REVIEW #50 Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Spider-Man 2 is the second instalment by director Sami Raimi following Peter Parker as he struggles to maintain his own regular life which ultimately results in the loss of his powers. The rise of Doctor Octavius means he soon has to bounce back to save New York City.

CAST & THE ACTING

The same cast return for the second film with Toby Maguire reprising the role of Peter Parker, Kristen Dunst returning as Mary Jane Watson and James Franco as Harry Osborne. Similarly to the first film, they all deliver strong performances, the character relationships become more complex and difficult now they begin to work and go to college. This requires more depth and range from the actors to make sure those relationships come across as authentic, which I believe they do. Alfred Molina is a perfect Doctor Octavius, showing the clear transition from an acclaimed academic to a mad scientist under the influence from his robotic tentacles. They continued to cast great villains and improve the acting which was good!

PLOT & THE STORYLINE 

I really enjoyed the storyline for this film and in particular the aspect where the stress and doubt within Peter Parker causes his powers to Fade. This emphasised the conflict within Peter between being a hero or committing to his school work and his friends and family, highlighting the sacrifices that have to be made to be a hero. I also appreciated the more complex character relationships such as the tension with Harry over the death of his father and the will they won’t they aspect of Peter and Mary Janes relationship. This elevated the film beyond just a sequence of entertaining action sequences.

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL EFFECTS

The cinematography and special effects were again pretty impressive for a film released in 2004, the action sequences were all really convincing and well thought out. I think they key with this was that they didn’t try to use too much CGI, which meant the authenticity of the film captivated the audience even more. Doctor Octavius’ tentacles looked great and they really done justice to that character. Again Spider-Man’s heightened senses were highlighted through the cinematography which I really enjoyed. For example the scene where Doc Oc takes Mary Jane from Peter in the Cafe, the visuals in that scene were great.

OVERALL (8/10)

This was a great follow up to the first film and its rare that a sequel can match and even better the first instalment but I believe that is the case here. They casted the villain perfectly again and combined that with some real complex character relationships which added depth to the plot. The cinematography and special effects were utilised really well, whilst maintaining authenticity in the film. The action sequences were really exciting and looked convincing, which is the key to a successful superhero film. Really enjoyable, the same sense of nostalgia here too, which is I believe it deserves a strong 8.

Thanks for reading!

Callan