The Spider-Man movie sequels did well in theaters though they were met with different types of reviews. Spider-Man 2 received almost all positive feedback whereas the third movie got mixed reviews.
About the Spider-Man Movie Sequels
There were two Spider-Man sequels with the potential for more. Spider-Man 2 won the Academy Award for Visual Effects in 2004 and Spider-Man 3 was the second highest grossing superhero movie.
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 was directed by Sam Raimi and came out in 2004. It's set two years after the original Spider-Man movie and features much of the same cast. Peter Parker's still trying to get used to his abilities while maintaining a normal life. He dreams of being with Mary Jane, but doesn't see how she would fit into his new life-and she's now engaged to John Jameson. In addition to romantic complications, Peter also fights with his best friend, Harry Osborn.
Spider-Man's nemesis in this sequel is Doc Ock, what is left of his idol Otto Octavius after an experiment involving artificially intelligent arms he created that become attached to his spine and kill innocent bystanders, such as his wife and the surgeons who try to help him. In addition, Peter's powers no longer seem to exist.
This movie grossed more than $783 million worldwide. Because of its success, there was another sequel, Spider-Man 3.
Spider-Man 3
Spider-Man 3 was also written and directed by Sam Raimi and it came out in 2007. In this one, Peter's no longer struggling with balancing his two lives-one as a superhero and one as an average guy. He's successful and even plans to finally propose to his long-time love, Mary Jane. That gets complicated when a personality shift comes into play. The two villains in this movie are the Sandman and Parker himself. Peter has to overcome the darker side of himself that's magnified by a new black suit, the result of a symbiote, Venom, merging with his own costume. Once Peter realizes what's happening and takes the suit off, Venom merges with Eddie Brock and becomes a separate enemy to overcome. Many of Parker's wounded relationships are mended in this movie, tying up a few loose ends from the previous movies. This Spider-Man movie sequel grossed even more than Spider-Man 2 despite the love-or-hate reactions from reviewers.
The Casts
The casts are similar from Spider-Man 2 to Spider-Man 3 but there are, of course, a few changes. The villains will change from movie to movie, of course, but there were no major cast changes within the main roles.
Spider-Man 2
- Tobey Maguire: Spider-Man/Peter Parker
- Kirsten Dunst: Mary Jane Watson
- James Franco: Harry Osborn
- Alfred Molina: Doc Ock/Dr. Otto Octavius
- Rosemary Harris: May Parker
- J.K. Simmons: J. Jonah Jameson
- Donna Murphy: Rosalie Octavius
- Daniel Gillies: John Jameson
- Dylan Baker: Dr. Curt Connors
- Bill Nunn: Joseph Robertson
- Vanessa Ferlito: Louise
- Aasif Mandvi: Mr. Aziz
- Willem Dafoe: Green Goblin/Norman Osborn
- Cliff Robertson: Ben Parker
- Ted Raimi: Hoffman
Spider-Man 3
- Tobey Maguire: Spider-Man/Peter Parker
- Kirsten Dunst: Mary Jane Watson
- James Franco: Harry Osborn/New Goblin
- Thomas Haden Church: Flint Marco/Sandman
- Topher Grace: Eddie Brock/Venom
- Bryce Dallas Howard: Gwen Stacy
- Rosemary Harris: May Parker
- J.K. Simmons: J. Jonah Jameson
- James Cromwell: Captain Stacy
- Theresa Russell: Emma Marko
- Dylan Baker: Dr. Curt Connors
- Bill Nunn: Joseph Robertson
- Ted Raimi: Hoffman
- Perla Haney-Jardine: Penny Marko
- Willem Dafoe: Green Goblin/Norman Osborn
- Cliff Robertson: Ben Parker
A Final Word
The first two Spider-Man movies received mostly positive reviews while the third movie got mixed reviews. However, if you're a serious Spider-Man fan or just love superhero movies in general, you may enjoy them all.
