Spider-Man 2
The Plot:
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man returns in the sequel to the record-breaking blockbuster movie debut for Marvel Comics' flagship character. Tobey Maguire returns as Peter Parker, the nerd-turned-hero, to face new threats to New York City and the people he loves. (From Yahoo Movies)
My Thoughts: (Reviewed by Big Pun)
“Spider-man, Spider-man…does whatever a spider can…spins a web any size…catches thieves just like flies….look out, her comes the Spider-man”….YES!!!!...Damn straight…ok, let’s get the formalities out of the way…5 Stars, flat out...best goddamn superhero movie ever made…I fell made passionately in love with this movie from that opening Marvel title to the last stinking credit….everything I could have wanted and more…took the first Spider-man and exploded it onto a whole other level…Thank You Sam Raimi….thank you Jesus for Tobey Maguire….I know I sound like a silly little bitch of a fan right now, but I don’t even care….once you see it, you’ll know where I am coming from man….
Ok, with that out of the way, lets get into this masterpiece…oh, and I apologize now if there are spoilers but it may be unavoidable….I’ll do my best…Alright…well, saw the 12:05 showing last evening…or early morning, whichever you prefer…and where most may be drained and on the verge of sleep when their head finally hit a pillow at 3:30 am….I found myself completely wired and staring at the ceiling with about a thousand questions and thoughts running through my mind about what I had just experienced….
First off, I have been trying to think of a movie where I loved the opening credits more that I did with this movie…I can’t…First, we get that now familiar Marvel logo on screen…but from there we get a montage of unbelievable artwork from comic master Alex Ross…just flashing images from the first film…if you have never seen any of Ross’s work in comics, then check it out…just a real classy way to go into the credits and looked stunning….from there, we move to a shot of beautiful Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) on a billboard…seems that our favorite redhead has finally hit it big, starring in a play off-Broadway….and right here is where the tale of our hero kicks off…Peter on a scooter, late for work again…struggling to keep his head above water and struggling to survive….
This is the core of what makes this Spider-man movie and any Spidey comic, cartoon, etc. work so well…it’s the story that gives the movie its cred…the characters are what give the film its heart…and I can think of no better comic hero that Spider-man that every man and women alive can relate to in one way or another….think about…Superman?...no, he’s an alien remember…and frankly, he is a Super Man…with great looks and all that…Batman?...I say no also…although no super powers to speak of, the man has such tremendous wealth, that anything and everything is available to use to fight crime…not to mention the guy is a bit of a social outcast…so he doesn’t count…
Spider-man is that guy…down on his luck science geek loser who can’t get out of his own way…gets bit by radioactive spider and his whole life changes….but just having superpowers doesn’t solve all your problems in the world…and that is the essence of Peter Parker…he is just a regular guy trying to find his way in the world with this huge responsibility on his shoulders….and does this guy struggle…nothing can go right for Peter…ever…but that’s why we love him…because as soon as he puts that mask on, he can escape from that and be the coolest guy in the world…
I have read Spider-man comics my whole life…I grew up with this character, grown to love him….and when I saw him on the screen a couple of years ago…I was as giddy as a little school girl….but with this second film, I am just blown away…this is what Spider-man is all about….this is the character and the true essence of the comics come to life…Sam Raimi is now my God…I truly don’t think anyone else could pull it off like he does…he is committed to getting it right and does in every freaking way…(and he drops in a nice little cameo from Evil Dead and Army of Darkness fame)
What makes this movie great is that it is story and character driven…it doesn’t have to rely on action sequences or Spidey zipping down the streets of New York to be cool…those are secondary….what gets us as a viewer is seeing this pathetic shlub Peter Parker on screen trying to figure out life when at every turn life kicks him in the nuts…and it does man, it really does…we care about him, we want to see him win…we want to see him get the girl…for me the Doc Ock battles and action in this movie was secondary to watching Maguire’s Parker develop on screen….In every Spider-man comic I have ever read, my favorite moments are always that moment with MJ…or Peter leaving his friends behind because he has to run off to stop a crime…or moments with Jamison where Peter fights for Spidey’s cause…or the way he worries about Aunt May…that is why I spend my $2.50 each month….and Raimi gave me that same feeling, that same thrill but this time it was alive and in color on the big screen….
As good as Raimi’s direction is with the film…this franchise would be nothing without Tobey Maguire….I think back to all the nay sayers who said he was a shitty choice to play the wall crawler…all I can say to them is, what the hell where you thinking?...Tobey Maguire is Peter Parker…flat out…he is Spider-man and will always be Spider-man…no matter how many movies the guy makes in his life, this is his character….just like Christopher Reeve will always be Superman to me, Maguire is cemented in the role…He makes and sells this movie…without his tremendous performance, this movie is nothing.
Dunst’s MJ is right on the money…she picked up right where she left off in the first film and ran with it again…and her “Go Get ‘em Tiger”…oohh, I just got chills again just typing that….J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jamison kicks ass!...he right off the pages of the comic man…great stuff…Rosemary Harris’s Aunt May is also a home run, as I think her role in this film is much more drawn out and has more of an impact than the first….her speech to Peter about what a hero is…great stuff….James Franco as Harry is much more prominent in this sequel…in fact his character takes some big twists and turns….although it may seem that Franco is a bit of an over actor at times…the character he plays calls for it…Osborne both Norman and Harry, are a couple of pompous asses…
Watching Alfred Molina’s Doctor Otto Octavious was a real treat….mostly because he plays himself against his evil tentacles so well…these things are fused to his body and he becomes a mechanical monster….they control his mind and his actions…he comes off as a perfect evil villain…great stuff from a great actor…his packed more of a punch for me than Dafoe’s Green Goblin….the Doc Ock scene in the hospital is actually some pretty chilling stuff.
The fight and action sequences in this film are some of the best ever put on film…Spidey and Doc Ock’s first meeting at the bank…the fight on the elevated subway train and in the clock tower is unbelievable…and the way they had Ock’s tentacles move and take on their own life kicked ass…Doc Ock is one of the most popular villains in the comic history, and seeing so many fights in the pages, it was hard to envision them on the screen….but the special effects get it done and are much improved.
I keep trying to think of my favorite part of the film, but I can’t…there is too much to take in…after several viewings I am sure I will pinpoint some aspect that sticks out more than another…but the scenes that grabbed me the most were every scene that we saw the humanistic struggle of Peter Parker…the idea of losing Mary Jane…missing classes and coming close to failing out of school…losing another job….his confession to Aunt May (this is one of the best moments in the film….)…Harry’s distrust…the public persona of his alter-ego…can’t pay the rent….well, you get the picture…go see it for yourself to see what I mean…
This is a great movie…not just a great summer blockbuster…but a great movie…flat out…I can’t think of any film based on a comic that tops it….I loved the first movie…but this is a whole other universe for me….there are only 3 other instances when I have liked a sequel more the than the first movie in a series…Empire Strikes Back…Superman 2…and the Godfather 2….this is movie is now listed with them…
But this is just one comic geek’s opinion…but I assure you, when I drag my girlfriend to this (who by the way hates comics and makes fun of me everyday for “wasting my money” on them), I guarantee she is going to dig it…get your asses to the theatres and plunk down your $10….this movie is going to make like a gillion dollars….
Ok,
I gotta wrap this up… be sure to keep your eyes open for that Stan Lee
cameo…if you blink you’ll miss it…whatever expectation you
have, Spider-man 2 will deliver the goods and then some…it is the only
movie to see this summer…
Starring:
Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, J.K. Simmons, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Rated PG-13