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Spider-Man 2

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Spider-Man 2
File:Sm2 peter onesheet.jpg
Spider-Man 2 theatrical poster
Directed bySam Raimi
Written byComic Book:
Stan Lee
Steve Ditko
Story:
Alfred Gough
Miles Millar
Michael Chabon
Screenplay:
Alvin Sargent
Produced byAvi Arad
Laura Ziskin
StarringTobey Maguire
Kirsten Dunst
James Franco
Alfred Molina
CinematographyBill Pope
Edited byBob Murawski
Music byDanny Elfman
Additional:
Christopher Young
John Debney
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Release dates
June 30, 2004
Running time
128 min.
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUS$200 million
Box office$783,924,485

Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 superhero film developed by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Michael Chabon, written by Alvin Sargent, and directed by Sam Raimi. It is the second film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, which saw the return of Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco to their respective lead roles.

Set two years after the original, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) finds managing both his personal life and duties as the superhero Spider-Man increasingly difficult, and decides to give up. He must return to his duties though, when Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) turns insane following a failed experiment and the death of his wife. Using his mechanical tentacles, Octavius is dubbed "Doctor Octopus" and threatens to endanger the lives of the people of New York City and Peter's loved ones.

The film was released on June 30, 2004 in the United States, and received mostly positive reviews from critics. It went on to earn over $373.5 million in the US, and $780 million worldwide. The film's success led to another sequel, Spider-Man 3.

Plot

Template:Spoilers It has been two years since the end of the previous film, and Peter Parker is finding his double life increasingly difficult. Precariously struggling to balance his crime-fighting duties with the demands of his normal life, Peter often finds his personal life taking a backseat. He loses a job, faces financial difficulties, and struggles to maintain his physics studies. Moreover, he has become estranged from both love-interest Mary Jane and best friend Harry Osborn, and Aunt May is threatened with foreclosure.

File:Spideygivesup.jpg
Peter Parker gives up being Spider-Man

Harry, now head of Oscorp's research division, has invested in the research of brilliant scientist Otto Octavius, Peter's idol. To perform a sustained fusion experiment, he has developed a set of artificially intelligent mechanical arms, which are impervious to heat and magnetism, though not unbreakable. When the experiment overloads and becomes unstable, Octavius' wife is killed, his neural chip, which enabled him to control the arms, is destroyed, and Octavius' mechanical arms become fused to his spine. The tentacles begin to influence Octavius' mind, playing on his vanity and ego, and he decides he must complete his experiment at any cost. J. Jonah Jameson names him Doctor Octopus or 'Doc Ock'. Octavius attempts to rob a bank where Peter Parker and his Aunt May happen to be present. After a short glitch in his powers, Spider-Man manages to take back most of the stolen money, but Octavius takes Aunt May as a hostage. When Spider-Man rescues her, she revises her former opinion of him and realizes that he is a hero. During a party, Peter learns that M.J. is planning to marry John Jameson and Harry lashes out at him in a drunken rage due to his loyalty to Spider-Man; shortly afterwards he loses his powers while web-slinging across town. Meanwhile, Ock rebuilds his experimental reactor. Peter questions if he could ever have what he "needs," a life as Peter Parker, which involves a vision of Uncle Ben, and resolves to give up being Spider-Man. Back home, after visiting Uncle Ben's grave, Aunt May is distressed by Peter's confession that he was somewhat responsible for his Uncle Ben's death. Aunt May and Peter reconcile, and she tells Peter of the hope that Spider-Man brings to others, in spite of what dreams he may have to sacrifice. Peter attempts to re-connect with Mary Jane, but she informs him it is too late. In the meantime, Doc Ock has completed rebuilding his reactor, and needs one final item, the tritium which fuels the reactor. He goes to Harry Osborn for it, dangling him over the edge of the Osborn mansion balcony when he refuses. Harry agrees to give Ock what he needs if he captures Spider-Man, and he agrees.

File:Octopusvsspider.jpg
Spider-Man battles Doctor Octopus

Mary Jane meets Peter in a coffee shop to ask if he still loves her, but Peter tells her that he does not. Amidst this exchange, the two are ambushed by Doctor Octopus, who abducts Mary Jane in a ploy to lure Spider-Man into a trap. This brings back Peter's powers. He dons his costume and engages in a fight with Octavius, culminating with the insane scientist forcing Spider-Man to rescue a runaway subway train. With great effort, Spider-man manages to stop the train before it can plunge over the end of the track. Still weak, he is captured by Doctor Octopus, and then delivered to Harry Osborn. Harry unmasks Spider-Man and is stunned to discover that his sworn enemy is also his best friend. Peter awakens and convinces Harry to reveal Octavius' whereabouts so he can rescue Mary Jane. Spider-Man finds Doctor Octopus in an abandoned warehouse on a waterfront pier, where he's restarted his fusion experiment. After battling with Ock, Spider-Man manages to electrocute Ock when Ock tries to stab him. Peter reveals his true identity to Octavius, who is dazed and whose tentacles are temporarily incapacitated, and pleads with him to stop the machine. Determined to end his doomsday experiment before it causes more harm, Octavius uses his mechanical arms to collapse the floor of the building, plunging the fusion device into the water below and him along with it. Mary Jane sees Peter without his mask and realizes that he is Spider-Man. But Peter tells her they can never be together, as he will always have enemies.

Across town, Harry has visions of his father, the late Norman Osborn in a hanging mirror. The hallucination of Norman demands that his son kill Peter Parker to avenge his death. Harry hurls a dagger at the mirror, shattering it and revealing a hidden passageway which leads to a secret room in the attic. Upon entering, Harry sees a Goblin Glider in the center of the room and realizes that his father was the Green Goblin. At the end of the film, Mary Jane leaves her wedding and finds Peter in his apartment, telling him that she has decided to be with him - despite the risks. She persuades Peter to finally let her in while accepting the need of his vows by letting him respond to a sudden call for help.

Cast

  • Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: Peter Parker is a college physics student and photographer for the Daily Bugle who continues to lead a double life as the superhero Spider-Man, protecting New York City from crime. His duties as a superhero lead to various problems in his daily life as it overwhelms his attempts to spend time with friends and family, and he briefly gives up his responsibilities in a moment of selfishness.
  • Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus: Dr. Octavius is a good-hearted nuclear scientist, who wants to create a first-ever successful self-sustaining fusion reaction for the welfare of mankind. He is a hero of Peter's, being the subject of his paper, and the two become good friends. However, when the fusion experiment fails, Octavius is bonded with his handling equipment, four artificially intelligent mechanical tentacles. These convince him to carry on his dangerous experiments no matter the cost, in memory of his wife who was killed in the accident, and is dubbed Doctor Octopus by the Daily Bugle.
  • Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson: M.J. is the woman Peter has loved since he was a child, yet he gave up the chance of being with her due to his obligations as a superhero. Since then, she has become a successful Broadway actress and model, and becomes engaged to John Jameson. She is angry due to Peter's failure to watch her performance in The Importance of Being Earnest, when everybody else close to her, and even her abusive father, have seen it.
  • James Franco as Harry Osborn: Harry Osborn has taken his father's position as head of Oscorp. He supplies Octavius with tritium for the fusion experiment, but when it fails, Harry falls into alcoholism and a desire to kill Spider-Man, whom he believes killed his father. Harry also becomes angry at Peter, believing he will not tell him who Spider-Man is, being the supplier of his photographs to the Daily Bugle.
  • J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson: J. Jonah Jameson is the miserly chief of the Daily Bugle who carries a personal vendetta against Spider-Man, whom he considers a criminal. When Spider-Man temporarily gives up, Jameson also begins to reconsider his opinion of the superhero.
  • Rosemary Harris as May Parker: May Parker is the loving aunt to Peter, a widow of Ben. She personally blames herself for his murder, but is still unaware of the circumstances surrounding it.
  • Daniel Gillies as John Jameson: John Jameson is the son of J. Jonah Jameson, fiancé of Mary Jane and a national hero.
  • Dylan Baker as Dr. Curt Connors: Dr. Curt Conners is one of Peter's physics professors at college, who reminds him to get his work done. Conners also has an arm missing.
  • Donna Murphy as Rosalie Octavius: Rosalie Octavius is the dedicated wife and assistant of Otto Octavius.

Bruce Campbell cameoed as an obnoxious usher who denies Peter access to Mary Jane's play when he is late, thus causing a rift in their relationship. Spider-Man's co-creator Stan Lee cameoed as a man on the street who grabs a woman away from falling debris during a battle between Spider-Man and Doc Ock. Evil Dead II co-writer Scott Spiegel appeared as a man who attempts to eat some pizza Spider-Man is delivering, only to have it webbed from his hands. Template:Endspoiler

Production

Development

Immediately after finishing Spider-Man, director Sam Raimi segued into directing a sequel.[1] In April 2002, Sony had hired Alfred Gough and Miles Millar to write a script with Doctor Octopus, the Lizard and Black Cat as villains.[2] The draft featured Doc Ock as a young scientist infatuated with Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn putting a price on Spider-Man's head. Producer Avi Arad rejected both concepts, as he decided to go with an older Ock and also develop Osborn as being angry with Peter for not telling him who Spider-Man is.[1] On May 8 2002, following Spider-Man's record breaking $115 million opening weekend, Sony Pictures announced a sequel for 2004.[3] Entitled The Amazing Spider-Man, after the character's main comic book title,[4] the film was given a budget of $200 million[5] and aimed for a release date of May 7 2004. The following month, David Koepp was added to co-write with Gough and Millar.[2] In September, Michael Chabon was hired to replace all three.[2]

Raimi sifted through the previous drafts, picking what he liked with screenwriter Alvin Sargent.[6] He felt that thematically the film had to explore Peter's conflict with his personal wants against his responsibility, exploring the positive and negatives of his chosen path, and how he ultimately decides that he can be happy as a heroic figure. The story is mainly taken from The Amazing Spider-Man #50, "Spider-Man No More!" It was decided that Doc Ock would be kept as the villain, as he was both a visually interesting villain who was a physical match for Spider-Man, and a sympathetic figure with humanity.[1] Raimi changed much of the character's backstory however, adding the idea of Otto Octavius being a hero of Peter's, and how their conflict was about trying to rescue him from his demons rather than kill him.[4]

Casting

When Tobey Maguire signed on to portray Spider-Man in 2000, he was given a three film contract.[7] Whilst filming Seabiscuit in late 2002, Maguire suffered injuries to his back and Sony were faced with the possibility of recasting their lead.[2] Jake Gyllenhaal was negotiated with to replace Maguire, which was ironic as Gyllenhaal was dating Kirsten Dunst, who portrayed Mary Jane Watson. However, Maguire recovered and was able to reprise his role, with a salary of $17 million.[8] Nonetheless, filming overruns on Seabiscuit meant filming on the sequel was pushed from January to April.[2]

In the meantime, Alfred Molina was cast as Doctor Octopus on February 13 2003 and immediately began physical training for the role.[9] Raimi had been impressed by his performance in Frida and also felt he had the physicality.[10] Molina only briefly discussed the role and was not aware that he was a strong contender for the role,[1] and was excited, being a big fan of Marvel Comics.[11] Although he wasn't familiar with Doc Ock, Molina found one element of the comics that he wanted to maintain, and that was the character's cruel, sardonic sense of humor.[12] During promotion for Spider-Man, Willem Dafoe requested to Raimi to briefly appear once more as Norman Osborn, an idea which he compared to King Hamlet haunting his son to avenge him.[13]

Filming

Spider-Man 2 was shot on over 100 sets and locations, beginning with a pre-shoot on the Loop in Chicago during two days in November 2002. The crew bought a carriage, placing 16 cameras for background shots of Spider-Man and Doc Ock's train fight.[1] Principal photography began on April 12 2003 in New York City. The crew moved on May 13 to Los Angeles,[2] shooting on 10 major sets created by producer designer Neil Spisak. After the scare surrounding his back pains, Tobey Maguire relished performing many of his stunts, even creating a joke of it with Raimi, creating the line "My back, my back" as Spider-Man tries to regain his powers.[6] Even Rosemary Harris took a turn, putting her stunt double out of work. In contrast, Alfred Molina joked that the stunt team would "trick" him into performing a stunt time and again.[1]

Filming was put on hiatus for eight weeks, in order to build Doc Ock's pier lair. It had been Spisak's idea to use a collapsed pier to reflect an exploded version of the previous lab, and represent how Octavius' life had collapsed and grown more monstrous,[1] evoking the cinema of Fritz Lang and the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.[14] Filming then resumed on that set, having taken 15 weeks to build, occupying Sony's Stage 30. It was 60 by 120 feet long, and 40 feet high, and a quarter-scale minature was also built for the finale as it collapses.[1] Filming was still going after Christmas 2003.[15]

File:DSCN0293.jpg
The Spydercam

The film also used the Spydercam to a greater degree than the first film: the camera was only used for the final shot of Spider-Man. It allowed the filmmakers to express more of Spider-Man's world view, dropping 50 stories at times, from heights of 2400 feet (in New York) or 3200 feet (Los Angeles). It also gave a greater sense of speed as it shot six frames per second, creating a faster playback. Shots using the Spydercam were planned in digital versions of cities, and shooting was controlled with motion control, making it highly cost-effective.[1]

Effects

Although roughly the same, costume designer James Acheson made numerous subtle changes to Spider-Man's costume. The colors were made richer and bolder, the spider emblem was given more elegant lines and the muscle suit underneath was made into pieces, to give a better sense of movement. The helmet Maguire wore under his mask was also improved, with better movement for the false jaw and magnetic eye pieces, which were easier to remove.[1]

To create Doctor Octopus' mechanical tentacles, Edge FX was hired to create a corset, a metal and rubber girdle, a rubber spine and four foam rubber tentacles which were eight foot long, which altogether weighed 100 pounds. The claws of each tentacle, which were dubbed "death flowers", were controlled by a single puppeteer in a chair, to control every available form on the claw. Each tentacle was controlled by four people, who rehearsed every scene with Molina to give a natural sense of movement as if the tentacles were moving due to Octavius' muscle movement. (Jokingly, on-set, Molina often referred to his tentacles by name: "Larry," "Harry, "Moe" and "Flo," with "Flo" being the top-right tentacle.[16] ) Edge FX was only hired to do scenes where Octavius carries his tentacles. CGI was used for when the tentacles carry Octavius: a twenty feet high rig held Molina to glide through his surroundings, with CG tentacles added later.[17] The CG versions were scanned straight from the practical ones.[1] However, using the practical versions was always preferred to save money,[17] and each scene was always filmed first with Edge FX's creations to see if CGI was truly necessary. Completing the illusion, the sound designers chose to not use servo sound effects, feeling it would rob the tentacles of the sense that they were part of Octavius' body, and instead used motorcycle chains and piano wires.[1]

Reception

Critical reaction

The general critical reaction to the film was very enthusiastic, with many critics praising the film for having a dramatic power and emotional content that many summer blockbusters lack. Metacritic gave the film a collective rating of 83 out of 100 based on an average of 41 reviews.[18] Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 93%, based on 222 reviews ("Cream of the Crop" rating is 95%).[19] It is also number 1 on the "Comix Worst to Best" countdown.[20]

Roger Ebert, who was lukewarm on the first film,[21] praised the second movie and gave it four stars. He went on to call it the "greatest super-hero movie since Superman: The Movie.[22] A number of other newspapers also gave it good marks, and the movie was listed in AFI's Top Ten Films of 2004.

However, The New Yorker rated it as average, while Salon.com and Village Voice rated it as poor.[23]

In the 77th Academy Awards, the movie won the Academy Award for Visual Effects. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Sound and the Academy Award for Sound Editing. There were many rumors that the film was in contention for the Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay, as many fans and critics alike regarded Alvin Sargent's screenplay as superb in terms of emotional depth and character development. There have also been a few critics (most notably Roger Ebert) and web sites arguing that it even deserved a Best Picture nomination.

The movie was the biggest winner at the 31st annual Saturn Awards. It won for Best Fantasy Film, Best Director for Sam Raimi, Best Actor for Tobey Maguire, Best Writer for Alvin Sargent and Best Special Effects.

Particular praise was lavished upon Alfred Molina for his sympathetic performance as Doc Ock, as well as Tobey Maguire's continued portrayal of the troubled and tormented superhero. [24]

Box office success

Spider-Man 2 opened in the United States on June 30, 2004 and grossed $40.4 million in its first day; this was the second highest opening day, after The Matrix Reloaded, just inching out over the first Spider-Man's opening day take of $39.4 million. The record is now held by Spider-Man 3, although Spider-Man 2 still holds the Wednesday Opening Day record by quite a margin, opening with nearly $6 million more than The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King the year before.

The film grossed $88.1 million in its opening weekend, which is a large sum but far from a record; indeed, the film's opening weekend gross currently stands at #11 on the All-Time charts. In its first six days the film had grossed over $180 million and eventually went on to gross $373.5 million, becoming the second-highest grossing film of 2004, behind Shrek 2's $441.2 million take. Worldwide, the film grossed $783.8 million, ranking behind Shrek 2 and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Spider-Man 2's gross is currently among the all-time top ten grossing films domestically and is among the top twenty worldwide.

Awards

Spider-Man 2 won and was nominated for multiple awards in variety of categories.[25] The film won four Saturn Awards, with Maguire receiving Best Actor (Film); Raimi for Best Director; John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier for Best Special Effects and Sargent for Best Writing. The special effects team also won the Academy Award for Visual Effects, and Raimi also won Best Director at the Sony Ericsson Empire Awards. Elfman won a BMI Film Music Award. Spider-Man 2 won Best Popular Picture at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards. To celebrate the release of Spider-Man 3, Rotten Tomatoes posted a countdown of the best comic book film adaptions of all time. Spider-Man 2 won first place with an adjusted score of 89%. [1]

DVD release

The film was initially released on DVD as a 2-disc special edition on November 30, 2004. It was available in full screen and widescreen, with the widescreen version also available in a gift set. The same day, a Superbit version of the film was also released.

Spider-Man 2.1

An extended cut of the film was shown on the FX cable channel on January 2, 2007. The cut featured about eight minutes of new, previously unseen footage. This cut of the film was released as Spider-Man 2.1 on DVD on April 17, 2007. In addition to the new cut, the DVD also included new special features not on the original release. These include an introduction with producers Avi Arad and Grant Curtis, an audio commentary with producer Laura Ziskin and screen-writer Alvin Sargent, a trivia track with new video segments, an "Inside 2.1" featurette on the new cut, visual effects breakdowns, and a sneak peek at Spider-Man 3.[26] In the UK, Spider-Man 2.1 was released on the 23rd April 2007.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Making the Amazing. Sony. 2004. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f Greg Dean Schmitz. "Greg's Preview - Spider-Man 2". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2007-04-15.
  3. ^ "Spider-Man sequel set for 2004". BBC. 2002-05-08. Retrieved 2007-03-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b Chris Hewitt (2004-06-25). "Spidey's Back". Empire. pp. 79–90. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Film costs "Spider-Man 2 Budget". Guardian.com. 2002-04-30. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b Stella Papamichael (2004-07-09). "Sam Raimi". BBC. Retrieved 2007-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Michael Fleming (2000-07-31). "Maguire spins 'Spider-Man'". Variety. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Claude Brodesser, Dana Harris (2003-04-13). "Tobey's tangled rep web". Variety. Retrieved 2007-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Brian Hiatt (2003-02-13). "Eight Arms to Hold You". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Jeff Otto (2004-06-29). "Interview: Sam Raimi". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Anwar Brett (2004-07-09). "Alfred Molina". BBC. Retrieved 2007-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Jeff Otto (2004-06-25). "Interview: Tobey Maguire and Alfred Molina". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Jeff Otto (2004-06-30). "Spidey 2 Talk". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Tom Russo. "A Bug's Life". Premiere. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
  15. ^ Patrick Sauriol (2003-12-28). "SCOOP: SPIDER-MAN 2 reshoots this week?". Mania Movies. Retrieved 2007-05-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Cotton, Mike. "Spider-Man 3." Wizard: The Comics Magazine June 2007: 30-31.
  17. ^ a b Eight Arms To Hold You. Sony. 2004. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  18. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/spiderman2/ Metacritic
  19. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/SpiderMan2-1133520/reviews.php Rotten Tomatoes
  20. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/features/special/2007/comic/?r=1&mid=1133520 Rotten Tomatoes
  21. ^ http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020503/REVIEWS/205030303/1023 Roger Ebert
  22. ^ http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040629/REVIEWS/406300301/1023 More Ebert
  23. ^ http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0426,hoberman2,54647,20.html J. Hoberman
  24. ^ http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0426,hoberman2,54647,20.html J. Hoberman
  25. ^ "Awards and Nominations". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
  26. ^ http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/spiderman-21.html
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