Spider Man 2 (2004)

Directed by: Sam Raimi | 127 minutes | action, thriller, fantasy, science fiction | Actors: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, JK Simmons, Rosemary Harris, Donna Murphy, Daniel Gillies, Dylan Baker, Bill Nunn, Vanessa Ferlito, Aasif Mandvi, William Dafoe, Cliff Robertson, Ted Raimi

After the huge success of the first Spider-Man film, a second part was inevitable. With the same cast and crew on board, director Sam Raimi now presents the second installment in the Spinneman series. Raimi received a lot of praise for the first part. In particular, his storytelling and humor were appreciated by critics and comic fans alike. The second film continues on this chosen path. This part also contains character enhancements and spectacular action.

From the first part you could already tell that Raimi was a real fan of the comic book series. In particular, the faithful translation from book to film was remarkably successful. The casting of actor Tobey Maguire also turned out to be a good move. Where Maguire was first looked at with suspicion, the negative sounds soon disappeared after the release of the first film. Maguire proves again in the sequel that he is a gifted actor. He plays his familiar part with gusto. His fellow players have also grown strongly and clearly in their roles. Especially the talented James Franco as Harry Osborn Jr. impresses. The subcutaneous anger he feels for Spider-Man is beautifully portrayed by him. Franco is a fairly unknown actor, but he promises to be a great promise for the future. A special mention deserves the actor Alfred Molina. Molina passionately plays Doc Ock. A tragic figure and Spider-Man’s enemy. It’s fantastic to see this British character actor in a totally different role.

The acting is excellent. The high level of the first part is surpassed in this story. The actors portray sympathetic characters. Supporting actors such as Peter Parker’s Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and newspaper mogul J. Jonah Jamesson (a fantastic JK Simmons) have also been given more screen time. That’s a good move, Peter Parker’s everyday problems make him a charismatic character. Raimi realizes this all too well. In order not to disappoint fans of the comic books, he has also incorporated all the beloved characters from the comic into the film. For the readers of the comics, it is a feast of recognition to see characters like Dr. Conners and Robbie Robertson pass by. The references to other heroes from the Marvel comics stable are also very nice.

Since childhood, the director of the Spidey films has been a loyal reader of comic books. That’s a big advantage, because he stays so faithful to the series. Unfortunately, it has also become a disadvantage. Raimi has not made any choices between all the characters and the storylines. The result has become a film that has simply become too full. In just over two hours, Raimi has crammed about five years of comic book history into the film. The production is full of side plots, cameos from various characters and a too small main story. The actual story, the rise of Doc Ock, comes off rather poorly. Despite the promises of the cast that the story would be much faster than the first part, that is not the case. Admittedly, the main characters are already known to the public, but now the supporting actors are more exposed. The character development is well done and skillfully done, but it comes at the cost of the action. Alfred Molina portrays a fantastic villain, but unfortunately he comes up short. Much more attention is paid to the (private) life of Peter Parker, especially between the blossoming romance with MJ.

The film gets bogged down in a chaotic whole. Raimi wants to tell too much in too short a time. All the characters that are further developed take up too much time. The action therefore comes second. Such a shame, because the battles between Spidey and Ock are so beautifully made. The web-slinger’s computer stunt double now looks much more convincing than in the film’s predecessor.

All in all, ‘Spider-Man 2’ has become a very entertaining popcorn movie. The film ended up being more of a melodrama than an action movie. Peter Parker has therefore become the main character, his alter ego is a bit worn out. ‘Peter Parker’ would have been a better title for this film.