SPIDER-MAN 2

The new Spider-man 2 trailer is on the net, and this looks to be the best film of the summer! I van't wait for this one! Check it out!

- EXTERNAL LINK -

I saw it while watching "The Apprentice". Oh, man, I couldn't believe how they're throwing so many relationship threads into the mix! Good stuff. :)

Oooh, will Harry find out Peter's secret identity?

I think so. Remember that line from Peter about how the situation is greater than personal differences/vendettas?

On the other hand, you know that scene with Harry taking off Spider-man's mask? That person could actually be someone other than Peter because remember that scene with Peter throwing away his costume? Someone on the street may have found the costume in the garbage can, worn it, and been captured by Doc Ock. Yikes!

I didn't understand how Robin fit into the story, but I'm dense.

John

I'm a hoge fan of the Spidey movie and comics, and this looks great! At first I had doubts of Alfred Molina playing Doc Ock since I first heard that Sam Neill would play the part (he would've been great!), but after seeing this preview those doubts vanished. And you can tell what a complex and involved storyline this will have just by viewing the trailer! This movie is one of my most highly anticipated, along with Kill Bill Vol. 2.

I also saw it during the apprentice. Looks good. But did anyone else think it looked a little CG heavy in comparison to the previous? The scene in which he jumps into that subway or whatever and hangs on the pole didn't look like it was made in 2004.

You know, no matter how much the special effects crew try, Spidey will still look fake-ish in our eyes, probably because no known human can do the things only a superhuman can :(

John,

Huh? Robin???

Eddie

Yes, I saw the preview today on the big screen. Spider-man effects still look too loose and rubber-like to me. Looks like it may have a deeper story than its debut film, but then previews have been known to be decieving. I'm sure I'll be reluctantly draged into seeing it this summer, but who knows, I might end up liking it.

I'm generally not a big fan of the whole comic-book heros, however, I will say "Hellboy" was right up my alley! I never expected it to be so good, but "Hellboy" rocked and is easily worth another viewing in the theatre.

;):D

"I'm generally not a big fan of the whole comic-book heros, however, I will say "Hellboy" was right up my alley! I never expected it to be so good, but "Hellboy" rocked and is easily worth another viewing in the theatre. "

Even though Hellboy had lacking characterizations, a weak main-villain, a rushed ending, and major logic gaps?

I'm hoping the directors cut makes this one a little better, it felt like there was a lot of material that was cut out.

Spiderman, however, I adored. The second looks to improve on the first by getting right into the character. I'll admit I don't like the "I'm leaving my powers behind" stories and would prefer a good ass-kicking adventure for once, this looks like it'll be ok.

Justin,

It looks like "Spider-man 2" will have both the "leaving my powers behind" and the "kick ass" threads. :)

Eddie

As is the trend of growing actors, Tobey Maguire at some point will no doubt be talked to (if not already) about a 3rd Spidy film. At that time, Tobey may be asking for far more money than before, leading to the director possibly casting someone new. If not Tobey, then whom? I'm not sure there's anyone else out there that could pull it off. By then maybe the CGFX will be more on par with Gollum, or better.

Does anyone have any idea whom might be able to fill Tobey's shoes... er, webs, should they go with someone else?

- Josh 8)

Nachtkriechen,

If I am correct, during negotiations for Spidey 2 Tobey Maguire signed on for a third at that time. I could be wrong, but that's what I recall.

As to who could take Tobey's place? Well, when Tobey was pulling the whole "I hurt my back" routine in an attempt to leverage a better payday, Sony was talking with Jake (I can never get this name right) Glylennhall to take his place. The guy from October Sky and Moonlight Mile. He's got a pretty good Peter Parker look and a medium build like Tobey. Good actor, and probably a pretty good fit.

Sean (Tobey or not Tobey, that is the question...)

Sony is already thinking about doing up to six movies. The thing is, Tobey Maguire isn't really a box office draw beyond the "Spider-man" movies. Therefore, he'd be an idiot to push his asking price into unreasonable ranges...unless he was doing it intentionally because he's sick of making "Spider-man" movies.

he was amazing. a friend of mine and i were laughing so hard when we saw it in theatres that we both had tears in our eyes. :)

Speaking of Jameson... I think the character was perfectly cast with J.K. Simmons.

Well, they kinda messed up the continuity in the Spidey world anyway. When they first hired her, Kirsten Dunst thought that she was gonna play Peter Parker's first--blonde--girlfriend. Instead, they gave her a red wig and started with the Mary Jane thread right away.

I'm waiting to see Peter get together with J. Jonah Jameson's secretary, though. :)

skspence,

Wow, I would never have thought of Jake Gyllenhaal, but he would be an excellent choice! As a rule (as a kid and somewhat now) I've always hated it when for one reason or another, a new actor is put in place of an established character, which is largely derived of the actors "looks" as well as their acting ability. And the audience is supposed to act as if all is normal. Obviously as you get older, you get over that (for the most part) but at times it's still distracting. Batman would be a prime example. I loved Michael Keaton in the first two, then when they brought in Val Kilmer, even though I didn't like the change, Val is a cool actor, so it wasn't too bad. THEN they bring in George Clooney (whom is also cool, but in my mind was a transparant attempt at a box office draw, versus finding the best person for the roll). However in the case of Tobey or Jake, I think (as you said) he has a very similar "Peter Parker" look to him, and would probably fill the shoes well.

Eddie,

6 Spidey films!!! Wow! I hope this doesn't go the same route as the Batman films have. With Spiderman Stan Lee has provieded them with plenty of material, and characters to work with. Now (as is always the case) it's just a question of how the stories are told. Let's hope excellent directors are signed on to keep Spiderman slinging webs on the silver screen for years to come!

- Josh :D

Watch it Mexico then!

No matter how good a movie may be, you NEVER depend on critics... I live by that. I've gone to so many movies that I liked that critics dumped, and vice versa. Just go see the movie for yourself. If I depended on what critics say, I'd only go to foreign films, romantic comedies and inspirational stories about someone overcoming large obstacles to be a TV weatherman or something...
I myself am so psyched for Spider-man 2 I can't stand it. I'm going to be in Mexico when it comes out so I'll have to wait awhile to see it...

Ebert & Roper are a couple of morons! Those guys think "Jack Ass" is a classic!
And that's just what they are, a couple of jack asses! John Puccio and eddie make those guys look like toilet paper!

My guess is the new Spider-man movie will be no better than the last . . . good, but not great.

Re: Spider-man 2
I don't agree with Ebert and Roper all the time, but...........
Ebert...
Ranks up with the original Superman.
Way better than any of the Batmans.
***"May be the best superhero movie I've ever seen"***8)
"I was just blown away."
Ebert liked the villian better tha Roper.
Roper..."a terriffic film"

ONLY A COUPLE MORE DAYS! Yay!

The reviews are in and so far sits at 100%. I was surprised to see Ebert go as far as saying it is on par with the original Batman and Superman movies if not better. If it wasn't for the other reviews I would of thought he was over praising but everyone seems to be floored. Summer of 2004's savior?

I haven't read the reviews (and don't plan to until I watch the movie) but yeah, indications are that it's probably good :)

Anyhow, as long as this movie maintains the same heart as the first one, I think I'll like it a lot! I have such fond memories of Spiderman in the summer of '02. I went to the theatres not hyped up at all, and came out of the theatres smiling ear to ear :D

Most of the time I'd feel detached from a movie, like a mere observer, but not during Spiderman. I was so into the movie I was nearly oblivious to everything around but the screeen. That is not to say I haven't seen good movies during those years, but it was the first action adventure summer blockbuster in years that was actually worth the ticket price. For example, seeing Peter brush off his dear uncle Ben was hearbreaking. And I was all the way with Peter too when he was in pursuit of the criminal who killed Uncle Ben, struggling with his anguish and learning to web-swing at the same time. It was the first time in years that I was totally engrossed by a film. In retrospect, I think I may have been downed by far too many The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones stinkers over the years...and that made viewing Spiderman on the silver screen all the more positive.

Just got back from the movie and I liked it A LOT too!!!

Just like the first movie, there's plenty of heart, but with more humor, better CGI.

I noticed that some conversations in the movie rethreads the same topics in the first movie, but that's just a minor quibble.

SPIDERMAN 2 kicks ass. Majorly.

Another thing... I loved how the battles played out this time around. They really felt stiff last time around. Spidey was pulling all his tricks and looked nimble as ever.

I have to say... I knew I'd like the movie unless they just made horrible mistakes, but I never thought I'd be agreeing with Roger Ebert's opinion that it's the best Super hero movie to date. Wow, is the only word I could use to describe it! It was SO much better than the first one (which I liked a lot) and volumes better than any of the other super hero movies previously released!

This movie is without a doubt (in my mind) going to be the best movie of 2004! (yes, even better than AVP even though it's not out yet)

See Spiderman 2 at your earliest convenience even if you're not a super hero fan!

- Josh

Exceeded all my expectations. Raimi has crafted a movie that exemplifies a definitive meaning as to what a summer blockbuster should be.

Everything is in bigger doses, the humor, the action, the romance, and the continuation of a tale of a hero we can relate to as he further searches who he is.

Alfred Molina was brilliant casting. His portrayal of Doc Ock is better than I ever could have imagined. Great casting call.

This movie has too many memorable scenes to recall with only one viewing. I plan on going again this weekend.

The Mary Tyler Moore reference was hilarious. Stan of course had his cameo but it's a lot quicker and if you blink or look down for a moment you'll miss it.

SM3 seems inevitable as the story opens the doors to various villains. Dr. Connors (The Lizzard) is present and has a few scenes. And of course Harry's quest for vengence is shown even more here, the return of Gobby seems like a winner. And last but least we have John Jameson introduced, who of course is the source for the Symbiote via space travel. Though I think that story has too much history to ever make it on screen.

Bruce Campbell's cameo was once again fun to watch. I guess he wasn't lying when he said "in the first I name him, in the second... I defeat him".

I loved the homage given to the chainsaw by Raimi as well.

Depression,

I read the Spiderman Comics as a kid, but only every so often. I was more into the animated series on TV. What is the Chainsaw, and Bruce Campbell thing about?

- Josh

Depression,

Watch the Evil Dead movies. ;)

Wrong guy Justin :) I'm the one pointing out the reference.

Bruce Campbell was the star in the Evil Dead Trilogy which was directed by Raimi. He was given a cameo in each movie. The first in which he was the ring announcer at the wrestling match and in the 2nd he was the doorman at the play.

The chainsaw and the multiple screams throughout the movie was Raimi having fun giving reference to his Evil Dead series. I would go as far as saying that entire operating scene was paying homage to Evil Dead.

Depression and Justin,

DOH!! Now I feel stupid. I knew "Bruce Campbell" sounded familiar. I LOVE "Evil Dead" and "Army Of Darkness"!! It just didn't ring a bell for some reaason. Most classic line ever... "...and this is my BOOM STICK!!" Chain saw, Bruce Campbell... got it.

"Hail to the king baby!"

- Josh

Hello everyone! Just returned from SoCal and Mexico...
Anyway, I had to catch Spider-man 2 the moment I got back and I was somewhat disappointed... NOT! This movie was everything I hoped it would be and more! All the characters were given new layers and depth... the effects were improved upon and quite amazing... the story was believable and suspenseful... Doc Ock was handled perfectly (when he attacks doctors in hospital it was like a horror movie!)... the relationships and interactions between characters were intriguing... the cameos/flashbacks by Bruce Campbell, CLiff Robertson and Willem Dafoe were great... AHHH! This movie was SO GOOD! It topped the original, a nearly impossible feat, and it may have overcome Batman and Batman Returns as fave comic movies (at least a tie). I reccomend this film to everyone because it has something for everyone. It's a summer action blockbuster with real plot and drama. I will definetly see it multiple times in theater and buy the DVD, and with all the plot possibilities and talent in the crew I can't wait for a third! FABULOUS FLICK, probably will be the best of the summer!

RIP Marlon Brando

[Post edited by TGP on Jul 7, 2004]

Well, my wife took me to see this yesterday for my birthday, and all I can say is...

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!?

Just kidding!

This movie was great. Extremely enjoyable with amazing visual effects and a story that actually plumbs some depth. The fight scenes are visceral and top-notch, the performances were spot-on, and the script was pretty darn intelligent, especially for a "comic book" movie.

Also, this one was shot in 2.35:1 scope whereas the original was shot in 1.85:1 flat, so a bit more eye candy for the viewer. Definitely check this one out on the big screen!

Sean (...price for the eye candy: $6; price for the concession candy: my loan officer's getting back with me on that...)

This movie has its share of "subtexts", especially with the dialogue (as TWill mentioned) as well as Spidey "shooting blanks". :D

Agreed Eddie, but I just cant let it go, I just seem him in the first one as disenchanted high-schooler and two years later he's a business kingpin. Anyway, I guess it's futile to argue realism when the movie is about a teenage boy who's bit by a spider and gains superhuman powers. All things aside, I actually loved the movie. Favorite part = "But she told me to come." "She didn't tell you to come late."

Tony

TWill, if you think about it, the whole damn movie is "not realistic", lol. Let's not nitpick on sipping brandy in your 20s. Besides, running a company at a young age isn't entirely unreasonable. Rupert Murdoch is already letting Lachlan Murdoch run many of News Corp.'s subsidiaries.

By the way, the CG was very good, but the final sequence was atrocious. Those helicopters looked like toys or things in a video game!

I'm also a fan of Franco. If you haven't, I suggest checking out the movie James Dean. It was originally a TBS or TNT movie but I believe it's out on dvd. I believe he pulled a few awards for that performance.

Even though I think James Franco is a good actor there was some things about his character I didn't find believable. These are small things, but they still stood out. First of all, this guy is two years out of high school and he it seems like hes running a billion dollar company without any interference and nobody seems to care or mention he has no experience. Also the whole sipping brandy in front of a fireplace and exclaiming "Im finished" was not the kind of thing you see someone in their early twenties do no matter what their position in life is.

Actually, I really disliked Franco, and thought he felt completely out of place. His dialogue delivery of "Your pal, Spiderman" felt really forced, his whole moping about "I'm ruined" just didn't work for me.

Good point Eddie.

I actually noticed Franco's performance stand out myself, but the thought got lost in the enormity of the quality CG, action, dialogue, and various other aspects. I've still only seen it once. I'll have to go again, and see what I missed.


- Josh

It's surprising how James Franco is being lost in the shuffle in all the discussions about the movie, but I think that he was probably the best actor in the movie despite his limited screen time (as compared to Maguire, Dunst, and Molina).

The humor in the sequel, as with the original, was genuinely funny, appropriate and in respect for the comics. I can't get "Raindrops" out of my head, that scene was hilarious! Same with the elevator, and even some of Doc Ock's lines ("Butterfingers!"). I can't get over how great these flicks are! I wonder what they will do with Spider-man 3? SPOILERS-----> Since Harry finds the Goblin suit, he will probably follow his father's footsteps. But that will seem like a retread of the original unless they add another villain. Curt Conners as The Lizard would be great, and the introduction of John Jameson makes the entrance of Venom possible. But Venom would be hard to adapt with so much history involved and he may be too violent for a PG-13 film. What other ideas may they use? I'd like to see a better Stan Lee cameo...
Honestly, I'm worried about Spider-man 3, since it will have to be a phenomenal film to beat the second one. With the pattern these films are following, that's possible... Sam Raimi and the casting choices were all inspired (see Darkman for Raimi's "audition film" for Spider-man, it's excllent). Like I said, I love and follow the comics and all the casting has been great. I hope they might continue Flash Thompson's storyline in part III, since he was missing in the 2nd. He's not essential, though. I can't imagine a better Peter Parker than Maguire, or anyone else as MJ than Dunst, or a more intense Harry than Franco, a more caring Aunt May than Harris, and the villains (Dafoe and Molina) couldn't have been better. As long as they keep the cast and crew, this could be a franchise that rivals the best, and I can't wait to see what the future holds...

The whole "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" part was a cute touch too :)

I saw Spider-man 2 again yesterday, and I think that it may be the best superhero/comic book film of all time. It's so deep, with complex characters and conflicting situations. Conflict is the heart of drama, and there is PLENTY of conflict in this film! Highly developed characters and amazing action only complete the package. The romance story really touched me and felt so real, and the dialogue was great ( a rarity)! Certain scenes in this film were just unforgettable, such as *SPOILERS* the train fight/unmasked/carried through train, Parker and Ben in car, Spider-man crawling on web to see MJ, Doc Ock in hospital... there are too many! Bruce Campbell's cameo was very welcome and hilarious! I also noticed that the man in the train who says "what the hell?" is the hick father of Bobby Jo in Raimi's Evil Dead II, and he's also in Darkman. The max # of times I've seen a movie in theater was 3 with Matrix Reloaded, but I plan on seeing Spider-man 2 at least that many times. Perhaps the best film of the year? Oscar worthy to me, but I doubt it will get nominated for anything.
Really, you just must see this film. Even all the critics liked it, and you know how picky they are. A\I'm a fan of the comics, and I can say that the films are faithful and that they add new dimensions. After a second viewing, I can say that the Spider-man films are the best comic superhero films, with Batman 1 and 2 close seconds and X1 and 2 third.

Not to mention a certain in-joke about Maguire's bad back

i, too, noticed that dylan baker was playing a one-armed man. the empty shirt sleeve was usually tucked into a pocket or something.

They can't do a Spider-man without Maguire, Dunst and Raimi! Gylennall (I can't spell it) is a good actor but Maguire is amazing in these films and people would notice. Also, Raimi's visual/campy humor style is what makes these films unique! I don't know if 6 films is such a great idea. I'd hate to see such a good series (so far) get destroyed by bad decisions like this.

If they follow the comics, Harry is more ruthless than Norman. He takes it so personally, and he attacks everything that Peter holds dear. He'd kill Aunt May, MJ and destroy Ben Parker's grave without batting an eye. I hope this works well in part III, Franco seems like he could do it.

I never noticed Curt Conners had a missing arm in the film and i even looked for it. I guess I wasn't looking hard enough, but I don't know many other people that noticed it, either. I think the Lizard and/or Venom and/or the new Green Goblin would be great for the thrid. Green Goblin is kind of a given, and the Lizard seems most likely, so I can't wait for it.

The writing was excellent. Even movies I really like have moments of bad dialogue (Star Wars prequels, etc.) The romance story was actually believable to me, good chemistry with the cast. The vision of Uncle Ben was heartwrenching, and there were great little subtle moments ("this is really heavy"). I think Dunst had a fabulous performance (I can't get her performance in Interview With the Vampire out of my mind, that was fabulous) as was the whole cast. J.K. Simmons doubled me over with laughter on several occasions.

Raimi has stated that Goblin in 3 will not be a retread. He's going to be more ruthless. And if the first two movies have anything to say, I trust Raimi to pull off yet another fantastic movie.

Yeah, Jameson is never Venom. In the cartoon one of his space flights is used as a ride for the symbiote to travel to Earth. Eddie Brock is the guy who became Venom and is the rival journalist. You can read up on how it came to be in the comics here...

- EXTERNAL LINK -

Also Harry was never the HobGoblin either :), you can also read up on the various Hobgoblin and Green Goblin incarnations in the link above as well. They just never die off!!!!

And much like you guys I thought the writing was excellent. I then looked up the writers and they had a Pulitzer prize winner and an Oscar winner as part of the writing team.

Actually, if you watch Spidey 2, you'll notice that Connors is already missing his right arm. No setup required on that one.

Also, with the whole Harry Osborne thing (now I didn't read the comics so I could be wrong), didn't Harry become the Hobgoblin? As I recall, the Hobgoblin had a completely different costume than the Green Goblin in the comic books, but used the same gadgets.

I think Venom could be done in a PG-13 environment. I mean, c'mon, that operating room scene was pretty creepy, so I think Raimi could reign it in enough.

As for more than one villain in the next film, I think that's something Raimi has a hard time getting his head around. In an interview, he stated that at one point he had more than one villain set up for Spidey 2 and as many as three in one draft, but the story suffered. I think this is the most important aspect of these films: the undeniable focus on story.

Sean (...of course, it's much more difficult to focus with beer goggles on...)

Yes, Sony wants up to "Spider-man 6". See the June 2004 issue of "Premiere" (the one with Kirsten Dunst on the cover). However, as someone else noted, Raimi, Maguire, and Dunst are signed through "Spider-man 3" only.

By the way, isn't John Jameson supposed to be the Wolf-man and NOT Venom (who's supposed to be a rival journalist???).

Curt Conners losing a limb wouldn't be hard to do. I could seriously see this character coming into play. We'll have to see... it almost makes me wonder if Raimi, or Stan Lee put all of these plot possibilities in there to throw us all off for the next one.

As for the CG being up to par for Venom, I only have one thing to say... Industrial Light & Magic. Many movies have contracted out to ILM for CG. However, as we're all probably aware, CG doesn't come cheap... especially when you're talking about ILM!! However, there are many studio's out there that are capable of the job. I think ILM would make it COMPLETELY believeable, but it could look goofy if they used their current CG crew. For the most part I saw only a few flaws in Spider-man 2's CG. Eddie pointed out the helicopters at the end looking like they came out of a video game... however, I didn't notice it. Since Venom is still only a "possibility" for a future plot, and seeing as how Spidy 2 just debuted less than 2 weeks ago... I think we've got some time before ANYONE is going to worry about it.

Being that the Goblin costume got "run through" in the first Spidy, Harry may have to make his own. I could see them "re-vamping" the costume for Harry's appearance as Gobby. I've heard a lot of people complain about how much of a joke the Goblin mask looked. I didn't really have a problem with it. To make it believeable, all it could be is a mask, as well as it looked pretty cool to me. It looked like the artists went strait off of the look from the comic books!

I think you're right about the villain thing. I think if they introduce 2 villains into the next film, Web-head would need some help. If they do that, they'll have to be EXTREMELY careful not to wander into "hokey" territory. We could wind up seeing the next title being "Spider-man and Friends". While that title is nostalgic, today it would be ridiculous!

I don't know what the deal is with the land lord's daughter. I got the feeling that her whole "cake offering" scene as well as her blatantly obvious interest in Peter, HAD to be significant! But I couldn't see how it was. It seemed to peter out (no pun intended) towards the end of the movie.

As far as Spider-man losing his powers, there are those of us here that think it has a referance to an inability to perform sexually (e.g. "shooting blanks")... I don't buy it... but who knows. I think if you look for something hard enough, you'll find what you're looking for, even if it's not there.

As for 6 Spidy films... well, you'd have to ask Eddie on that one. He's the one that made the comment. See his post on 04-15-2004 in this thread. As much of an advocate of keeping the same actor in an established roll as I am, I understand why they eventually move on. Spider-man doesn't need Toby to continue past a 3rd movie. As much as I'd like to see him stay. Sean had made mention that Sony was in talks with Jake Gyllenhaal (of October Sky, and The Day After Tomorrow) to be the next Spidy. Oddly enough Gyllenhaal is Kirsten Dunst's real life boyfriend. Coincidence? Probably not. I agree that if they go beyond a 3rd it "could" get "silly". However, as I mentioned... if they were to save a "Venom" introduction for the 4th... that would spark my interest no matter if the 3rd was lame or not!

- Josh :D

You're right on the girlfriends. They completely skipped Gwen Stacy (great comic, could've been a good movie) and the brunette at the Daily Bugle, who I guessed was Betty Brant, was hinted as being a romance but that's impossible now that Peter is with MJ. Actually, in the comics, Peter proposed to MJ 3 times before she said yes. She also knew his identity a long time ago, since she saw Spider-man climb out of Parker's window. Changes from the comics are perfectly acceptable in a film to make it more real, serve the story or enhance/increase drama. As far as Curt Conners as the Lizard, they would have to have him lose a limb in an accident so he could star his regeneration project. Also, the actor has to be willing to play a sinister villain. To do Venom, the FX department would really have to be up for the project and the origin story would have to be altered to fit a realistic approach. I noticed that, when Harry discovered the Goblin oom, that he found the mask, bombs, glider, but no costume. Would the goblin costume be revamped for him in the third entry? Some villains would be too ridiculous for a film without severe changes to the character (The Vulture, Kraven the hunter, etc.) I don't think that they could introduce any allies without it being goofy (The Black Cat, etc.) Was the landlords skinny daughter with the mole in Spider-man 2 supposed to be a significant character? I couldn't tell. The cake scene was one little glimmer of hope in Peter's life, since everything else in his life sucked at the moment. Many people didn't understand why Spider-man kept losing/regaining his powers. I thought it was psychological, that Parker didn't want to be Spider-man or have his powers anymore, so his body responded by shutting them down. His powers kicked in fully after Doc Ock captured MJ, giving Peter a real reason to fight.

Sony has plans to do 6 Spider-man films!?!?!
I read in a recent Tobey Maguire interview that he was only signed for three, and that that may be his limit since he may tire of the same character. Are these confirmed or just rumors? Can a franchise possibly last that long with the same crew and not deteriorate into something silly (ahem, Batman and Robin, cough)?

TGP,

I think you're right to worry about Spidy 3, (and beyond). As Eddie has mentioned before, Sony has plans for up to a Spider-man 6? I think that's what Eddie said. Historically when there are plans for so many sequels, they have done badly. Motion picture wise, if you look at the beginning of comic book movies starting with Superman, the first was excellent, the second was OK, the third was pretty well a disgrace, and the fourth (while better than the third) seemed to be trying to make up for the third. Then there was Batman. Again... the first, excellent, second, pretty good, and everything past that was crap (in my opinion). Then you have somewhat of an anomoly with X-men. The first was good, and the second "X2" was far better! I think the same thing has happened with Spider-man. The first was done very well, but Spider-man 2 did something I don't think ANY OF US had expected! It came out, and raised the bar for comic book movies! Now we have a new standard to compare all other comic book movies to. That being said... the Spider-man sequels from this point forward will have to be as good if not better than Spider-man 2. I could be wrong, but I have a hard time believing the writers and directors to follow will be able to meet (much less exceed) such a lofty goal. After seeing Spider-man 2, I commented that it was as good if not better than the first Superman! That says a lot to myself in that I was a very young and impressionable 4 years old, as well as Superman is still my favorite comic book movie.

As far as plot's go for future Spidy movies. I think if they can skip over Spidy's previous girlfriends, and go strait to MJ, they won't have any problem introducing Venom. (SPOILERS) With the ending of Spider-man 2 showing Harry discovering his dad's "arsenal" of Gobby bomb's, and the rest of Goblin's toys, I think it would be naieve to think that they won't bring Harry back as the new Goblin. However, I don't think they'll wait until a Spider-man 4 to do this... so logically, to keep things both fresh and interesting, as well as follow through with the idea of Harry becoming the Goblin, I think we might just see "The Lizzard" come to life, and team up with ol' Gobby. If this theoretical storyline comes to light, it would be an EXCELLENT way to leave off Spider-man 3 with a teaser of the emergence of Venom for a Spider-man 4!!

It's fun to speculate.

- Josh ;)

8)8)7/15...I finally saw it!:)

>>>Does anyone have any idea whom might be able to fill Tobey's shoes... er, webs, should they go with someone else?<<<
Orlando Bloom (Legolas). Looks like he could move quicker, like Spiderman.
or.........Me! :).Just so long as there are no stunts requiring heights above ten feet!

>>>This movie has too many memorable scenes to recall with only one viewing. I plan on going again this weekend.<<<
I agree!

>>>The Mary Tyler Moore reference was hilarious.<<<...Depression
I missed it. Explain please?

>>>They can't do a Spider-man without Maguire, Dunst and Raimi! <<<
They switched James Bonds a few times, but it would be much too soon now.

........Oscars talk........
If this is the best superhero movie of all time, and there are no other movies of all time this year, Spiderman shoud win best pic! -as well as in other categories.

Since TWO other people know Spidy's true identity, I think S3 will start exactly where S2 left off.

That was exactly how I felt Justin. It wasn't as if he was packing a wallet with full identification. They wouldn't have any way of identifying who he was.

The Mary Tyler Moore reference was the Freeze Frame.

And what does everyone think of Aunt May? Does she know Peter's secret? I believe in the comics she did know but it wasn't until quite a ways down the road that she actually reveleaed to him that she did indeed know. If that conversation with her packing up wasn't insinuating that idea I don't know what else would.

Justin,

Good point! Man, I really do need to start reading comics again!

- Josh

Nacht,

Actually, this is something that's been hit on in the recent Ultimate comics...

Sure they saw his face, but this is New York. He's just another average-looking white kid. In the Ultimate series, the Kingpin takes off his mask and gets confused, because he was thinking who "Spider-Man" was would be obvious, like he would be famous or he'd know him. In S2, they touch on this as well, saying "he's just a kid" and things to that end. They could see him walking down the street a day later and not make the connection, me thinks.

*** SPOILERS ***
mra,

Where do you get "two" people that know whom he is? Did we forget the TRAINLOAD of people that now know whom Spider-Man is? ;)

- Josh

ROTFL!!

Maybe Peter could bite Shelob?

An extremely creapy idea is, what if you were to mix Shelob dna with Felbeast dna? Or for that matter Shelob with an Elyfunt?? EEEW! An eight legged over grown web slingin packy-derm! :D

lol

- Josh

WOW! Maybe we would get a.....
......Peter parker?;)
Or maybe an Octavious?
Or...I can't immagine!

mra,

I'll go one up on your Spidy Vs. Shelob question.

Let's get the scientists that experimented with the spider that bit Peter, to experiment on Shelob!

:D

Missed the Freeze Frame.:(
The newspaper office reminded me of "Superman". You know, a secret superhero at anewspaper with a mean boss.
I believe the -Does Aunt May know- issue was left ambiguous intentionally.
It's good that they had a "should I reveal my identity" theme in this movie. They had to have one, and it's good they got it outof the way by the second movie. Watching "Lois and Clark" ten years ago, I got sick of that issue coming up every single week.
So who do you think would win in a fight between Spiderman and Shelob?;)

I'm a little late on this, but I'd like to chime in on how good this movie is. Not only is it exciting, it's more human and humane than most any other superhero movie around. What's more, it's better by far than the first "Spider-Man." In fact, it's the first superhero movie since Tim Burton's original "Batman" that I'd be more than willing to award a 10/10 rating. Hard to see how the series is going to get any better.

John

John, agreed. If Spiderman 3 somehow defies all odds and be the same quality as Spidey 2, I think we may have a contender for one of the best movie trilogies ever.

I really hope Raimi and co. is able to top it off with a beautiful 3rd movie.

Wow, John! I feel as you do. I saw this last weekend and was simply astonished on how well it came across. I had heard people say it seemed better than the first, but I just didn't think much of it until I would see it myself.

Needless to say, I was more than surprised. I thought it was remarkably close to how I felt with Burton's first Batman movie. Spider-man 2 came across more as a serious drama to me than some super hero action flick. There was actually some very interesting character development; far more so than the first installment. A lot more in-depth dialog that helped to alleviate that silly, campy tension I usually feel with this genre of films.

Let me also mention that I enjoyed the villain in this installment, much more than the first Spider-man. The Goblin was too corney for me, but this new bad-guy was far more interesting. We got to see the good side of him and he developed a kind of history that Burton was always able to show us in his Batman films. Not to mention, I think he will be a far more memorable villain character in any Spider-man film.

My rating would be 9/10. Definately better than the first and just an all-around good movie.

Tim,

I agree with you. What an amazing movie. I really loved the villain in this one far better as well. However I give William Dafoe's performance in the first film a little more credit. I think maybe his lines were cheesey here and there, but Dafoe's performance was well done. He's an excellent actor. Spider Man 2 had everything you could want in a movie. It seemed to be right on the money. Not too much of one thing, not too little of another. This will be one of the classic's that you can watch over and over for years to come.

- Josh

Do movies that are 2.35 in theatre ever come out as 1.85 on dvd? I noticed the SM2 trailer featured on movies such as Secret Window and Hellboy are 1.85.

Was this the case with Blade2 hence the wrong ratio put on the dvd cover?

Depression:

1) Some DVD covers simply have mis-prints.

2) On the other hand, movies shot with the Super35 process are meant to be projected in theatres at 2.35:1, but because of the extra acreage of image available, you can re-compose a frame to something less extreme than 2.35:1. For example, "Star Trek VI" was shown in theatres at 2.35:1, but it's current DVD ratio is between 2.00:1 and 2.20:1.

Eddie