Okay. SPIDER-MAN was a smash in the Summer of 2002, so naturally Columbia Pictures and Marvel wanted a sequel. How could they possibly top themselves?

Doc Ock.

Awright! Yes, I was excited. When I saw the promo art for Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius I was very, very impressed. If they did this right. . .

SPIDER-MAN 2 is the very best Superhero film ever made, in my humble opinion. It is a beautiful balance of character, action, emotion, excitement and art. It is not merely a Summer Blockbuster: it is a well-rounded film that has become a classic.

The team from the first film returned for 2, and their camaraderie is evident in every frame of the movie. Actors Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris and J. K. Simmons inhabit their characters more completely this time around, and the screenplay by Oscar winner Alvin Sargent (JULIA, ORDINARY PEOPLE, PAPER MOON) from a multi-writer story is nothing short of brilliant. What makes this movie really, really work even better than the first are the small moments, the time in between the big set-pieces. The exchanges between Peter and his Aunt May, between Peter and Mary Jane, between Peter and Octavius, between Peter and Harry, these are the gold in SPIDEY 2. They display a depth seldom seen in an action film, let alone a Summer Tentpole, and you will find yourself quoting the beautifully written lines again and again.

The gorgeous, colorful cinematography this time around is by Bill Pope, and on the DVD (on a big-screen TV, of course) the transfer to digital is clear, sharp, properly saturated and bright. The sound is full and rich, dialogue mixed high enough within the commotion so that you can easily understand even without headphones.

Now, to the action: Alfred Molina (MAVERICK, CHOCOLAT, and, yes, that was Alfred as Snidely Whiplash in the Brendan Fraser DUDLEY DO-RIGHT) is a dynamite Doc Ock. They even gave him several shots with the mussed-up Moe Howard hair and glasses for the classic look. And his Otto Octavius has a well-thought-out character arc, from dedicated scientist to villain to a remorseful, heartbroken man who makes one last sacrifice to save his soul. A truly great adversary for Spidey. And if you haven't seen the movie yet, wait 'til you see their fight on top of, through, and around a speeding elevated train. Spectacular.

And then, once the fight is ended, another of those wonderful, superbly written moments, this time between Spidey and the passengers on the train.

Yes, there is action galore, with a bank robbery, the truly frightening awakening of Ock's independent-thought arms in an operating room (shades of EVIL DEAD!), a fight to save Aunt May up and down the side of Noo Yawk buildings, and more. The effects team, having had two years to work on the art of the technology, really outdo themselves on SPIDEY 2. Just the work needed to make the Ock arms believable is amazing. Once again, the John Dykstra team does incredible stuff.

Now, of course, when (not if, WHEN) you decide to add SPIDER-MAN 2 to your DVD library, make sure you go for the Two-Disc Widescreen Special Edition. Not as many goodies as on the Special Edition of the first movie, but this time around we still have quite a few: commentary track number one is from Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, producers Avi Arad and Grant Curtis and commentary track number two is from the technical team on the creation of all the nifty effects; "Spidey Sense 2", a trivia track akin to the one on the first movie that pops up as you watch; Webisodes, a music video, a blooper reel, trailers for both Spideys and a bunch of other Columbia movies, a feature-length documentary on the making of SPIDEY 2, several short documentaries, an art gallery of the Alex Ross paintings used in the opening of the movie, and more.

Addendum:

Since this review will also appear under the SPIDER-MAN 2.1 listing, I will note that on that particular release (of course, I own it!) there are eight more minutes of footage, including much more of the Ock/Spidey side-of-the-building fight, a longer scene at the birthday party, a longer and different scene in the elevator with Hal Sparks (I love the concept of a Spidey Scent called "Thwip"!), J. K. Simmons cavorting in his newly-acquired Spidey Suit, and more. Also included is a new commentary track with producer Laura Ziskin and screenwriter Alvin Sargent which is fairly dull. I stopped listening after about a half hour of drone. Hey, Sargent is a brilliant screenwriter, but keep him away from microphones! Stick to what you do exceedingly well. There is a pop-up trivia track, too, referred to as "Spidey Sense 2.1", which is pretty much the same as on the SPIDER-MAN 2 disc, but this time, they've added a bit of behind the scenes footage. There is also a little new documentary stuff, but the main reason for picking this up is the extra footage. And, besides, you can get it at a great price right here on Amazon.

This movie is a masterpiece. It has a broad reach, genuine complexity in the emotional lives of the characters and a compelling storyline. I used to read Marvel comics all the time when I was a kid and this film captures those more fully than anything else in this genre. Peter Parker's anguish, star-crossed lovers, megalomaniacs running amok..it is like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar rolled into an action movie. Speaking of action, some of the sequences in this film are jaw dropping. The elevated subway ride is the best use of a subway in a movie since The Matrix and is just breathtaking. At the same time the movie is very well paced, razzle dazzle action sequences are mixed up with quiet moments of tenderness. The original Spiderman movie was fine but not in this league. ( Hey, wish the matrix sequels had followed same trajectory!). I also really enjoyed the humor scattered through the movie. For everyone who loves this comic genre, I'd say this is the movie where they got it right. For people who don't, you will enjoy it anyway.

Maguire and Molina are excellent in this 2004 masterpiece, that, yes, has more J.K. Simmons. See it.

The dread franchise film has killed off many a potentially interesting character (Superman, Batman, Ripley, Rocky) & given leases of life to characters that are paper-thin (Indy Jones, Jason Voorhees, Catwoman). The latest franchise film is Spider-Man 2, directed by Sam Raimi. The 1st Spider-Man was probably the best comic book film ever made- mostly because its leads- Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, & Kirsten Dunst as his love- Mary Jane Watson a) can both act (unlike, say Christopher Reeve as Superman), b) are well cast (unlike Michael Keaton in the 1st 2 Batman films). & c) have chemistry (unlike Reeve & Margot Kidder in the Superman films). Maguire, especially, is so good an actor that he is 1 of those rarities that can run a panoply of emotions through just his eyes. He is almost irresistible to watch onscreen.... All in all, a very good film, & along with the 1st film, simply the best superhero films ever made. I hope the writers from this film stick with the whole series because, next to Batman, Spidey probably has the best pantheon of villains in comic book lore. Future baddies could include Dr. Doom, Venom, Carnage, the Sandman, Rhino, the Lizard, & Electro, among others. But, what makes good writing in such a film valuable are the little moments- like Peter's confession to Aunt May about how & why Uncle Ben really died, a surreal moment on an elevator between Spidey & a shocked citizen, references to other characters in the Marvel Comics universe, allusions & parallels to Oscar Wilde's The Important Of Being Earnest, & a street musician singing the old Spider-Man tv cartoon series theme song from the 1960s. Such touches are what invigorate this franchise above the others & what killed off the increasingly dark & directionless Batman franchise. Sam Raimi proves he is a director who knows how to milk a proven commodity without imposing his own distorted `vision' on it- unlike Batman director Tim Burton.

If you liked Spider-man 2, you should love Spider-man 2.1. The extra scenes are all great scenes that add nuance to the already-excellent film. They're mostly extra character bits, things that weren't needed, but certainly help paint the picture. The extra bits are so well-blended into the old footage that I didn't even recognize one new shot as such until, when watching the original version again, I noticed that it wasn't there.
Most memorable to me were J. Jonah Jameson wearing his newly-found Spider-man suit and pretending that he's the superhero, a much more rational and less venal confrontation between Peter and Harry at his birthday party (I'd always thought that scene in the original version was a bit choppy and emotionally sporadic) and a wonderful conversation between Mary Jane and her Maid-of-Honor about why she's marrying John Jameson.
The DVD set was lacking in features. There is a new commentary track featuring Producer Laura Ziskin and Writer Steve Ditko, but it's not very interesting. In addition, the other two commentary tracks were removed. For commentary buffs like myself, this should not be.
Most of the rest of the special features are all new, including a featurette about the new material. Unfortunately, these few extras have replaced the old bonus disc. You could do what I did, find a cheap copy of the original Spider-man 2, keep that bonus disc and give the movie itself to a friend so you have a 3-disc set, but that seems a lot to do just to have the complete set of bonus features.
In all, I would highly recommend this version. If you're a Spider-man fan or just a DVD geek, get this movie, just be prepared to have less bonus features than before.