Product Details

• Actors: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina
• Directors: Sam Raimi
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: April 17, 2007
• Run Time: 127 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (820 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000MTFDBA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,892 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Spider-Man 2.1" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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, honoring Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and setting the bar impressively high for the challenge of Spider-Man 3. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVD
Spider-Man 2.1 features eight minutes of new footage incorporated into the movie, including a longer, less-adversarial conversation between Harry and Peter at the birthday party, more from comedian Hal Sparks in the elevator scene, more fighting with Doc Ock, and a goofy appearance by J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man costume. While the new scenes are interesting to watch and add some laughs, they don't justify a second purchase of the movie. The bonus features are new but underwhelming. The commentary track by producer Laura Ziskin and screenwriter Alvin Sargent (there were two different commentaries on the original two-disc Spider-Man 2) is rather dull and only tangentially mentions what we're most interested in--the new scenes. A 12-minute featurette on the second disc does discuss those, while another congratulates the visual-effects crew for their Oscar. Also included: 30 minutes of visual-effects analysis, a multi-angle look at Danny Elfman's score, and a pop-up trivia track. --David Horiuchi

More Spiderman on DVD

The Spiderman Toy Store	The First Film	Spider Man on the small screen
The Soundtrack	Game Boy Advance	The Book

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Stills from Spider-Man 2 (click for larger image)

Product Description

In Spider-Man 2, the latest installment in the blockbuster Spider-Man series, based on the classic Marvel Comics hero, Tobey Maguire returns as the mild-mannered Peter Parker, who is juggling the delicate balance of his dual life as college student and a superhuman crime fighter. Peter's life becomes even more complicated when he confronts a new nemesis, the brilliant Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) who has been reincarnated as the maniacal and multi-tentacled "Doc Ock." When Doc Ock kidnaps MJ (Kirsten Dunst), Spider-Man must swing back into action as the adventure reaches new heights of unprecedented excitement.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spider-Man 2 surpasses the original!, July 1, 2004

By 

Crazy Jim (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

Just when I was about ready to throw in the towel on Hollywood and its univentive sequel/remake/book adaption craze of unoriginal recycling, I sat down to see the second chapter in Sam Raimi's "Spider Man" series. While I enjoyed the first film, it never really drew me in emotionally. It had some real cool action sequences and some interesting special effects but the story was very paint-by-numbers comic book fare. I enjoyed the film's cinematic style, which seemed to me like an homage to the 50's-style of films, but while I wasn't turned off by the the hero's backstory, I was never fully compelled by it either. When I had heard all of the cast members spit the usual studio speech about how the sequel would be even better, I took it very much with a grain of salt. By the time I came out of this movie, however, I was a believer.

"Spider Man 2" takes place two years after the original where Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is struggling with the realization that his superhero alter-ego is alienating him from everyone that he loves. His best friend, Harry (James Franco) is stelling stewing over his father's death at the hands of Spidey and the object of his affections, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) is fed up by Pete's inability to committ to her. If that wasn't bad enough, his commitment to crime fighting has cost him more than a few jobs and he's struggling to pay his rent. On the Spider-Man side of things, he has to deal with a new enemy, Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), a transformed version of Otto Octavius, a brilliant fusion engineer whose expirement ends up killing his wife and subsquently driving him insane. As far as super-villians go, this one's a doosy.

"Spider Man 2" improves on so many aspects of the first film. Where the first film had Maguire as the akward teen coping with his newfound powers and subsquent responsibilites, this one paints him as the reluctant hero that is banished to a life of personal abandoment. The hero seems like a far greater underdog this go around as Spider-Man must deal with a much tougher villian while Peter Parker tries to put his life back together. I liked the fact that Raimi balanced out the film's jaw-dropping effects with some emotional character depth. There is a good mixture of storytelling and cinematic style here. Raimi also improved on the dialouge here. There are some comedic moments but the rivalry between Spidey and Doc Ock doesn't elevate itself to the level of cheesy line-trading that went on between Maguire and Dafoe in the first.

The performances are really what seperates this one from its predecassor. Tobey Maguire is given a lot more to do, this time around. While Molina doesn't have the same charisma as Dafoe, his villian is far more menacing. Kirsten Dunst is given a somewhat smaller role here but it serves its purpose. My one complaint is that Mary Jane doesn't really look the same in this one. In the first movie, she had a much different look to her than most of the characters that Dunst has portrayed. Here, she doesn't carry herself the same way. It doesn't really take anything away from the film but it is somewhat noticeable whether intended or not. There are a good deal of amusing cameo appearances here as well but I'm not gonna spoil them for you.

"Spider Man 2" is not just one of the better sequels I've seen in awhile but also one of the best films of its kind that I've seen at the movies in some time. I can't remember the last time that I went into a movie theatre and was entertained on so many levels the way that I was with this film. Maybe low expectations might have played a part in it but in all honesty, I doubt it. No matter what your preconceived notion of this movie is, you will probably be drawn in just the same. You don't have to be a comic book fan or even a fan of the first movie to enjoy but it certainly doesn't hurt things. (Review: ****1/2)

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well, I'm a believer now, July 10, 2004

By 

Wheelchair Assassin (The Great Concavity) - See all my reviews

While the first installment of the "Spider-Man" franchise was certainly a noble beginning, this sequel somehow manages to improve upon it in a big way. The first movie accomplished the task of getting Spider Man's origins out of the way and setting up the important characters, and "Spider-Man 2" picks up right where the original left off, hitting the ground running as it further examines the struggles of Peter Parker. As you may remember, Peter can't tell the woman he loves who he is, his best friend wants to kill him and doesn't even know it, and he's having a bit of trouble finding steady work. While that may not seem like an auspicious beginning, things still proceed to go downhill pretty fast.

Much like its predecessor, "Spider Man 2" presents Peter Parker as the most human of superheroes, struggling to reconcile the responsibility that accompanies his powers with his desire for a normal life. This guy didn't ask to have superhuman powers, and as we see in this movie, there are times that he'd much rather not be one. After all, when you like a woman who looks like Kirsten Dunst, and you have lots of evidence that the feeling is mutual, it can be hard to get out there and perform the thankless task of fighting crime. In all seriousness, though, the moral conflict that Spidey faces forms the heart of the movie. With a level of emotional depth and a lack of heavy-handedness rarely seen in big-budget blockbusters, this movie brilliantly depicts the tension our protagonist feels as he tries to decide whether he wants to be Peter Parker, mild-mannered student, or Spider-Man, daring superhero.

Since it ups the ante from the original in virtually every other aspect, it only makes sense that "Spider-Man 2" would represent an improvement in the bad guy department, and it doesn't disappoint. While the villain is once again a brilliant scientist victimized by an experiment gone horribly wrong, Willem Dafoe's cartoonish Green Goblin has been replaced by the fearsomely tentacled Dr. Octopus, portrayed with the requisite gravity by a glowering Alfred Molina. The Spider-Man series has demonstrated a knack for crafting nemeses as vividly human as its hero, and as with the Green Goblin, we get to see the conflicts played out in Dr. Octopus's head as he decides to complete his fusion experiment no matter the cost. Perhaps more importatntly, Dr. Octupus's tentacles are a marvel of modern special effects, swinging wildly and with a mind of their own, smashing through concrete, effortlessly tossing whatever they can grab, and dispatching a room full of doctors in one harrowing early scene.

This brings me to perhaps the most attractive aspect of this movie: it actually features believable, fleshed-out characters. The "X-Men" franchise has done an admirable job in this regard as well, but the "Spider-Man" movies still take the prize thanks to unusually intelligent dialogue and acting that communicates the movie's key themes while keeping the melodrama to a minimum. Maguire's everyman appeal as Peter is undeniable; Dunst's smart, sensible Mary Jane is one of the only female leads around who actually bring something to the table besides good looks; and James Franco is turning the tortured soul Harry Osborn into a tragic hero of near-Shakespearean proportions.

Anyway, with Dr. Octopus predictably set on a mad quest to finish his project, and Peter the only guy who can stop him, the stage is set for some truly unbelievable combat scenes, surely among the best to be seen in a mainstream movie in recent years. While I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and character development and all that nice stuff, you can't have a superhero movie without some great action sequences, and this one has plenty of them. Whether in a bank with bags of money flying around, on the side of a skyscraper with Peter's Aunt May serving as a human shield, or on a speeding train filled with innocent passengers, the two duke it out in frenetic, fast-paced battles that pit webs against tentacles and any other potential weapon that presents itself. Sam Raimi's apparently one of the only directors in Hollywood these days who can film a tight, tense fight scene without overrelying on CGI effects or cutting every half-second, and we should all be grateful for it.

As if all that isn't enough, we're once again treated to the over-the-top antics of J.K. Simmons, who threatens to steal the show even in his limited screen time as the imperious Jonah Jameson. Mugging furiously, yelling up a storm, and terrorizing those who come near him, Jameson's character is every bit as scary as his flattop haircut and Hitler mustache would suggest. Someone could make a movie about this guy, and I might put down some cash to see it. While many big-budget movies try to inject some comic relief into the proceedings, this one is notable in that it actually does it well.

Everything comes to a head in the movie's epic climax, with a concluding half-hour full of revelations, emotional drama, and of course lots of action. In fact, the bittersweet nature of this movie and its conclusion practically position it as the "Empire Strikes Back" of the Spider-Man series. Given the massive receipts this movie has already brought in, it's inevitable that there will be a "Spider-Man 3" coming down the chute eventually, especially with the neat bit of foreshadowing at the end of this installment. If the next sequel is as smartly written and skillfully filmed as this one was, it can't come soon enough.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The importance of being earnestI mean Spiderman, July 7, 2004

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Peter Parker nearly forgets that when due to several crises occurring in his already hectic life, he chucks the famed red suit and mask in a dumpster. "I am Spiderman no more," he declares. Indeed, his hectic life is divided going to college, working as a pizza delivery boy, trying to get enough money to pay his long overdue rent, and fighting crime as his alter-ego. The trouble is, he doesn't have much of a life as a result. He's so stressed, he even forgets it's his birthday, and hasn't been in contact with his friend Harry Osborn, still grieving over the death of his father in the first Spiderman and still seeking vengeance on Spiderman, and with Mary Jane, acting in The Importance Of Being Earnest. Unfortunately, an act of crime fighting causes him to be late for the play, disappointing the already beleaguered MJ, who announces that she is seeing someone. That someone turns out to be the son of The Daily Bugle's J. Jonah Jameson, the egomaniac tabloid editor who still treats Parker like dirt beneath his shoes and prides himself on wanting to drive Spidey out of business.

This installment has Spidey fighting Dr. Octopus, the former Otto Octavius, a scientist whose attempts to create a new kind of fusion technology that would yield cheap energy or make Manhattan toast with enough for a side of eggs result in an accident where the artificial nervous system with four shiny metallic tentacles become fused to his body. Unfortunately, the chip that gives him control of his mind is destroyed, turning him into a villain who wants to restart the fusion experiment that failed. And for that, he turns to crime, his appearance heralded by the same pounding footsteps reminiscent of a T-Rex in Jurassic Park or Godzilla in Godzilla (1998). But Octavius isn't a clear cut villain, but a victim of circumstance, like Mr. Freeze in the fourth Batman. Before his transformation, he's a genius, but also a loving husband to his wife. He tells Peter Parker that knowledge is a privilege, but also not to suppress the love one feels for someone

It seems that Parker is happy to no longer be the webslinger. His grades improve, he makes an effort to have a life, and his less-stressed look yields a smile on his face, evident in a series of shots with B.J. Thomas's "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" playing. But the question is this. As his late Uncle Ben told him, he had a special gift, and with that gift, moral responsibility. His wishes to have a normal quiet life, to win back MJ, are overshadowed by his moral responsibility because he is denying himself his potential, or the importance of being earnest, namely being Spiderman. Loving MJ is impossible, because saving other people takes precedence, plus she would be his Achilles heel. All his enemies have to do is take her hostage to gain an edge over him. And more to the point, with Spidey out of the way, Dr. Octopus and other criminals have a free-for-all.

Tobey MacGuire fits snugly in the role of Parker as Parker does in the Spidey costume, someone's who quite appealing, sympathetic, and sensitive, a guy trying to juggle many priorities. From Indiana Jones's treacherous assistant in Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Joe Orton's lover and murderer in Prick Up Your Ears, the religious mayor of the provincial town in Chocolat, and Diego Rivera in Frida, Dr. Octavius demonstrates another interesting role for the versatile Alfred Molina. The real surprise here is Kirsten Dunst, who has never been more appealing than here instead of just being another pretty face. And yes, there is another Stan Lee cameo, but you better look quick aboard a runaway train.

Spiderman 2 surprised me by being better than expected and the special effects, which I normally deem a secondary consideration, are superior. There's a very human story beneath, and as a result, I deem it the best superhero movie I've seen since Superman.