Spider-Man 2

Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American film based on the eponymous Marvel comic starring Tobey Maguire and Alfred Molina. It continues the story of Peter Parker's struggle to balance between his normal life and his life as Spider-Man. This film was released in theaters on June 30, 2004 in the United States.

Written by Alvin Sargent, Directed by Sam Raimi.

[drops boxes of pizza on desk] Pizza time!
[speaks to MJ through a dead phone line] I wanna tell you the truth... here it is: I'm Spider-Man. Weird, huh? Now you know why I can't be with you. If my enemies found out about you... if you got hurt, I could never forgive myself. I wish I could tell you how I feel about you.
[to himself, regarding his life] Am I not supposed to have what I want?
[to himself] She (MJ) can never know how much I love her.
[end of PlayStation 2 game, closing narration] Mary Jane, the girl next door, the girl I love, and now, the girl waiting for me at the end of the day. Fate handed me amazing powers, and with those powers came a burden of responsibility. Somehow though, having her with me makes that burden lighter. Still, in the end, it's mine to bear. After all, there's still only one... Spider-Man!
[pleading with MJ to give him a chance] I let things get in the way before, there was something I thought I had to do... I don't have to!
[talking to Doc Ock] Sometimes, to do what's right, we have to be steady, and give up the things we want the most. Even our dreams.
[Doc Ock throws a heavy bag full of coins at him, Spider-Man catches it by his webbing] Here's your change! [tosses it back at Ock].
Well, I'm not.
Hang on, Mary Jane!
Run!
[He has unplugged Ock’s experiment, but it keeps sucking in objects] Now what?
Dr. Octavius. We have to shut it down.
[noticing the roof will crush MJ] NOOOOOOOO!
Hi.
This is really heavy.
MJ.... In case we die....
I do.

Do you love me or not?

Intelligence is not a privilege. It's a gift. And you use it for the good of mankind.
If you keep something as complicated as love stored up inside... it's going to make you sick.
Has anybody lost a large roll of 20-dollar bills in a rubber band? Because we found the rubber band. [Beat] It's a terrible joke.
The power of the sun.... in the palm of my hand.
NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
The real crime would be to not finish what we started.
You've stuck your web into my business for the last time!
You have a train to catch.
Well, that's a risk we're willing to take.
Let's see you scurry out of this.
Listen... Listen to me now. Listen to ME now!
Unless... the river. Drown it!
I'll do it.
(Last words) I will not die a monster.

[Sees Doc Ock about to sneak attack Spider-Man] Shame on you! [Hits him with her umbrella, causing him to miss]
[After Spider-Man saves her] Have I been wrong about you!
[Talking to Peter] I believe there's a hero in all of us that keeps us honest, noble and finally allows us to die with pride. Even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the things we want the most. Even our dreams.
Oh, Peter.

[Speaking to his wife over the phone] Dear, we agreed to put on a wedding, not go into bankruptcy.... Caviar? Who are we inviting, the Czar? Get some cheese and crackers.... some of those little cocktail weenies.

[Discussing his son's wedding with his wife over the phone] Flowers? How much? If we spend any more on this thing, you can pick the daisies off my grave! Get plastic!

Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs. (Grins) What are the odds?

What are you looking for, a raise? Get out!

[Looking at Spider-Man's suit] Yes. Spider-Man was a hero. I just couldn't see it. He was a.... [Looks to see that Spider-Man has stolen back the suit] A thief! A criminal! He stole my suit! He's a menace to the entire city! I want that wall-crawling arachnid prosecuted! I want him strung up by his web! [Looks up at the open skylight] I WANT SPIDER-MAN!!!

Mr. Ditkovich: If promises were crackers, my daughter would be fat!

Mr. Ditkovich, at numerous points in the film: Rent?

[Peter is waiting for the bathroom and Mr. Ditkovich pushes in front, closing the bathroom door behind him. He opens it again.]

Mr. Ditkovich: Rent?

[Peter closes the door in Ditkovich's face.]

Green Goblin: AVENGE ME!

Stan Lee (cameo): Look out!

Joseph "Robbie" Robertson: [a garbage man brings the Spider-Man suit at the Bugle] Where the hell did you get that?

J. Jonah Jameson: You're fired. Parker, hello? You're fired!

Peter Parker: Why?

Jameson: [looks at Peter's latest photos in his photo book] Dogs catching Frisbees? Pigeons in the park? A couple of geezers playing chess?

Betty Brant: [walks in urgently] Boss!

Jameson: Not now.

[Brant walks out]

Peter: Well, I was thinking maybe the Bugle could show another side of New York for a change.

Robbie Robertson: We got 6 minutes to deadline, Jonah! We need page one!

Jameson: [looks over at Robbie, ignores him] Parker, I don't pay ya to be a sensitive artiste! I pay you because... [notices Brant heading back for his desk] Still not now! [Brant walks back out] I pay you because for some reason that psycho Spider-Man'll pose for you!

Peter: Spider-Man won't let me take any more pictures! You've turned the whole city against him!

Jameson: A fact I'm very proud of! Now, get your pretty little portfolio off my desk before I go into a diabetic coma! [intercom alarm goes off; he presses the intercom button]

Betty: Boss, your wife's on the line! She said she lost your checkbook!

Jameson: Thanks for the good news! [turns off intercom]

Peter: Mr. Jameson, please, isn't there any of these shots you can use? I really need the money.

Jameson: [with faux sympathetic 'puppy-dog' face] Aww... Miss Brant?!?

Brant: [walks in] Yes?

Jameson: Get me a violin!

Robbie: 5 minutes to deadline, Jonah!

Jameson: All right, run a picture of a rancid chicken. Here's the headline - "Food Poisoning Scare Sweeps City!"

Hoffman: [leans in] Some food got poisoned?

Jameson: [glares over] I'm a little nauseous, yah!

Peter: [after a short pause] All right, Mr. Jameson. [hands Jameson a photo of Spider-Man]

Jameson: [briefly analyzes the photo] It stinks. Robbie, there's your Page 1 - "Masked Menace Terrorizes Town!"

Robbie: I told you he's not a menace!

Jameson: And I told you...

Robertson: I'll take care of it.

Jameson: I'll give you $150.

Peter: $300.

Jameson: That's outrageous! [hands Peter his check] Done. Give this to the girl.

[After Spider-Man saves May from Doc Ock]

Peter Parker/Spider-Man: We sure showed him.

May Parker: What do you mean, we?

[Peter has to get past his landlord who is insistent on collecting rent from him]

Peter: Hi.

Mr. Ditkovich: What's 'hi'? Can I spend it? You're a month late again. Again!

Peter: I'm sorry, I promise I'll get it in sooner or later-

Mr. Ditkovich: If promises were crackers, my daughter would be fat!

Peter: All I have is this $20 for the rest of the week and-

Mr. Ditkovich: [snatches the $20 from Peter's hands] Sorry doesn't pay the rent, and don't try to sneak past me. I have ears like a cat, and eyes like a rodent.

Peter: Thanks, Mr. Ditkovich.

Ursula Ditkovich: Hi, Pete! [accidentally knocks over pan, and oven catches on fire. As Ursula is putting out the fire, Mr. Ditkovich slams the door in Peter's face]

Doc Ock: [grabs Spider-Man] You're getting on my nerves.

Peter/Spider-Man: I have a knack for that.

Doc Ock: Not anymore. [squeezes harder]

Garbage Man: [on bringing in Spider-Man's discarded costume] Now look, uh, I think I deserve a little something for this.

Jameson: Give ya $50.

Garbage Man: I could get more than that on eBay.

Jameson: All right, $100. Miss Brant, give this man his money and throw in a bar of soap!

Peter: [regarding Uncle Ben] Aunt May, you shouldn't blame yourself.

May: Oh, I know I shouldn't. It's just... you wanted to take the subway, and he wanted to drive you. If only I had stopped him, then all three of us would be having tea together.

[There is a brief pause of silence. Finally, Peter speaks.]

Peter: I'm responsible.

May: For what?

Peter: For what happened to Uncle Ben.

May: But you were at the library. You were doing your homework.

Peter: He drove me to the library, but I never went in.

May: What do you mean?

Peter: I went someplace else, someplace where I thought I could win some money, to buy a car, because I wanted to impress Mary Jane. It happened so fast... I won the money, the guy wouldn't pay me, then he got robbed... the thief was running towards me... I could have stopped him, but I wanted...revenge. I let him go, I let him get away. He wanted a car, he tried to take Uncle Ben's. Uncle Ben said no... and then he shot him. Uncle Ben was killed that night for being the only one who did the right thing. I held his hand when he died. I've tried to tell you so many times...

Receptionist: Chief! I found Parker.

Jameson: Where you been? I've been looking for you all morning! Why don't you pay your phone bill? A mad scientist goes berserk and we don't have pictures!

Joseph Robertson: I heard Spider-Man was there.

Jameson: Where were you? Photographing squirrels? You're fired!

Receptionist: Chief, the planetarium party.

Jameson: Oh, right. You're un-fired, I need you. Come here. Does Whaddya know about high society?

Peter: High society? Oh, well, I---

Jameson: Ah, don't answer that. My society photographer got hit in the head by a polo ball. You're all I got. Big party for an American hero! My son, the astronaut.

Peter: Could you pay me in advance?

Jameson: [breaks out laughing] You serious? Pay you for what, standing there? The planetarium, tomorrow night, eight o'clock. (Gestures) There's the door.

May: You'll never guess who he wants to be... Spider-Man!

Peter: Why?

May: He knows a hero when he sees one. Too few characters out there, flying around like that, saving old girls like me. And Lord knows, kids like Henry need a hero. Courageous, self-sacrificing people. Setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them, cheer them, scream their names. And years later, they'll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them how to HOLD ON a second longer. I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams. Spider-Man did that for Henry and he wonders where he's gone. He needs him.

[Peter parks the car of two thieves outside the theater in a red zone; an NYPD officer notices]

Officer: Hey, buddy! You park there, I'm towing it!

Peter: Whatever.

[Peter walks into theater lobby]

Doorman: Ah! Shoelace.

[Peter stops, bends down to tie his shoelace, then moves forward again]

Doorman: Wait, you might want to...[motions for Peter to fix tie]

[Peter fixes tie and moves forward again]

[Doorman stops him entering theater]

Doorman: Can I help you?

Peter: Yeah, I, uh, I've come to see the show.

Doorman: Oh, I'm sorry, sir. "No one will be seated after the doors are closed." It helps maintain the illusion.

Peter: Ah, I understand. Umm... Miss Watson, She's a friend of mine, she asked me to come.

Doorman: But not to come late.

Peter: But I have to see the show. If you just let me in, I'll stand by the–

Doorman: Shh. [points his hands to the sign that says, "Quiet please while play is in progress"]

Jameson: Guy named "Otto Octavius" winds up with eight limbs. What are the odds...? Hoffman!

Hoffman: Yeah?

Jameson: What are we gonna call this guy?

Hoffman: Uh...um.. Doctor Octopus!

Jameson: That's crap.

Hoffman: Science Squid?

Jameson: Crap!

Hoffman: Doctor Strange?

Jameson: That's pretty good... [Hoffman smiles in acceptance] But it's taken! Wait, wait! I got it! Doctor Octopus.

Hoffman: I... But... I like it.

Jameson: Of course you do. Doctor Octopus. New villain in town: Doc Ock.

Hoffman: Genius.

Jameson: What, are you lookin' for a raise? Get out!

[In Peter's mind sitting in Ben’s car]

Ben Parker: All the things you've been thinking about, Peter, make me sad.

Peter: Can’t you understand? I’m in love with Mary Jane.

Ben: Peter, all the times we talked about honesty, fairness, justice, all those times I counted on you to have the courage to take those dreams out into the world.

Peter: I can’t live your dreams anymore. I want a life of my own.

Ben: You’ve been given a gift Peter, with great power comes great responsibility. Take my hand, son.

Peter: No, Uncle Ben. I’m just Peter Parker. I’m Spider-Man no more. No more.

Peter: Harry, please, I've got to stop him!

Spider-Man: Where is she?!

Doc Ock: Oh, she'll be just fine. Let's talk.

[they fight]

Mary Jane: Hey! Hey! ( whistle blowing ) I'm talking to you! You got what you needed for your little science project, now, let me go. He's not dead. I don't believe you.

Otto: Believe it.

Otto: I will not die a monster. ( grunting )

[A troubled Harry holds his unused dagger in his hands, and broods over the revelations revealed to him. A door swings open, and he suddenly hears a cackling laugh...]

Harry Osborn: Hello? [he takes a few steps and then hears a noise]

Green Goblin: Son... [Harry looks around; in a mirror] I'm here.

Harry: Dad? I thought you were...

Green Goblin: No. I'm alive in you, Harry. You swore to make Spider-Man pay... now make him pay.

Harry: But Pete's my best friend.

Green Goblin: [serious] And I'm your father. You're weak; you were always weak and you will always be weak until you take control! [calmly] Now you know the truth about Peter. Be strong Harry. Avenge me.

Harry: No.

Green Goblin: AVENGE ME!

Harry: No!

[Harry hurls the dagger at the mirror, smashing it. Within it, he discovers, lies a secret room. To his shock, he discovers the Goblin mask, shelves of pumpkin bombs, tubes of green medicine, the glider and finally understands it all...]

Mary Jane Watson: [standing at Peter Parker's door, in her wedding dress after leaving John Jameson at the altar] Had to do what I had to do.

Peter: Mary Jane.

Mary Jane: Peter. I can't survive without you.

Peter: You shouldn't be here.

Mary Jane: I know you think we can't be together, but can't you respect me enough to let me make my own decision? I know there'll be risks but I want to face them with you. It's wrong that we should be only half alive...half of ourselves. I love you. So here I am - standing in your doorway. I have always been standing in your doorway. Isn't it about time somebody saved your life? Well, say something.

Peter: Thank you, Mary Jane Watson.

Mary Jane: [they kiss, which is interrupted by police sirens. Peter stands, conflicted on whether he should respond. Mary Jane, with an accepting smile, responds:] Go get 'em, tiger.

Now this is what a superhero movie should be. "Spider-Man 2" believes in its story in the same way serious comic readers believe, when the adventures on the page express their own dreams and wishes. It's not camp and it's not nostalgia, it's not wall-to-wall visual effects and it's not pickled in angst. It's simply and poignantly a realization that being Spider-Man is a burden that Peter Parker is not entirely willing to bear.
"Spider-Man 2" is the best superhero movie since the modern genre was launched with "Superman" (1978). It succeeds by being true to the insight that allowed Marvel Comics to upturn decades of comic-book tradition: Readers could identify more completely with heroes like themselves than with remote godlike paragons. Peter Parker was an insecure high school student, in grade trouble, inarticulate in love, unready to assume the responsibilities that came with his unexpected superpowers. It wasn't that Spider-Man could swing from skyscrapers that won over his readers; it was that he fretted about personal problems in the thought balloons above his Spidey face mask.
I was disappointed by the original "Spider-Man" (2002), and surprised to find this film working from the first frame. Sam Raimi, the director of both pictures, this time seems to know exactly what he should do, and never steps wrong in a film that effortlessly combines special effects and a human story, keeping its parallel plots alive and moving. One of the keys to the movie's success must be the contribution of novelist Michael Chabon to the screenplay; Chabon understands in his bones what comic books are, and why. His inspired 2000 novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay chronicles the birth of a 1940s comic book superhero and the young men who created him; he worked on the screen story that fed into Alvin Sargent's screenplay.
- Roger Ebert, "Spider-Man 2 Movie Review" Rogerebert.com, (June 29, 2004).

The current status quo in the genre makes the absurdist, irreverent tone of 2004’s Spider-Man 2 seem all the more astonishing today. Most humor in the film draws on Peter Parker’s permanent status as a nerd – an awkward, nebbish presence outside of the famous costume. A naive man-child, Parker reacts to the series of brutal challenges he faces with a melancholic pout and a half-smile. His response to being repeatedly jostled in the street is an amused, embarrassed chuckle. The total lack of realism in Tobey Maguire’s career-defining performance places Raimi’s trilogy firmly in the realm of fantasy. There is no Actor’s Studio work being done here. Contrasted with more recent comic book fare, the thrill of a big action sequence is now perpetually dampened by an insistent awareness of disastrous consequences as embodied by the brooding of an Oscar winner, a shake of their head and an existential monologue.
Nowadays, Superhero sequels are, for the most part, aimed at hardcore fans who have the pre-awareness and commitment to follow confused storylines across past, present and future. Fan theories crudely engulf the screen as characters form alliances and separate out as they would in a soap opera. And this is not down to narrative necessity, but to create new thrills that are often as ephemeral as they are nonsensical.
In that sense, Spider-Man 2 belongs to a bygone era of franchise blockbusters. But this also comes down to ideology. Perpetually jolly, the film refuses to adopt the de rigueur misanthropy and pessimistic view on humanity articulated by the Ayn Rand-infused opera stylings of Batman V Superman. While Parker and Octopus are portrayed as similar but on different sides of the law, the latter is by no means the ‘dark side’ of the former. There is no sense of true, straightforward evil in the world of Spider-Man 2. Rather, we are presented with misguided, heartbroken and desperate people who have lost all sense of scale and responsibility.
The moment when Doc Ock finally comes to his senses is all the more moving precisely because of how badly he has acted previously. That Parker/Spider-Man would give him a chance to act like the kind human being he once knew makes for a heartbreakingly beautiful moment. It exposes the film’s sincere belief in humanity, the spirit of community and forgiveness. It is not because people are weak that Spider-Man must fight crime (see: The Dark Knight), but because he is the single individual given the (super) power to stop those who have strayed too far to be saved by a simple act of kindness. He is here when the empathy of people such as the doomed Uncle Ben of the first film, and the second’s moral arbiter, the lovely Aunt May, fail to bring desperate people to their senses.
- Elena Lazic, "Why Spider-Man 2 is the greatest blockbuster of the 21st century" Little White Lies, (13 Jul, 2016).

Peter Parker is just in a different place in his life. It's wearing on him, being Spider-Man and not having a life of his own. I always thought it was peculiar to me how this kid couldn't see how he could just have a little balance in his life and things would be a little better for him. But there are complications to that, which I understand. He doesn't want to put his loved ones in danger and also, just being honest with people at first causes him pain. Just being around Aunt May at first is a painful experience because he's constantly wracked with guilt and feelings of responsibility for all the bad things that happened. He faced that situation and it helped their relationship. It helped set him free in their relationship. So I think that stuff is just wearing on him. He wants a life of his own. He wants to have some kind of balance in his life, but he also has these gifts and wants to use them responsibly.
- Tobey Maguire "Interview: Tobey Maguire and Alfred Molina", IGN, (25 Jun 2004)

It was a mixture of practical puppeteered arms, CGI and animation. We had a fantastic team of puppeteers. 15 guys and one woman. And a wonderful choreographer, a guy called Eric Hayden, who essentially designed the movement in a way. The puppeteers and myself worked together very closely over a series of weeks to try develop a vocabulary of movement, a language if you like, so we could do great big things like push a hole through a building, but at the same time do delicate things like taking off a pair of glasses or like lighting a cigar. Even one shot we did, I don't think we ever used it, but one of the tentacles actually came out and wiped away a tear. So we had a really wide range of possibilities. What they did, which I thought was brilliant really, they managed to infuse these lumps of resin and fiberglass and metal and plastic with real life. They gave them character and personality. There's a wonderful moment where Flo, the female tentacle (Yes, Molina has named them), comes in and I say something, I mumble something, and she does this wonderful thing where she just tilts, as if she's cocking an ear because she can't understand what I said. Puppies kind of do that, and I thought it was so brilliant, that kind of detail makes them so completely full of life... That's a great tribute to [the puppeteers]. They were really clever."

Alfred Molina, "Interview: Tobey Maguire and Alfred Molina", IGN, (25 Jun 2004)

In my mind, I was working on the story and I knew how I wanted it to end. The story of a life out of balance, first lopsided in one way as he tries to be this responsible young man and then lopsided in another way as he decides the hell with it, I’m living my life, damn anybody else. And then that road leads to such moral decay that he finally has to say to himself I will go back to my lopsided life of being Spider-Man and just down this road of responsibility. Unfortunately it’s like a prison sentence to him. What he doesn’t know is that by the end of the piece, he learns, through Mary Jane Watson that he cannot go down that road alone. And so I found that he found a sense of balance by the end. So it seemed to me, complete, as a complete story. Also the story of some young man who is on the road to responsibility, learns the sacrifices that are necessary to be responsible. I felt that he had learned a lesson, so it seemed complete in a few different ways. I didn’t really think of it as a franchise movie.
I was thinking about a great issue of Stan Lee’s Spider-Man comic book where he gets the flu. And he, for a time, is really weak. It was so human to me, I thought it was great. This superhero’s got the bug that affects all of us, and just like we all have to go to work when we’re sick and we really don’t know why we’re doing this and how we’re gonna do our job, he had to fight criminals when he had the flu. I thought that was incredibly human, a humanizing thing to have happened to a superhero. It was a combination of that and a desire to put that into the picture so we could identify with him. I thought that was a unique thing that happened in Stan Lee’s comics, But also there was another issue of Stan Lee’s comics that I loved where he decided to throw the suit away. It was issue number 50, perhaps, his life problems had just become too great, so I think what happened was there was a synthesis of those two ideas, along with other elements I was interested in telling in this story. That’s where the genesis of the loss of powers came from.
- Sam Raimi "Interview: Director Sam Raimi on Spider-Man 2", SuperHeroHype, (Jun 23, 2004).

Tobey Maguire as Peter / Spider-Man
Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson
Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus
Rosemary Harris as May Parker
J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson
James Franco as Harry Osborn
Donna Murphy as Rosalie Octavius
Daniel Gillies as John Jameson
Aasif Mandvi as Mr. Aziz

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Peter Parker / Spider-Man

Mary Jane Watson

Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus

May Parker

J. Jonah Jameson

Other characters

Dialogue

About Spider-Man 2

Cast

External links