Spider-Man 2

Rating:
Summary: Web Enhanced
Review: Author Peter David has never let me down. His books are always entertaining and really fun to read. It doesn't matter if he is concocting a story from scratch, or reworking someone else's material, he has a knack for knowing the characters and situations he writes about. I enjoyed his stuff for the Star Trek comics of the late 80's, early 90's, and while I have read most of his novels based on that space saga, I had yet to read his work, regarding a certain wall crawler, comic or otherwise, until now.

The novelization of Spider-Man 2 is a good read. Working from Alvin Sargent's already packed screenplay for the film, David expands on the story even further, giving readers some interesting backstory to chew on. I know what you must be thinking--most novels based on a film do that very same thing. That's true. David's knowledge of Spidey lore helps the book, so much so that, in the hands another writer, it may not have worked out as well. Take the character of John Jameson, for example, in the film, he gets just enough screen time to create an obstacle for Peter Parker and Mary Jane. In the book, we learn much more about how he swept MJ off her feet, his heroics as an astronaut, and his relationship with his father J. Jonah Jameson. It reads as though it was integral to the plot, not as filler or padding. The 320 page book does have a few weak spots, but thankfully, they are few and far between and pretty minor.

A recommended read for anyone who has already seen the movie and liked it.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Book.
Review: Good book. Peter David does it again. Since the 2nd movie was the best of all of the Spider-Man movies so far, why can't the book be great?! It even has cut scenes that weren't shown in the movie. Read this book now. It is a good book! I mean great! Read it.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie Adaption
Review: I loved this book, it was a very pleasant read. Very well written and very entertaining with great characterization. It stayed true to the movie (didn't change the dialogue or scenes that were in the movie) and added a few scenes missing from the movie that added instead of detracted. Great companion to the movie. If only other movie books were as excellently done.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Book with Scenes NOT in the Spider-man 2 Film!
Review: If you like to read Movie Tie-In books, then this is a good one. This is a book written after the movie script was written, though some scenes and elements may differ, most of this book follows the movie closely, while adding some extra scenes.

You will read about the dinner date when John Jameson took Mary Jane to meet his dad, J. Jonah Jameson. This has some funny dialogue, and it touches on Spider-man's predicament of possibly endangering his family and friends if his secret identity was known.

We see the amusing night that Mary Jane met John Jameson, as well as the time that she got fired from the Moondance Diner, by Enrique' (her slobby boss seen in the first Spider-man movie).

In the book, Dr. Octavius has many lines of dialogue about b-movie scientist stereotypes versus God; which makes him a little more sinister, though it is strange, and unlike the friendly, pre-accident Dr. Otto.

We get to hear John Jameson's explanation to the crowd in the church, after getting the bad news note, which is really very intelligent and dignified, not angry or resentful. He really is a great guy!

There are also many brief, minor references for the knowledgeable comic book fans to pick up on, (the Man-Wolf, Gwen Stacy, Dr. Henry Pym, Namor, etc...).

The book has more instances of Uncle Ben invading Peter's thoughts, including more dialogue than the film gives Ben.

The artificial intelligence of Doc Ock's arms are given dialogue, too! They call him Father, and their thoughts are more defined than in the movie, where we only hear Doc Ock's side of the conversations.

It's also great to have some of the more memorable, major film dialogue in the book, like Aunt May's moving day monologue about heroes.

There is only one scene in this book that I am glad that it is not in the film. In the first chapter, Dr. Octavius is heading to give a lecture for Dr. Connors class, when he is kidnapped by a flying, giant robot, and Spidey gets involved. This is a lame, corny scene, but the rest of the book is terrific.

After seeing the great movie, Spider-man 2, this book adds extra scenes that are quite enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: A fine book that enhances a great film
Review: In my experience, books based on movies tend to be above average in terms of storytelling, and tend to be better then the movies themselves. Spider man 2 follows that trend, creating a rich and compelling story that hooked me within moments of reading.

We all know the plot of Spider man 2 by now. Peter continues his task of being spider man while trying to juggle being a super hero, a pizza delivery guy, and a college student. But the pressures of all three burdens beings to wiegh down on him, and the temptation to give up being a hero grows stronger by the minute. Will Peter succumb, or overcome the monumental difficulties that are in front of him?

Like the novel based on the first spider man movie, spider man 2 takes the basic plot of the movie and enriches it with material that can only be found in a book, such as being able to read what the charachters are thinking. Peter David has added some great ideas within the pages. My favorite is the idea that the tentacles actually "talk" to doctor octopus and address him as "father" while acting like children eager to please a parent. It works very well and adds a very interesting idea that's not in the movie.

The charachters are given a lot of enrichments and enhancments, furthur adding to the already great personalities that they already have. My favorite charchter has got to be doc ock, who is good at heart, but manipulated by forces outside his control into becoming something he's not. Aunt May continues to be the wise cornerstone that Peter needs to simply keep his sanity. Harry Osbourn is one of the most fascinating charachters in the storyline of the movies, being both the best friend of Peter and the biggest hater of Spider man. The passage where Harry discovers the truth behind Spider man was amazing (in addition, it's longer and more thought out then the movie version, which seemed to move a little too quickly). You can really feel his saddness and frustration over his fathers death, the continuing demise of Oscorp and how he slips dangerously close to being insane.

There are two problems I have with the story. The opening of the book has a scene thats not in the movie, where Doc Ock is kidnapped by an australian guy named Jack All (I'm serious!) in a giant robot thing. It's a cheesy scene that dosent add much except for a bit of foreshadowing of what's to come. And seriously, who calls themselves Jack All? (But to the authors credit, Jack All does say "So? You call yourself Spider Man").

The second, and biggest problem is with Uncle Ben. In the storylines, he's portrayed as a kind, caring and understanding father figure that Peter needs in life. In this book, he's transformed into a complete grouch. I was shocked to see that a kind old man became an uncaring grouch who bickers and scolds Peter all the time. Shouldent Ben know better? Shouldent he know that Peter is only human and can't do everything at once? I was very dissapointed at how Ben is treated. It's as if Ben decided to become a bully for his own amusement. Not funny, and a disapointment.

But beyond those two complaints, this is a great story that is extremly well written. When I first started reading it, I couldent put it down! Fans of Spider man, both book and movie, will probably love this novel. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the first novel
Review: Peter David did a very good job of capturing Spider-Man 2 on paper, and I thought it was done much better than the novelization of the first movie, which I didn't like near as much. He captures the humor, the action, the excitement, everything that you could ask.

One thing that bothered me was his grammar; I know every author slips now and then, but when it got to 2-3 obvious grammatical errors per chapter, that got a bit annoying.

Other than that, nicely done, although I HIGHLY recommend you see the movie *before* you read the book; otherwise, it takes away the surprise and spoils the plot, in which case Sam Raimi's efforts wouldn't be done justice.

Rating:
Summary: Peter David rules
Review: Peter David is just the PERFECT writer for Spider-Man 2, the novelization. His novelization of the first book was right on the money--and his Spider-Man comics are among the best comics ever written period. (Obviously, I'm a fan!!). Bravo!

Rating:
Summary: prettttty killer
Review: This book was awesome in the way that it portrayed all of peter parker's hardships and what not; as others said. There was great action and peril, but the end was a little too "lasy episode of friends" for my taste. Also, the plot developement was a little off, and it seemed like a couple things weren't where they where supposed to be. Lastly, I wanted to see Doc Oc as more of a calculating, cut-throat, villian, than another disturbed one; ala, the comics. All in all it was a great read, and I really recomend reading it,and I can't wait to see the flick.

Rating:
Summary: Spider-man still flying high...
Review: This book was great. I love Peter David's brand of humor and the little touches he adds to the screenplay. The story itself is very deep as it's more about characterization than the first book. This book may not be as "action-oriented" but I'm not reading this for the action (I'm watching the movie for that!) and it was fun reading about Peter, MJ, and Doc Ock. Check it out.

Rating:
Summary: Caught in the Web
Review: Though this is not my type of reading, I became caught in the web of Spider Man 2. A wonderful story entwined with the never-ending battle between good and evil. A must for everyone.