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Back Shelf Beauties
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Spider-Man 2
Director Sam Raimi had to do the impossible. He had to make
Spider-Man 2 live up to the expectations
of hardcore comic book fans who wanted to make sure
Spider-Man
remained true to them. He had to make a movie that would excite the
millions of regular, non-comic book fans who loved the first one, and wanted
more of the same, but with something special to make sure it wasn't a simple
rehash of the first
Spider-Man.
Finally, he had to make a movie for Columbia, a studio that wants nothing
short of the amazing, record breaking box office of the first one ($114 million
in 3 days, over It's two years later, and Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) is feeling a little down. He is running himself ragged trying to go to college, make some money to pay the bills, continue his career as a newspaper photographer and save the world as a mysterious crime fighter who is misunderstood to be a villain by some, especially his best friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco), who wants Spider-Man dead for killing his father in the first movie (and you thought you had problems). However, Parker would throw it all away if he could have his true love, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) - the woman he spurned at the end of the last movie because he worried life with him would be too dangerous for her, especially since she doesn't know he's Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Dr. Otto Octavius has partnered with Osborn to create a new fusion method to provide cheap, clean electricity for millions of people. It is Dr. Octavius's lifelong passion, but, something goes horribly wrong when he tests the system. The experiment goes awry, he almost destroys the city, and fuses a mechanical apparatus of four extra "arms" to his body. Destroyed, embarrassed, and starting to go a little insane, Doc Ock, as he is now known, vows to rebuild his experiment and prove his brilliance, no matter what the cost. Will Doc Ock succeed or destroy the city because his experiment is flawed? Can Spider-Man stop him? Does he want to? Raimi, along with writer Alvin Sargent, has created a multi-dimensional film that appeals to everyone on some level, and succeeds on all of them. It's one of the best-developed films I have ever seen with clear explanations of each character's motivation, a clear goal for them to try to achieve and, something they all share (loss, and the pain of it). Spider-Man 2 is wonderfully written, has a great plot, and provides many of the characters with exceptional dialogue, including meaningful speeches that will live on with you after you leave the theater (especially the big speech from Aunt May). Raimi makes the hardcore comic book fans happy with funny little cameos from Bruce Campbell and Stan Lee, along with some illusions to the first movie, including a brilliant title sequence that recaps the first movie in a series of gorgeous illustrations. Then, he makes the regular movie going fans happy with amazing action sequences featuring Spider-Man swinging through the city; mind bending, gravity defying battles between Doc Ock and Spider-Man; a conflicted hero who has to make tough choices; and a love story that makes you ache for these people, and yearn to have half of this passion in your life. And, it's funny, even if Raimi and Sargent go for the jokes a little too often. Spider-Man 2 works because these actors can take the fantastic script and make it come to life in a believable and moving way. Maguire is the perfect actor to play this part because he can embody the vulnerable side of Peter Parker. Spider-Man is not a superhero with super strength like Superman, and he's not a dark hearted millionaire with nifty gizmos like Batman. Parker is you and me. He struggles to pay the bills, tries to take care of his Aunt, wants to fall in love with the girl of his dreams, and he takes a beating when the bad guys fight him. You can see the conflict in his eyes as Parker wants to throw it all away for his girl, but knows he has a responsibility to help others with his amazing abilities. This inner conflict is key to the movie, and Maguire never lets us forget it. The supporting cast is pretty good with J.K. Simmons as the gruff, comic relief newspaper editor Jonah Jameson. Alfred Molina is solid, but not spectacular as the man who has lost everything and turned to the dark side. I think part of that is a lack of script support for the character, and a desire to focus more on Parker. Dunst also suffers from some of the same lack of script support, but we don't need much to explain her role in Peter's life, and Dunst gets a few juicy scenes towards the end where she excels. Spider-Man 2 is awesome, amazing, fantastic, a little too focused on giving us some jokes, and the summer movie closest to reaching Shrek 2 levels of greatness. If you are 13 or 30 or 80, you'll enjoy it. 4 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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