story set in the first movie had moved away from the comic books so I knew going in not to expect too much in that respect.
So I'll start by saying off the bat -- I thought Spider-Man 2 was an excellent movie in its own right. The direction was impeccable and the only real flaw I felt was in the editing process -- a lot could have been cut to make the movie flow better and ease the numbing of the arsecheeks of the audience. 127 minutes is a long duration for an action blockbuster. While I do respect Raimi's intention to not lose sight of Peter Parker the man, I can't help but feel that the slower scenes could have been trimmed and he still would have come across as a very conflicted individual.
So now to rate the actors.
- Tobey Maguire was perfect as Peter Parker. The key to Spider-Man's character in the comic was that he was shy, awkward and a total dork as Peter Parker, but as soon as the disguise went on he was brash, confident, funny and charming. It's an allusion to human nature itself, and Maguire captures the concept perfectly. Plus I'm slightly biased because I *heart* him.
- Alfred Molina is an outstanding character actor. And he's British, which just earns him about a million cool points before he even utters a word. His American accent is impeccable and I really thought he looked the part, aside from the missing bowl-cut of course.
- J.K. Simmons was an absolute casting coup for Raimi. I can't ever think of someone who could play J.J. Jameson better. He was a total star.
- James Franco as Harry Osborne was impressive. He went from being contrived and sappy in the first movie, to being arrogant, conflicted and vengeful.
- Rosemary Harris gave a disjointed performance as Aunt May. May was supposed to astute, yeah, but Harris seemed a little too angry to me.
- Kirsten Dunst. I HATE Kirsten Dunst. She was great as Claudia in Interview with the Vampire, but then she was eleven at the time. Nowadays I find her playing the same goddamn character in every movie. Her one sole redeeming feature in Spider-Man 2 came in the last fifteen seconds of the movie with absolute perfect delivery of the line "Go get 'em, Tiger." I would approve if she dropped off the face of the planet, especially for insinuating in that now-famous interview that Spider-Man should die and leave her raising his kid. As if anyone wants to see that! Jeez...
Anyway back to the review. The movie, I'm sorry to say, is too long. Not that long movies are a bad thing, but you have to be able to engage the audience enough that they don't start wriggling and needing to pee. Peter Jackson managed it; Raimi has no excuse, especially when even a layman like myself can see where the cuts could be made.
Having said that, he more than makes up for those slow scenes with explosive actions scenes that literally left me breathless. The fight scene between Spidey and Doc Ock on the train was heart-stopping -- if only they hadn't ruined it with the "We won't tell nobody" sequence afterwards, ugh. Of course the CGI was flawless and the Doc Ock character looked amazing. When you put the whole thing into a package it paints a great picture and I would definitely recommend anyone see it.
Rating: 8.5/10.
User Reviews
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2004-08-11 12:19:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm dressing up like Doc Ock for Halloween. Incidentally, e-mail me sometime.
Submitted by CaptainAmik (user info) at 2004-08-07 04:10:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
I feel bad that I can't give you a good rating on this, however your idealistic view of the movie set me off, I mean come on...Dunst Yes she's hot, she made the first movie for a lot of people not to mention her dead-pan portrayal of a red-headed M.J Watson(she doesn't even have a part when you think about it), however Molina...shoulda been Sam Neill as originally planned...Toby, as far as I know, I hear people bitching about him but I think he does a fine job. The movie lacked pace and action, I mean come on you fail to mention to classic line "Would you like some chocolate cake?", this came from where? This movie fell flat on its ass, yea a good money grabber however could have been much better 6.5 is the max.
Submitted by comicbookguy (user info) at 2004-07-30 13:50:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
CBG Trivia
Submitted by Aphrodite (user info) at 2004-07-24 11:57:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Well-written review. I agree 100% with your assessment of Kirsten Dunst.
Submitted by glasscpp (user info) at 2004-07-23 15:16:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I thought the movie was alright, didn't like how all those people on the train got to see who he is plus MJ knowing - just not right. Anyways Venom will be in the next one, should be interesting on how they'll do that....
cheers,
glasscpp
Submitted by lucid (user info) at 2004-07-23 14:01:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Anything Peter Jackson touches is gold???
He directed these flops:
Frighteners, The (1996)
Forgotten Silver (1995)
Heavenly Creatures (1994)
Braindead (1992)
Meet the Feebles (1989)
Bad Taste (1987)
Valley, The (1976)
Wait till his next movie comes out, King Kong (slated for 2005). It's going to be laughable!
Submitted by tartpumper (user info) at 2004-07-23 13:14:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
This movie sucked salty gorilla balls.
My rating is -10 out of 10
Submitted by lucid (user info) at 2004-07-23 13:01:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
+1 for your review
2 thumbs down for the movie
I don't know why people think this was good unless they're ten years old or major comic book fans.
Where I went to see it the audience started groaning, then finally laughing AT the movie. When it was over one person clapped which riled up another 3 or 4 people that would probablly do anything the person in front of them did anyway.
Molina is entirely miss cast. What should appear a conflicted, monstrous villian just resembles a fat man with a hairy back in a bath towel who happens to have these robotic arms that grow from 5 to 55 feet depending on what scene it is.
Dunst is over.
Major dissapointment. I struggled to get through this movie and couldn't get out of the theater fast enough when it was over.
Submitted by kitchens_closed (user info) at 2004-07-23 13:01:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
"Submitted by Freight_Train (user info) at 2004-07-23 10:35:39 (#)
Ranking: -2
The movie sucked ass. If you even went to see it, you are a fucking retard. I only went to see it, because my friend paid for the ticket (long story).
If you dont like Kirsten Dunts you are fucking gay. She could be a saving grace for the whole movie, but the movie sucked too much."
So, explain to me why YOU aren't a fucking retard. You didn't say if you paid to see it you are a fucking retard. Yeah, you can have your opinion about it, but don't be an asshole just because other people see things differently. Jeez.
As for the movie, it was a tad long, and they definately could have done without that eating cake scene. I liked it nonetheless.
Submitted by domenad (user info) at 2004-07-23 11:13:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
You know, the only good villain in the Spiderman series is Kingpin, and they wasted him on that running sore of a movie, "Daredevil". Electro? The Rhino? Doc Ock? They suck.
Peter Jackson, whew, any movie that guy touches turns into liquid gold. I was just reading the the Lord of the Rings Series grossed over 1.6 billion here in the US.
Submitted by Charred (user info) at 2004-07-23 10:55:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Flatuloso (user info) at 2004-07-23 10:42:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I have to say I disagree with ya there, but a pretty well written review regardless.
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2004-07-23 10:38:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
This movie was excellent, however I completely disagree with your review as I found the best parts of the movie involved Parker and Mary Jane Watson not Spider Man and Doc Ock.
Submitted by Freight_Train (user info) at 2004-07-23 10:35:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
The movie sucked ass. If you even went to see it, you are a fucking retard. I only went to see it, because my friend paid for the ticket (long story).
If you dont like Kirsten Dunts you are fucking gay. She could be a saving grace for the whole movie, but the movie sucked too much.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2004-07-23 10:31:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I agree, the movie was good except for the longish scenes with his uncle or aunt who sounded like Jedi masters to me.
Submitted by I_Have_a_Kristen_Fetish (user info) at 2004-07-23 10:24:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
This movie and review is ghey...
Submitted by Malificent (user info) at 2004-07-23 10:19:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks for the constructive critisicm everyone. I hope to be a film critic some day. Please understand though that I by no means wanted this movie to become another mindless beat-em-up. I did love the character scenes but I still staunchly believe they were too long. I wouldn't cut them completely for anything though.
As for Molina, anyone who believes he is not a good character actor should see his portrayal of Alfred Hitchcock and then come back to me.
Thanks again.
Submitted by lojope (user info) at 2004-07-23 09:55:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I am having a hard time rating this, because I loved the movie, but I think your review is not too fantastic. I think the longish "actionless" scenes were wonderful, and I applaud the director for expecting more from his audience. I liked the fact that this was a story, not just an action flick. If you want to see mind-numbing explosion after explosion, go see a Vin Deisel movie.
All in all, +2 because your review was well-written even though I don't agree with all of it, and because this movie ruled.
Submitted by cshape (user info) at 2004-07-23 09:47:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
+2 for JK Simmons, a hero.
Submitted by cat_head (user info) at 2004-07-23 09:38:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I loved the first film, but thought that this one was a little flat. Alfred Molina a fine character actor? Hmmm. His "Doc Ock" pretty much ruined the film for me.
Submitted by UniBrowZIT (user info) at 2004-07-23 09:38:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
+2 For a good, well-written, well-thought-out review.
-1 For not mentioning how stupid Spidey was for taking his mask off every two seconds without explaining the motivation.