Spider-Man 2 (7/10 Rating)

Released June 30, 2004

Streaming on Disney+ For rent/purchase on all major platforms.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

PG-13: Stylized action violence

2h 7m

            Spider-Man 2 is probably not a Movie You Missed, but given the rise of superhero movies over the last 20 years and the return of Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man: No Way Home, I wanted to revisit this one. When these films were released, there was nothing like them. We had the X-Men movies and a handful of other comic book movies, but nothing as visually stunning as watching this iconic character swing through New York. Having rewatched Spider-Man before this sequel, one thing that stands out the most is how similar the plots are. Scientist lets his experiment go too far, accidentally alters his mind and body to become the villain, captures Mary Jane, has a big fight with Spider-man where his own creation causes his demise, the end. That said, Doc Ock is really cool to see come to life and the train sequence is one of the best action sequences ever made, in my opinion. We also get some nice tributes to Director Sam Raimi’s own The Evil Dead series. Danny Elfman’s score is much of the same from the first film, but as with most of this movie, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. We get a little more story development between Mary Jane, Peter Parker, Harry Osbourne, and Aunt May. Most of the non-action plot revolves around Peter dealing with balancing his two personalities and how it affects those closest to him. They do set up for the third film, particularly with Harry Osbourne becoming a villain, but then there are a few things that never paid off in future films like astronaut John Jameson’s shuttle bringing Venom to Earth or the introduction of Dr. Conners who becomes The Lizard. Unfortunately, each sequel made less at the box office than the original and this series ended and has been rebooted twice. However, the nostalgia of this film series made it back to the big screen when all three versions of Spider-Man came together thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was quite a moment for those of us that have grown up with these films. Looking back on Spider-Man 2 reminds me how much these movies were made for kids of all ages. There is a bit of cheesiness and innocence, even in the darker moments and it is a much easier movie to show to young children than Tim Burton’s Batman, Bryan Singer’s X-Men, or even some of the more recent comic book movies. Maybe this is not a Movie You Missed, but show your kids these movies along with the Andrew Garfield series and it is sure to pay off when they watch the latest Tom Holland movies.

Also released in June 2004: Napoleon Dynamite, White Chicks, The Notebook, The Terminal, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Garfield: The Movie, The Chronicles of Riddick (follow @jlucia85 for these reviews and more)