| SPIDER-MAN 2 |
 2004 - USADirector: Sam Raimi
- Reviewed by Vickie
Much in the same way that X2: X-Men United blew the pants off of the first X-Men movie, Spider-Man 2 is a much better film than its web-slinging predecessor. And the reason is simple: this one has a kick-ass story. This time around, the filmmakers have made the special effects and the good vs. evil battles secondary to spinning a really great yarn about a conflicted guy torn between doing what's right for himself and what's right for the world. When the film opens, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is watching helplessly as his life careens into the toilet. He's putting in endless hours as everyone's favorite arachnoid crimefighter, and the rest of his life is suffering as a result. His grades are abysmal, he's exhausted all the time, his relationship with his beloved Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) has become non-existent and he's living in a hovel next door to the anorexic girl from Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" video. Finally, proving that no good deed goes unpunished for Spider-Man, Daily Bugle editor Mr. Jameson (J.K. Simmons, in a riotously funny role) is still intent on painting Spidey as a ne'er-do-well by slapping inflammatory headlines across his newspaper. What's a guy to do? Hang up the red-and-blue leotard and quit the hero biz, that's what. But before you can say, "Golly, Aunt May!", a new threat arrives in the form of Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), a likable enough scientific genius who ignores warnings (surprised?) and winds up irradiating himself into a freakish creature with four malevolent mechanical arms. Apparently, being zapped with massive amounts of electricity and radiation turns mechanical arms evil. Who knew? Eager to use the newly nasty "Doc Ock" for his own gains, Harry Osborn (James Franco)—who's still bitter over the whole Spider-Man killing his father thing—enlists the eight-limbed villain in a plot to destroy Spider-Man once and for all. Of course, this involves destroying the city just as Peter is starting to get his superhero-free life back on track. Where the first Spider-Man got away with a thin story by wowing audiences with fancy effects, this second film says, "Okay, we know you know we can make Spider-Man do all kinds of cool stuff, so we'll just move on to telling Peter's story." The heart of the film is Peter Parker and his struggle, rather than the comic-book battle between hero and villain. We get to see what makes Peter tick, what gets him upset, what he wants and what matters in his life. The story engages the audience in a way that the first film did not, and credit has to go to Maguire for his nicely nuanced performance wherein Peter's inner turmoil comes subtly to the surface with actions instead of words. Molina is equally good as Octavius, a man who loses control of his dreams and inadvertently turns them into a nightmare. The flashes of the "good" Octavius are clever, while Molina's version of evil successfully delivers the willies. (A small shout out goes to the divine Donna Murphy as Mrs. Octavius!) Kirsten Dunst turns in a nicely emotional performance, and proves that the damsel in distress doesn't have to be a silly, vacuous girl. Her Mary Jane is spunky, determined and fiercely loyal. She's also vulnerable and as conflicted as Peter. The weak link is Franco, who seems to possess only one facial expression ("I'm pissed off and brooding!") and who's outshined by his more gifted co-stars. Heck, even Rosemary Harris—as Peter's Aunt May —elicits more emotion from the audience. So if you're on the fence about this one, not sure whether you're up for another comic-book hero on the big screen or worried that you've had enough of Tobey Maguire for a while, trust me. The movie really is worth the price of admission, and it makes for a great summer blockbuster on a level other than just being pretty to look at. It's the thinking person's popcorn movie! |
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