[.ca] Spider-Man 2 Gift Set (Widescreen Special Edition ...

From Amazon.com:
More than a few critics hailed Spider-Man 2 as "the best superhero movie ever," and there's no compelling reason to argue--thanks to a bigger budget, better special effects, and a dynamic, character-driven plot, it's a notch above Spider-Man in terms of emotional depth and rich comic-book sensibility. Ordinary People Oscar®-winner Alvin Sargent received screenplay credit, and celebrated author and comic-book expert Michael Chabon worked on the story, but it's director Sam Raimi's affinity for the material that brings Spidey 2 to vivid life. When a fusion experiment goes terribly wrong, a brilliant physicist (Alfred Molina) is turned into Spidey's newest nemesis, the deranged, mechanically tentacled "Doctor Octopus," obsessed with completing his experiment and killing Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) in the process. Even more compelling is Peter Parker's urgent dilemma: continue his burdensome, lonely life of crime-fighting as Spider-Man, or pursue love and happiness with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst)? Molina's outstanding as a tragic villain controlled by his own invention, and the action sequences are nothing less than breathtaking, but the real success of Spider-Man 2 is its sense of priorities. With all of Hollywood's biggest and best toys at his disposal, Raimi and his writers stay true to the Marvel mythology, honoring Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and setting the bar impressively high for the challenge of Spider-Man 3. --Jeff Shannon

Amazon.ca:
Deux ans après avoir adapté une première fois le comic de Stan Lee et Steve Ditko, le réalisateur Sam Raimi poursuit son entreprise avec Spider-Man 2 en proposant une version plus profonde et psychologique des aventures de l'homme araignée. Peter Parker a bien des soucis. De nombreux tourments l'agitent : sa double identité de super héros, son amour secret pour la belle M.J. et son amitié chancelante avec Harry Osborn bien décidé à se venger de Spider-Man, responsable de la mort de son père. Mais il doit également faire face à un nouvel ennemi : le Dr Octopus. Faisant entrer l'ordinaire dans l'extraordinaire en explorant avec une certaine finesse l'intériorité et les doutes de son super héros, Sam Raimi humanise alors ses personnages et réussit à insérer dans son récit de science-fiction de jolis moments d'émotion. Motivant de spectaculaires scènes d'action, cette émotion naît également des charmantes interprétations de Tobey Maguire et Kirsten Dunst. Et si Alfred Molina campe un méchant parfaitement crédible, seul James franco (Osborn) ne paraît pas à la hauteur de ses acolytes. Comptant sur un rythme haletant, le film est encore ponctué de moments d'humour bien pensés. Complet et riche, Spider-Man 2 est tout simplement un divertissement de haute tenue. - Helen Faradji.

Sam Raimi's Sandbox:
I had the disheartening feeling in the last few of Sam Raimi's films (particularly, "For Love of the Game", and the first "Spiderman"), that he had achieved enough success to be able to play in Hollywood's sandbox, but at the same time, had lost his creative flourish in able to do it. Gone seemed to be the trademark Raimi wit/creativity that made "Evil Dead 2" and "A Simple Plan" so intriguing. However, Spiderman 2 finds us again playing in Sam Raimi's sandbox (with Hollywood's money), and I have come to the realization that he may well have created the best comic book film of all time. Spiderman suffers from having a mythos that is not as deep for mining as Superman and Batman. Superman is a Christ-figure, who's secret identity (as so eloquently explained by Bill in "Kill Bill, Vol.2") is actually Clark Kent. Batman needs to be Batman, so driven by vengeance is he. That is rich stuff. Spiderman is driven more by a sense of decency and responsibility, and that's tougher to get much mileage out of - especially in a sequel, when the best part (the origin) has already been told. Spiderman 2 is not so much a plot-driven vehicle, as it seems to be an endless succession of moments, from the humorous (Parker turning his socks red and blue in the washing machine), to Raimiesque (the long, uncomfortable elevator ride), to the poetic (the passengers onboard the runaway train, passing the unmasked Spiderman back, away from danger, and promising to keep his secret). Raimi somehow takes all of these moments and weaves them together into a story, which is far superior to the competent first Spiderman film. Just when you thought Raimi had done all that could be done with this hero, he takes things to a whole new level, making Spiderman 2 a pretty amazing picture.

wow!!! is all i can say:
unbelievable.the first spider man movie was awesome,but this movie was even better.better special effects,better story,better villain.i didn't think there was any way the first one could be topped.in this one we have Doc Ock as the main villain,an inspired choice.the fight scenes this time around are absolutely mind blowing.there is an interesting and surprising subplot,which i won't reveal here .i gave the the first movie 5/5,so i have to give this one a 5+/5 and i can't wait for the third installment.

Yo, Miroslav, how can you think this sucks?:
One day, I walked into my local Blockbuster the day Spider-Man 2 came out. I came twenty minutes after it opened, so I could get a copy. ALL THE SPIDER-MAN 2 DVDS WERE ALREADY RENTED. I came back a week later, because by then the rush should've been over. All the Spidey 2 DVDs were gone. Two weeks later, I finally got a copy, and I was blown away. OK, first off, the SFX. They absolutely rocked. No flaws, screw ups, or even something that didn't look real. AMAZING. From begginning to end, there were no errors. Next, the characters. I do read the Spidey comics, and I must say that the Doc Ock presented in Spidey 2 was a lot more fun and entertaining then the one in the comic. His arms are more realistic looking, and the technology more believable. Now, you're probably asking yourself, why the heck didn't this movie get five stars? Well, when Peter flips off his bike to avoid the car, he lands, and some kids go, "Hey, how'd ya do that?" Peter's reply: "Oh, well, you know, work out, eat your green vegetables." The kids say, without feeling or nothin', "That's what my ma's alawys sayin'. I just neva believed 'er." It was stale and boring. The second reason, WHY DID PETER RUN OUT OF BLOODY POWERS?????? In the looniest sense in the world, Spidey just runs out of powers. Why??? I thought super heroes always just kept their powers. That part was pretty annoying and sensless to me. Oh well; all in all this is a d**n great movie, and is a must for any collection. So, what are you waiting for??? BUY IT!!!! (And if you already own it, buy it again.)

The first was way better (more of a rant then a review):
Quickly: I liked the first one better, everyone else disagrees with me. Doc Oc Rock. Summary: you have probably all seen this one, but here ya go: Peter decides Spidey life is too much and ruins his personal life, filled with doubt he looses his powers. Meantime Doc Oc is born and goes nuts. Hobgoblin is hinted at, Parker crys alot, everyone crys alot, he decides he 'needs' to be Spidey again, his powers comeback and he kicks some butt. In the middle of all this is the messed up relationship between Parker and MJ that borders on psychotic. The Good: the effects blew the first movie away. Watching Spidey wall crawl and web-sling all over way much more enjoyable and looked more realistic (still not great, but way better). Doc Oc Rocks, he does, they did a perfect job on him, he was played well, everything pretty much perfect. Spidey learned a power stunt! Okay showing my geeky Marvel RPG side here, but he actually did some new stuff with his webs, that was cool to see. The Super Strenght aspect came out a lot better in this one, and I liked seeing that. JJJ is still one of the best characters in the movie, perhaps even better the the Doc. The Bad: The story. The premise for the story. I personally found this more sad then when Clark Kent became human.... well maybe not, but it's close. This was just so sappy, winney teenager, horrible love triangle, sappy, oh no Aunt May's crying about Ben again, horrible. It really bugged me. The whole battle with Doc Oc part which I loved, just seemed like a back story for the whole romance, self confidance plot. I just didn't like it and I didn't find it fit with any Spidey I know. Sure there is probably some series out there worse then the clone series where he looses his powers because Spidey interferes in his love life, I just never read it. The Ugly: There is a part in the movie when Parker is 100% human again and Raindrops Keeps Falling on My Head is playing that I just hated. Really hated. It was as bad, if not worse ... okay maybe not... than the Clark Kent in the Dinner scene. Look at Parker all pro and confidant now, look at him trip, now lets watch him botch fixing a bike, now lets watch him do some other clumsy thing, all while that horrible song played. Danny Elfman did the music, why did they have to toss that in there... and it wasn't even raining!. Overall: okay I know the above was more of a rant then a review. Actually the movies good, I really enjoyed it, Oc was just too cool to be true, the battles were great, the effects better then the first. I would watch it again. It's just that I liked the first one more, the story and the tacked on romance drove me nuts... luckily there were some good fights and Spidey delivering Pizza sceens that made up for it.

Peter Parker is hooked on Mary Jane:
This movie takes up where the first one left off. Peter (Toby Maguire) has fallen on bad times he is a loner happy because he knows as Spiderman he can not have friends including Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst); the bad guys would use his friends as pawns. Everything is going to pot. He loses his job, cant pay his rent, his aunt is on foreclosure, he can not make schedule on anything he does. His best friend is out to get Spiderman. And heaven forbid he is falling behind in school. Looks like it is decision time between his Spidy personality and Mary Jane Watson. Which does he chose? Which would you chose? Is there a way out of the dilemma? This film is very slow moving and depressing for at least the first third. They are relying on the reputation of the first Spiderman to carry this almost similar story. When the action picks up that is all it is just action. You may want to fast forward through this as nothing is said or reveled that will have any bearing on the end.