''Spider-Man 2'' is a 2004 American
superhero film
A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature Action film, ac ...
directed by
Sam Raimi
Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1 ...
and written by
Alvin Sargent from a story by
Alfred Gough
Alfred Gough (born August 22, 1967) is an American screenwriter, producer and showrunner. He is best known as co-creator of The WB/The CW's Superman prequel series ''Smallville'' and Netflix's ''Addams Family'' spin-off series ''Wednesday''. Al ...
,
Miles Millar
Miles Millar (born 1967) is an Australian-British screenwriter, showrunner, producer and director. He is known for co-creating the long-running Superman prequel television series ''Smallville'' and the Tim Burton Netflix ''Addams Family'' spin- ...
and
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon ( ;
born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, DC, he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, gr ...
. Based on the fictional
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
character of
the same name, it is the second installment in Raimi's
''Spider-Man'' trilogy and the sequel to ''
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
'' (2002), starring
Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the title character from Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), a role he later reprised in '' Spider-Man: No Way Hom ...
alongside
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst (; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the short ''Oedipus Wrecks'' directed by Woody Allen in the anthology film '' New York Stories'' (1989). She then gained recognition for her ro ...
,
James Franco
James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-M ...
,
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...
,
Rosemary Harris
Rosemary Ann Harris (born 19 September 1927) is an English actress. She is the recipient of such accolades as a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. In ...
, and
Donna Murphy
Donna Murphy (born March 7, 1959) is an American actress, best known for her work in musical theater. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she has twice won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical: for her role as Fosca in '' Passion'' (1994–1995 ...
. Set two years after the events of ''Spider-Man'', the film finds
Peter Parker
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...
struggling to stop
Dr. Otto Octavius from recreating the dangerous experiment that kills his wife and leaves him neurologically fused to mechanical tentacles, while also dealing with an existential crisis between his dual identities that appears to be stripping him of his powers.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began in April 2003 in New York City and also took place in Los Angeles. Reshoots took place later that year and concluded in December. ''Spider-Man 2'' was released in both conventional and
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
theaters on June 30, 2004. It received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its emotional weight and visual effects, as well as Maguire and Molina's performances and Raimi's direction, and grossed $789 million worldwide, making it the
third-highest-grossing film of the year. The film won
Best Visual Effects at the
77th Academy Awards
The 77th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on February 27, 2005, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During t ...
, and was also nominated for
Best Sound Mixing and
Best Sound Editing
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow List of film awards, film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awa ...
; furthermore, it received five awards at the
Saturn Award
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
s, including
Best Fantasy Film and
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
for Raimi. The film is widely regarded as
one of the greatest superhero films ever made and a blueprint for future movies in the genre. Its success led to ''
Spider-Man 3
''Spider-Man 3'' is a 2007 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi from a screenplay by Raimi, his older brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent. It is the final installment in Raimi's ...
'' (2007). Maguire and Molina reprised their roles in the 2021 film ''
Spider-Man: No Way Home''.
Plot
Two years after becoming Spider-Man,
Peter Parker
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...
is estranged from both his love interest
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and made her first appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man' ...
and his best friend
Harry Osborn and discovers that his
Aunt May
Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...
is facing
eviction
Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgag ...
. He finds himself suffering temporary but recurring losses of his powers, often in life-threatening situations. Harry, who is now head of
Oscorp
Oscorp (sometimes stylized as OsCorp), also known as Oscorp Industries, is a fictional multibillion-dollar multinational corporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, predominantly in stories about Spider-Man. The compa ...
's genetic and scientific research division, is sponsoring a
fusion power
Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices de ...
project by nuclear scientist
Otto Octavius
Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and firs ...
, who befriends and mentors Peter. While handling hazardous materials, Octavius wears a harness of powerful
robotic tentacle arms with
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
.
During a public demonstration that Peter and Harry attend, a power spike causes the fusion reactor to destabilize. Octavius refuses to shut down the reactor, which goes critical, killing his wife and burning the inhibitor chip blocking the arms from his nervous system. As Spider-Man, Peter manages to shut the experiment down. At a hospital, doctors prepare to surgically remove Octavius' harness. Without the inhibitor chip, the arms have become sentient and defend themselves by killing the doctors. Afterwards, Octavius takes refuge at a harbor. Now corrupted by the arms' AI, he decides to re-try his experiment and robs a bank to fund it. The ''
Daily Bugle
The ''Daily Bugle'' (at one time ''The DB'') is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The ''Daily Bugle'' is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, mos ...
'' dubs the scientist "Doctor Octopus".
Mary Jane becomes engaged to
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
John Jameson, the son of ''Bugle'' editor
J. Jonah Jameson. Peter suffers an emotional breakdown over his inability to balance his life, with the stress stripping him of his powers as a result. He quits being Spider-Man, returns to his normal life, and attempts to reconcile with Mary Jane. He also finally confesses to Aunt May the truth about
Uncle Ben
Benjamin Franklin Parker, usually referred to as Uncle Ben, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in association with the superhero Spider-Man. He is the husband of May Parker and the pa ...
's death. Aunt May forgives him, but the rise in
the city's crime rates worries Peter.
Requiring the isotope
tritium
Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus o ...
to fuel his reactor, Octavius visits Harry to demand it. Harry agrees in exchange for Spider-Man, whom he still believes is responsible for his father's death. He tells Octavius to seek Peter, who Harry believes is friends with Spider-Man, but tells him to not harm Peter. Octavius locates Peter, tells him to find Spider-Man, and captures Mary Jane. Her endangerment leads to Peter's powers returning, and he goes after Octavius.
As they battle, they fall onto a
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
train. Octavius sabotages it and leaves Peter to save the derailing train, which he does at a great physical toll. Octavius captures the now-weakened Peter and delivers him to Harry. Harry prepares to kill Spider-Man, only to be shocked to see Peter under the mask. Peter convinces Harry to put their conflict aside and direct him to Octavius' lair. They battle again as the nuclear reaction starts threatening the city. Peter reveals his identity and persuades Octavius to let his dream go for the greater good. Octavius commands the tentacles to obey him and sacrifices himself to destroy the experiment. Mary Jane sees Peter's true identity, which he says is why they cannot be together.
Meanwhile, Harry is visited by a vision of his
father
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
in a mirror, pleading for Harry to avenge his death, but Harry refuses to hurt Peter. Enraged, Harry shatters the mirror, inadvertently revealing a secret room containing his father's
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and best-known incarnation Norman Osborn, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, is generally regarded as one of the a ...
equipment. On her wedding day, Mary Jane abandons John at the altar and runs to Peter's apartment. After they kiss, they hear police sirens, and Mary Jane encourages him to go help as Spider-Man.
Cast
*
Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the title character from Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), a role he later reprised in '' Spider-Man: No Way Hom ...
as
Peter Parker / Spider-Man:
A superhero,
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
physics student, and photographer for the ''Daily Bugle''. Juggling these separate lives means he briefly gives up his responsibilities as a superhero in a moment of adversity.
*
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst (; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the short ''Oedipus Wrecks'' directed by Woody Allen in the anthology film '' New York Stories'' (1989). She then gained recognition for her ro ...
as
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and made her first appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man' ...
: An aspiring
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
actress and a friend Peter has loved since he was a child, yet he gave up the chance of being with her out of concern for her safety. Still harboring feelings for Peter, Mary Jane begins dating
John Jameson and eventually becomes engaged to him, in an effort to make Peter jealous. She also has a crush on Spider-Man, who saved her life numerous times in the past, and is unaware that the hero and Peter are one and the same.
*
James Franco
James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-M ...
as
Harry Osborn:
Oscorp
Oscorp (sometimes stylized as OsCorp), also known as Oscorp Industries, is a fictional multibillion-dollar multinational corporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, predominantly in stories about Spider-Man. The compa ...
's current
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
, Norman Osborn's son and Peter's best friend, who holds his alter-ego Spider-Man responsible for his father's death. He is also Mary Jane's ex-boyfriend and still harbors feelings for her.
*
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...
as
Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus:
A scientist working on behalf of
Oscorp
Oscorp (sometimes stylized as OsCorp), also known as Oscorp Industries, is a fictional multibillion-dollar multinational corporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, predominantly in stories about Spider-Man. The compa ...
and Peter's role model and mentor who goes insane after his failure to create a self-sustaining fusion reaction, which also resulted in the death of his wife, Rosie. Octavius is bonded with his handling equipment, four artificially intelligent mechanical tentacles, which influence his mentality and convince him that he must finish his experiment at all costs.
*
Rosemary Harris
Rosemary Ann Harris (born 19 September 1927) is an English actress. She is the recipient of such accolades as a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. In ...
as
May Parker
Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...
:
Ben Parker's widow and Peter's aunt.
*
Donna Murphy
Donna Murphy (born March 7, 1959) is an American actress, best known for her work in musical theater. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she has twice won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical: for her role as Fosca in '' Passion'' (1994–1995 ...
as Rosie Octavius: Otto's wife and assistant.
J. K. Simmons
Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...
reprises his role as
J. Jonah Jameson, the miserly manager and editor-in-chief of the ''Daily Bugle'',
while
Daniel Gillies
Daniel John Gillies (born 14 March 1976) is a New Zealand-Canadian actor, film producer, director and screenwriter. He played the role of Elijah Mikaelson on the television series '' The Vampire Diaries'' and its spin-off '' The Originals,'' as ...
portrays his son
John Jameson, an astronaut and Mary Jane's fiancé.
Christine Estabrook
Christine Estabrook (born Mary Christine Estabrook; September 13, 1952) is an American actress, known for her roles on the television series '' The Crew'', '' Nikki'', '' Desperate Housewives'' and ''American Horror Story''; she had a recurring ...
appears briefly as Jameson's wife and John's mother.
As with the previous film,
Bruce Campbell has a
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
, this time as an usher who refuses Peter entry for arriving late to Mary Jane Watson's show. ''Spider-Man'' co-creator
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
portrays a man on the street who saves a woman from falling debris during a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus.
Dylan Baker
Dylan Baker (born October 7, 1959) is an American actor. He gained recognition for his roles in the films such as '' Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), ''Happiness'' (1998), '' Thirteen Days'' (2000), '' Road to Perdition'' (2002), '' Spide ...
portrays
Dr. Curt Connors, one of Peter's college physics professors and a colleague of Octavius,
while
Willem Dafoe
Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Willem Dafoe, various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for ...
reprises his role as
Norman Osborn
Norman Osborn is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first ...
, Harry's deceased father who appears to him as a hallucination. Dafoe came up with the idea during promotion for ''
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
'', which he compared to
King Hamlet
The ghost of Hamlet's father is a character from William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. In the stage directions he is referred to as "Ghost". His name is also Hamlet, and he is referred to as ''King'' Hamlet to distinguish him from the Prince, ...
haunting his son to avenge him.
Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell; February 10, 1974) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is known for playing Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the ''Pitch Perfe ...
, John Paxton,
Ted Raimi
Theodore "Ted" Raimi (born December 14, 1965) is an American character actor, director, comedian, and writer. He is known for his roles in the works of his brother Sam Raimi, including a fake Shemp in ''The Evil Dead'', possessed Henrietta in ...
and
Bill Nunn
William Goldwyn Nunn III (October 20, 1953 – September 24, 2016) was an American actor known for his roles as Radio Raheem in Spike Lee's film '' Do the Right Thing'', Robbie Robertson in the Sam Raimi ''Spider-Man'' film trilogy and as T ...
reprise their roles as
Betty Brant, Osborn family butler Bernard Houseman, Ted Hoffman,
and
Robbie Robertson
Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...
, respectively.
Elya Baskin
Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books o ...
portrays Mr. Ditkovitch, Peter's landlord, (whose name is a reference to ''Spider-Man'' co-creator
Steve Ditko
Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
) and
Mageina Tovah
Mageina Tovah (born July 26, 1979) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Glynis Figliola in the television series ''Joan of Arcadia'' (2003–2005), as Ursula Ditkovich in Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man'' trilogy and Zelda Schif ...
plays his daughter Ursula.
Cliff Robertson
Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film '' PT 109'', and won the 196 ...
reprises his role as Peter's uncle
Ben Parker in a
flashback.
Scott Spiegel
Scott Spiegel (born December 10, 1957) is an American screenwriter, film director, producer and actor. He co-wrote the screenplay for the movie '' Evil Dead II'' with longtime friend, film director Sam Raimi, with whom he attended Wylie E. Gro ...
portrays a man who attempts to eat some pizza Spider-Man is delivering, only to have it webbed from his hands.
Joel McHale portrays Mr. Jacks, a bank teller.
Hal Sparks portrays an
elevator
An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
passenger who has a conversation with Spider-Man.
Donnell Rawlings
Donnell M. Rawlings (born December 6, 1968) is an American comedian, actor, and radio host. He is best known as a cast member on the Comedy Central sketch comedy TV series ''Chappelle's Show'' and the HBO drama ''The Wire''.
Early life
Donnell ...
portrays the New Yorker who exclaims that Spider-Man "stole that guy's pizzas" and
Emily Deschanel portrays a receptionist.
Brent Briscoe
Brent Briscoe (May 21, 1961 – October 18, 2017) was an American character actor and screenwriter.
Early life
Briscoe was born in Moberly, Missouri. After completing his education at the University of Missouri, Briscoe launched his career as a ...
plays the garbage man who finds Spider-Man's costume in the trash and gives it to Jameson.
Peter McRobbie
Peter McRobbie (born 31 January 1943) is a Scottish-born American character actor, best known for his roles as John C. Twist in the 2005 romantic drama film '' Brokeback Mountain'', Mike Sheenan in the 2006 action film ''16 Blocks'', Pop Pop ...
plays an OsCorp representative.
Reed Diamond
Reed Edward Diamond (born July 20, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for the roles of Det. Mike Kellerman on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', Jason Pillar in season 8 of '' 24'', and recurring character Laurence Dominic on ''Dollhouse' ...
plays Algernon.
Peyton List and her brother
Spencer List make their film debuts playing a little girl and boy playing on steps respectively.
Daniel Dae Kim
Daniel Dae Kim (born Kim Dae-hyun ( ko, 김대현); August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jin-Soo Kwon in ''Lost'', Chin Ho Kelly in '' Hawaii Five-0'', Gavin Park in ''Angel'', and Johnny Gat in the '' Saints Ro ...
plays Raymond, an assistant of Otto Octavius working in his laboratory.
Aasif Mandvi
Aasif Hakim Mandviwala (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is a British-American actor, comedian and author. He was a correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other television work includes the ...
portrays Mr. Aziz, the owner of
Joe's Pizza.
Joey Diaz
José Antonio Díaz (born February 19, 1963), known professionally as Joey "CoCo" Diaz, is a Cuban-American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. After pursuing stand-up comedy full time in 1991 in the Colorado and Seattle areas, Diaz relocate ...
,
Dan Hicks and
Chloe Dykstra
Chloe Frances Dykstra (born September 15, 1988) is an American cosplayer, model and actress. She produced and co-hosted the web series ''Just Cos'' for the Nerdist Industries' YouTube channel and is a cast member of the SYFY show '' Heroes of Co ...
portray train passengers.
Vanessa Ferlito
Vanessa Ferlito is an American actress. She is known for playing Detective Aiden Burn in the first season of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: NY'', as well as for her recurring portrayal of Claudia Hernandez in FOX drama '' 24'', and for her starri ...
portrays Louise, one of Mary Jane's co-stars.
Joy Bryant
Joy Bryant is an American actress, businesswoman and fashion model. She has appeared in numerous films and television since beginning her acting career in 2001. She has received two NAACP Image Award nominations, and one Screen Actors Guild Award ...
appears as a spectator that witnesses Spider-Man in action.
John Landis
John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal ...
plays one of the doctors who operate on Doctor Octopus.
Phil LaMarr
Phillip LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter. LaMarr was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV''. His voice acting roles in animated series include J ...
portrays a train passenger who is most easily seen to the left of Spider-Man (the viewer's right) while the hero uses webbing to slow the train down.
Gregg Edelman
Gregg Edelman (born September 12, 1958) is an American movie, television and theatre actor.
Biography
Edelman was born in Chicago, Illinois, attended Niles North High School, where he starred as Li'l Abner opposite future soap star Nancy Lee G ...
portrays Dr. Davis.
Production
Development
Immediately after finishing ''
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
'', director
Sam Raimi
Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1 ...
with help from James Keltie signed into directing a sequel.
In April 2002, Sony hired ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
'' alumni,
Alfred Gough
Alfred Gough (born August 22, 1967) is an American screenwriter, producer and showrunner. He is best known as co-creator of The WB/The CW's Superman prequel series ''Smallville'' and Netflix's ''Addams Family'' spin-off series ''Wednesday''. Al ...
and
Miles Millar
Miles Millar (born 1967) is an Australian-British screenwriter, showrunner, producer and director. He is known for co-creating the long-running Superman prequel television series ''Smallville'' and the Tim Burton Netflix ''Addams Family'' spin- ...
to write a script of the film.
On May 8, 2002, following ''Spider-Man'' record-breaking $115 million opening weekend,
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
announced a sequel for 2004. Entitled ''
The Amazing Spider-Man
''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...
'', after the character's main comic book title,
the film was given a budget of $200 million and aimed for a release date of May 7, 2004. The following month,
David Koepp
David Koepp (; born June 9, 1963) is an American filmmaker. Koepp is the ninth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.3 billion.
Koepp has achieved both critical and commercial ...
was added to co-write with Gough and Millar.
Koepp originally wanted to do the Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn story and have Gwen to be killed in the middle of the second movie.
In September 2002,
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon ( ;
born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, DC, he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, gr ...
was hired to rewrite.
His draft had a younger Doc Ock, who becomes infatuated with Mary Jane. His mechanical limbs use
endorphin
Endorphins (contracted from endogenous morphine) are chemical signals in the brain that block the perception of pain and increase feelings of wellbeing. They are produced and stored in an area of the brain known as the pituitary gland.
Hist ...
s to counteract the pain of being attached to his body, which he enjoys. When he injures two muggers on a date, this horrifies Mary Jane and in the resulting battle with Spider-Man his tentacles are fused together, and the fusion begins to kill him. In the script, Octavius is the creator of the genetically-altered spider from the first film, and gives Peter an antidote to remove his powers: this means when Octavius is dying with his tentacles, he wants to extract Spider-Man's spine to save himself. This leads to an alliance with Harry (a detail which made it into the finished film). Beforehand, Harry and the ''
Daily Bugle
The ''Daily Bugle'' (at one time ''The DB'') is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The ''Daily Bugle'' is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, mos ...
'' put a $10 million price on Spider-Man's head, causing the city's citizens to turn against him.
Raimi sifted through the previous drafts by Gough, Millar, Koepp and Chabon, picking what he liked with screenwriter
Alvin Sargent.
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.
Raimi said that he took inspiration from ''
Superman II
''Superman II'' is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment in the ''Superman'' film se ...
'' (1980) for the story of Peter giving up his responsibilities. Although the story takes some partial influence from Doc Ock's debut in 1963 and the 1966 storyline ''
If This Be My Destiny...!'', the story was mostly inspired by the 1967 storyline ''Spider-Man No More!'', specifically ''
The Amazing Spider-Man
''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...
'' #50. It was decided that Doctor Octopus 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, accompanied by the fact that the character had been repeatedly considered as a villain for the first film over the course of its 15-year development.
Raimi changed much of the character's backstory, however, adding the idea of Otto Octavius being a hero of Peter, and how their conflict was about trying to rescue him from his demons rather than kill him.
Casting
When Tobey Maguire signed on to portray Spider-Man in 2000, he was given a three-film contract.
After filming ''
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...
'' in late 2002, a pre-existing back condition that Maguire suffered from was bothering him.
Raimi heard that Tobey could be paralyzed if there was an injury in his back. Raimi also told Maguire, "I don’t think we’ll make the picture with you."
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He beg ...
was cast to replace Maguire; the two actors so resemble each other that "a source close to Maguire" reportedly said that, had Gyllenhaal taken over the role, "A year from now? The public wouldn't know the difference". Maguire's girlfriend's father
Ronald Meyer
Ronald Meyer (born September 25, 1944) is an American entertainment executive and former talent agent. He co-founded Creative Artists Agency in 1975, and served as the President and Chief Operating Officer at Universal Studios Inc. from 1995-2013 ...
—head of
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
—helped the actor regain the role, with a salary of $17 million.
Gyllenhaal would later say in a 2019 interview saying that he was one of the several actors considered to replace Maguire.
Several actors were considered for the part of Doctor Octopus, including
Ed Harris
Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...
,
Chris Cooper
Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including '' American Beauty'' (1999), ''October Sky'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Seabiscuit'' (2003), '' Ca ...
, and
Christopher Walken; Molina was cast as Octavius in February 2003 and underwent physical training for the role.
The reaction to his casting was mixed. Raimi had been impressed by his performance in ''
Frida
''Frida'' is a 2002 American biographical drama film directed by Julie Taymor which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
Starring Salma Hayek in an Academy Award–nominated portrayal as K ...
'' and also felt that his large physical size was true to the comic book character. Molina only briefly discussed the role and was not aware that he was a strong contender.
He was a big fan of
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
and was excited to get the part. Although he was not familiar with Doc Ock, Molina found one element of the comics that he wanted to maintain, the character's cruel, sardonic
sense of humor
Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in ...
.
Filming
![Spydercam](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Spydercam.jpg)
''Spider-Man 2'' was shot on over one hundred sets and locations, beginning with a pre-shoot on
the Loop in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
during two days in November 2002. The crew acquired a train of
2200 series cars, placing sixteen cameras for background shots of Spider-Man and Doc Ock's train fight.
Filming was originally slated to start in January but was pushed back to April so that Maguire could finish ''
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...
''.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on April 12, 2003 in New York City and Chicago. The crew moved on May 13 to Los Angeles,
shooting on sets created by production designer Neil Spisak. After the scare surrounding his back pains,
Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the title character from Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), a role he later reprised in '' Spider-Man: No Way Hom ...
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.
Raimi said while filming the scene he yelled at Maguire to get to the edge of the building but Maguire refused to do it. Even
Rosemary Harris
Rosemary Ann Harris (born 19 September 1927) is an English actress. She is the recipient of such accolades as a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. In ...
took a turn, putting her stunt double out of work. In contrast,
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...
joked that the stunt team would "trick" him into performing a stunt time and again.
J. K. Simmons
Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...
said that while filming the scene where Spider-Man gets his suit back from The Daily Bugle, when Simmons said "he's a thief" his fake-teeth popped out of his mouth.
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 as Ock's lair, reflecting an exploded version of the previous lab and representing how Octavius' life had collapsed and grown more monstrous,
evoking the cinema of
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...
and the film ''
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari''. Filming then resumed on that set, having taken fifteen weeks to build, occupying Sony's Stage 30. It was by long, and high, and a quarter-scale miniature was also built for the finale as it collapses.
Reshoots for the film continued until December 2003.
A
camera system
In 3D video games, a virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in video games where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; m ...
called the
Spydercam
''Spydercam'' is a cable-suspended camera system, and rigging system used in making motion pictures, television and at athletic stadiums. Using computer controlled winches to drive synthetic lines connected to a crane, truss or buildings to achie ...
was used to allow filmmakers to express more of Spider-Man's world view, at times dropping fifty stories and with shot lengths of just over in New York or in Los Angeles. For some shots the camera would shoot at six frames per second for a faster playback increasing the sense of speed. Shots using the Spydercam were pre-planned in digital versions of cities, and the camera's movement was controlled with motion control, making it highly cost-effective. The camera system was only used in the previous film for the final shot.
Visual effects
Although roughly the same as before,
costume designer
A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...
James Acheson
James Acheson (born 13 March 1946) is a British costume designer. He was educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School and studied at Wimbledon School of Art. He has designed costumes and sets for television, theatre, opera, ballet and film, work ...
made numerous subtle changes to Spider-Man's costume. Its colors were made richer and bolder, its spider emblem was given more elegant lines and enlarged, its eye-lenses were somewhat smaller, and its muscle suit underneath was made into pieces, to give a better sense of movement. Also, the helmet Maguire wore under his mask was also improved, with better movement for the false jaw and magnetic eyepieces, which were easier to remove.
To create
Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''Th ...
' 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 long and altogether weighed . The claws of each tentacle, which were called "death flowers", were controlled by one puppeteer sitting on a chair. Each tentacle was controlled by four people, who rehearsed every scene with Molina so that they could give a natural sense of movement as if the tentacles were moving due to Octavius' muscle movement.
On set, Molina referred to his tentacles as "Larry", "Harry", "Moe" and "Flo",
[Mike Cotton. "Spider-Man 3." '' Wizard: The Comics Magazine'' June 2007: p. 30–31.] with "Flo" being the top-right tentacle as it was operated by a female
grip and performed delicate operations like removing his glasses and lighting his cigar.
Edge FX was only hired to do scenes where Octavius carries his tentacles.
CGI was used for when the tentacles carry Octavius: a high rig held Molina to glide through his surroundings, with CGI tentacles added in
post-production
Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments.
The ...
.
The CGI versions were scanned straight from the real ones to allow them to appear more realistic.
However, using the real versions was always preferred to save money,
and each scene was always filmed first with Edge FX's creations to see if CGI was truly necessary. In some shots where CGI is used, Molina is replaced by a
virtual actor
A virtual human, virtual persona, or digital clone is the creation or re-creation of a human being in image and voice using computer-generated imagery and sound, that is often indistinguishable from the real actor.
The idea of a virtual actor w ...
possessing the CGI tentacles. Through the use of motion-capture and cyber-scanning, visual effects supervisor
Scott Stokdyk
Scott Stokdyk (born October 16, 1969) is an American visual effects artist who is best known for his work on the films ''Spider-Man (2002 film), Spider-Man'' and ''Spider-Man 2''.
Oscar history
Stokdyk has won the Academy Award for Best Visual ...
and CGI character animation supervisor
Anthony LaMolinara
Anthony LaMolinara is an American film director, producer and special effects artist.
Oscar history
LaMolinara has won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects once, with one other nomination. Both of the following are in this category:
...
were able to create more detailed virtual actors to replace Maguire and Molina in some shots, as well as make them display natural human motion. Completing the illusion, the sound designers chose not to 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.
As with the previous film,
John Dykstra
John Charles Dykstra, A.S.C. (; born June 3, 1947) is an American special effects artist, pioneer in the development of the use of computers in filmmaking and recipient of three Academy Awards, among many other awards and prizes. He was one o ...
served as visual effects designer. Dykstra and his crew sought to make the worst shot of the second movie look as good as the best shot of the first movie. Dykstra not only created the physical appearance of Octavius' tentacles, but also that of the nuclear reaction that Octavius attempts to carry out in the film. The reaction resembles the
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
, complete with
solar flares, and poses a threat to its immediate environment through its strong gravitational pull, which can draw surrounding objects directly into it and disintegrate them. As mentioned previously, the film's increased budget allowed the reaction to have a significant amount of artistry and reality.
Music
The film was scored by
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...
, who had a falling out with Director
Sam Raimi
Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1 ...
, saying that composing ''Spider-Man 2'' was a "miserable experience".
Release
Marketing
The first teaser trailer was shown at screenings of ''
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. The next trailer then premiered on April 8, 2004 during ''
The Apprentice
''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States.
Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...
'' and in theaters with the release of ''
The Alamo'' the day after.
Promotional partners included
Burger King
Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...
,
Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Euro ...
,
Kraft Foods
The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015.
A merger with Heinz, arra ...
,
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
,
Kellogg's, and
Embassy Suites Hotels
Embassy Suites by Hilton is a chain of upper upscale all-suite hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. As of December 31, 2019, there are 257 locations in five countries and territories with 59,712 rooms. Similar to other Hilton brands, 212 Em ...
.
Home media
The film was initially released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
and
VHS on November 30, 2004 in United States, in the UK on November 26, and in Australia on November 17. The DVD was available in both
anamorphic widescreen and
Pan-and-scan
Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown in fullscreen proportions of a standard-definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus ...
"fullscreen", as well as a
Superbit edition and in a box-set with the first film. The film was also the first Sony Pictures movie released in the US under the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment banner, and one of the final titles released outside of North America under the Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment name. There was also a collector's DVD gift set including a reprint of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50. The DVD release sold 11,604,597 units and grossed $174,260,344 in the United States. The film was also released on
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
's proprietary
Universal Media Disc
The Universal Media Disc (UMD) is a discontinued optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on its PlayStation Portable handheld gaming and multimedia platform. It can hold up to 1.8 gigabytes of data and is capable of storing video games, f ...
(UMD) format in 2005, with 1million UMD copies of the film sold in the United States as part of a
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
(PSP) bundle. The film received a novelization written by
Peter David
Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...
. The film was released on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in October 2007 as a part of the ''Spider-Man: The High Definition Trilogy'' box set. It was also released separately on Blu-ray in November 2010 as well as the
previous film as part of
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
's Blu-ray Essentials Collection including both the theatrical release and the 2.1 extended cut. All three films were re-released on Blu-ray as part of the ''Spider-Man: Origins'' set in 2017.
''Spider-Man 2.1'' (2007)
An extended cut of the film, entitled ''Spider-Man 2.1'', was released on DVD on April 17, 2007.
The cut included eight minutes of new footage, with new special features not included in the original release, as well as a sneak preview of the then-upcoming ''
Spider-Man 3
''Spider-Man 3'' is a 2007 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi from a screenplay by Raimi, his older brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent. It is the final installment in Raimi's ...
''. The cut also featured new, alternate, and extended scenes, and a featurette: "Inside Spider-Man 2.1", detailing the making of the cut.
A similar cut aired on January 2, 2007 on the
FX channel with an exclusive sneak preview for ''Spider-Man 3''.
Reception
Box office
''Spider-Man 2'' grossed $373.6 million in the United States and Canada and $415 million in other territories for a total worldwide gross of $788.6 million, against a production budget of $200 million.
[
''Spider-Man 2'' opened in the United States on June 30, 2004 and grossed $40.4 million in its first day; this broke its predecessor's opening day record of $39.4 million until it was surpassed a year later by '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'' ($50.0 million). Playing at 4,152 theaters upon opening, it had the second-highest number of screenings, behind '']Shrek 2
''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The sequel to ''Shrek'' (2001) and the ...
'', which had an extra 11, bringing the total to 4,163. The film also broke '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''s record ($34.5 million) for the highest-grossing Wednesday of all time. It held the Wednesday record for three years until it was topped by ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the fifth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter's struggles through his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witc ...
'' ($44.2 million). Its Friday-to-Sunday gross reached a total of $88.2 million, surpassing ''Austin Powers in Goldmember
''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' is a 2002 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the third in the ''Austin Powers'' film series and stars Mike Myers in four roles: Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Goldmember, and Fat Bastard. Myers and M ...
'' ($73.1 million) to have the largest July opening weekend. Moreover, ''Spider-Man 2'' also defeated ''Men in Black II
''Men in Black II'' (stylized as ''MIIB'') is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro. It is the second film in the original trilogy and a sequel to ''M ...
'' ($52.1 million) for having the biggest Fourth of July opening weekend at the time. The film held the record until 2011 when it was broken by '' Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' ($97.9 million). With a total gross of $152.6 million, it surpassed ''Shrek 2'' ($129 million) to have the highest five-day Wednesday opening. In its first six days, the film had grossed over $180 million, which surpassed the previous largest six-day opening record held by ''The Matrix Reloaded
''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science-fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is a sequel to '' The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Lau ...
'' ($146.9 million). Additionally, it had the highest Monday gross of any film, generating a total of $27.6 million. The film would hold this record for a decade until it was eclipsed by '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' ($40.1 million) in 2015. ''Spider-Man 2'' became the quickest film to hit the $200 million mark, taking eight days to do so. This record would be tied with ''Revenge of the Sith'' and '' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest''. All three films were surpassed by ''The Dark Knight
''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and the second insta ...
'' in 2008.
Internationally, ''Spider-Man 2'' opened in 28 territories and grossed $43 million in its first week. The film set opening records in Brazil, generating $3.1 million on 650 prints, claiming 62% of market share and beating its predecessor's opening weekend by 22%. It took in $6.6 million on 873 prints in Mexico, which was ranked as the country's third largest opening, coming in at 10% less than the original. ''Spider-Man 2'' produced $1.3 million in Malaysia, smashing ''Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...
''s record for having the biggest movie opening in the country. In Indonesia, it was the first film in the country's history to reach $2.3 million, surpassing the previous record held by ''Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
''. In total, the international grosses include Australia ($17.8 million), France ($40.2 million), Germany ($24.2 million), Italy ($24.4 million), Japan ($59.5 million), Mexico ($20.5 million), South Korea ($13 million), Spain ($18.8 million), and the United Kingdom ($49.7 million).[
]
Critical response
On the review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''Spider-Man 2'' holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average score of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Boasting an entertaining villain and deeper emotional focus, this is a nimble sequel that improves upon the original." Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which uses a weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
, gives the film a score of 83 out of 100 based on 41 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, the same grade earned by the previous film.[ Each film's score can be accessed from the website's search bar.]
''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' gave the film three and a half stars out of four, and Mark Caro stated that Alfred Molina was a "pleasingly complex" villain, and the film as a whole "improves upon its predecessor in almost every way." Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...
, of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', gave the film four stars out of five and concurred with Caro when he stated, "Doc Ock grabs this film with his quartet of sinisterly serpentine mechanical arms and refuses to let go." Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave ''Spider-Man 2'' four stars out of four, calling it "the best superhero movie since the modern genre was launched with ''Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
'' (1978)", and praising the film for "effortlessly ombiningspecial effects and a human story, keeping its parallel plots alive and moving." He later called it the fourth best film of 2004." ''IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' Richard George felt "Sam Raimi and his writing team delivered an iconic, compelling version of Spider-Man's classic foe... We almost wish there was a way to retroactively add some of these elements to the original character." In 2016, James Charisma of ''Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' ranked the film #9 on a list of "15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Originals". Conversely, J. Hoberman
James Lewis Hoberman (born March 14, 1949) is an American film critic, journalist, author and academic. He began working at ''The Village Voice'' in the 1970s, became a full-time staff writer in 1983, and was the newspaper's senior film critic ...
, of ''The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'', thought the first half of the film was "talky bordering on tiresome", with the film often stopping to showcase Raimi's idea of humor.
''Spider-Man 2'' has frequently been listed among rankings of the best superhero films. The film was placed 411th on ''Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine's top 500 movies list, describing the film as "Bigger and better than its predecessor, with a superior villain in Alfred Molina's Doc Ock, and a more confident Raimi sneaking in some of his own trademarks." In 2013, ''Forbes'' described it as "Not just one of the greatest sequels, but one of the best films of the genre, period." In 2018, Film School Rejects called it "the best summer movie ever" and said that its "emotional and calculated story stands above modern summer flicks" like those of ''The Avengers (2012 film), The Avengers'' and ''The Dark Knight (2008 film), The Dark Knight''.
Accolades
At the 77th Academy Awards
The 77th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on February 27, 2005, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During t ...
, ''Spider-Man 2'' won Best Visual Effects (John Dykstra
John Charles Dykstra, A.S.C. (; born June 3, 1947) is an American special effects artist, pioneer in the development of the use of computers in filmmaking and recipient of three Academy Awards, among many other awards and prizes. He was one o ...
, Scott Stokdyk
Scott Stokdyk (born October 16, 1969) is an American visual effects artist who is best known for his work on the films ''Spider-Man (2002 film), Spider-Man'' and ''Spider-Man 2''.
Oscar history
Stokdyk has won the Academy Award for Best Visual ...
, Anthony LaMolinara
Anthony LaMolinara is an American film director, producer and special effects artist.
Oscar history
LaMolinara has won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects once, with one other nomination. Both of the following are in this category:
...
and John Frazier), and was nominated for Best Sound Mixing (Kevin O'Connell (sound mixer), Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Joseph Geisinger) and Best Sound Editing
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow List of film awards, film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awa ...
along with ''The Polar Express (film), The Polar Express'', but lost to ''Ray (film), Ray'' and ''The Incredibles'', respectively. The film won Saturn Award
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
s for Saturn Award for Best Actor, Best Actor, Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
, Best Fantasy Film, Saturn Award for Best Special Effects, Best Special Effects, and Saturn Award for Best Writing, Best Writer, while being nominated for Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Saturn Award for Best Music, Best Music. It was nominated for two British Academy Film Awards for BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects, Special Visual Effects and BAFTA Award for Best Sound, Sound, but lost to ''The Day After Tomorrow'' and ''Ray'', respectively. The American Film Institute (AFI) listed the film as one of the American Film Institute Awards 2004, 2004's ten best films, and nominated it for positions on the lists of the AFI's 10 Top 10#Fantasy, top 10 fantasy films, the AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers, 100 most inspiring American films, and the AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition), 100 greatest American films.
Sequel
In March 2004, three months before ''Spider-Man 2'' release, Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
announced that a sequel was already in development. ''Spider-Man 3'' was released on May 4, 2007.
Video game
To coincide with the film's release, a video game of Spider-Man 2 (2004 video game), the same name was released for the Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox (console), Xbox on June 28, 2004. Releases on the PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
, N-Gage (device), N-Gage, and Nintendo DS systems would follow. An action-adventure game, action-adventure video game, it serves as a sequel to the ''Spider-Man (2002 video game), Spider-Man: The Movie'' (2002). Published by Activision, the console versions were developed by Treyarch, but the other versions had different developers. The console versions and handheld versions of ''Spider-Man 2'' were well received, with the exception of the PC/Mac version. Upon launch, the game had shipped more than 2million units in North America by July 7, 2004.
Legacy
In 2021, Molina was announced to return as Doctor Octopus in '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'' (2021), which is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and directed by Jon Watts. Molina later clarified in April that the character would be the same iteration as depicted in ''Spider-Man 2'' and his story arc would continue directly from the film's ending.
Notes
References
External links
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{{Authority control
2000s English-language films
2000s superhero films
2000s American films
2004 action films
2004 films
2004 science fiction action films
2004 science fiction films
American action films
American sequel films
Columbia Pictures films
Films directed by Sam Raimi
Films produced by Avi Arad
Films scored by Danny Elfman
Films set in New York City
Films set in Columbia University
Films shot in Chicago
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in New York City
Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award
Film and television memes
Internet memes
Internet memes introduced in 2004
Films with screenplays by Alvin Sargent
Films with screenplays by Michael Chabon
Green Goblin
IMAX films
Mad scientist films
Spider-Man (2002 film series)
Spider-Man films
Live-action films based on Marvel Comics