SPIDER-MAN 2
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In the two years since Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire, "Seabiscuit") first
donned his Spidey suit, his great responsibilities have continued to erode
his personal life. The more people Spider-Man rescues, the more bad luck
befalls Peter, who is having serious problems coping with his dual
identity. His heartbreak over giving up Mary Jane (Kirstin Dunst,
"Eternal
Sun****ne of the Spotless Mind") for her own safety has begun to impair his
super powers and Peter decides to live life for himself. But just as
Peter
has begun to win back MJ, a new villain threatens New York and his
beloved,
forcing Parker back to his masked heroics in "Spider-Man 2."
And one of the most engaging aspects of this superior sequel is that this
Spider-Man isn't always masked! This conflicted hero wins the hearts of
the populace when his vulnerability is laid bare and exposure proves
healthy for true love as well. Working with a clever screenplay by Alvin
Sargent ("Unfaithful"), director Sam Raimi follows up his hugely
successful
"Spider-Man" with a more confident grasp of the material and a stylish,
offbeat sense of humor.
The opening slyly sets up Peter's breakdown with his first hard knock when
Mr. Aziz (Aasif Mandvi), the boss aggravated by Parker's umpteenth late
arrival, demands that he cover 42 city blocks in 7.5 minutes to honor his
29 minute pizza delivery guarantee or be fired. After even his alter-ego
can't save that job, Parker is chastised by Dr. Connors (Dylan Baker,
"Happiness") for missing another class, then canned by editor JD (J.K.
Simmons, "Hidalgo") for not producing Spider-Man shots. After being
beaten
down all day, Peter arrives at Aunt May's (Rosemary Harris, "Tom and Viv")
to find Harry (James Franco, "The Company") and MJ ready to celebrate his
forgotten birthday and a foreclosure notice on May's kitchen table. Harry
brightens his mood with a promise to introduce him to Dr. Otto Octavius
(Alfred Molina, "Coffee and Cigarettes"), the man Peter's writing his
thesis on, but when MJ cannot get Peter to lower his defenses, even though
his moist soulful eyes betray him, she tells him she's seeing someone.
Otto is delighted by Peter's intelligence, but he ignores the college
kid's
concerns about his plan to create a fusion energy source. The next day,
Octavius demonstrates his invention (assisted by four metal tentacles
attached to his body by a spinelike device and a chip which keeps them
from
controlling his brain) for the press but Peter's predictions come into
play
and everything misfires, killing Otto's beloved wife (Donna Murphy, "Star
Trek: Insurrection") and creating a madman bidden to continue his quest by
his own snapping appendages. Meanwhile Harry Osborn's distress at his huge
financial loss drives him further into the bottle, growing an
alcohol-fueled rage and need for revenge against Spider-Man for killing
his
father.
Sargent's richly paralleled story lines and Raimi's matured direction
result in a film that is both funny and frightening. In a time of high
unemployment, Parker's financial struggles underline a sense of
helplessness and his burden feels heavy. The saddle of being Spider-Man
is
symbolized in one hilarious visual joke when Raimi shows Parker's
underwear
stained blue and red in the laundry. His 'selling out,' after suffering
from emission/projectile disfunction, is followed by a cheeky, sunlit
segment of false optimism set to "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" which
Raimi caps with a freeze-frame flourish.
The romance is more urgent, the film's opening gambit emphasizing MJ's
predominating im****tance. 'She looked at me every day' Peter narrates, as
he is dwarfed by her massive Emma Rose Parfumerie billboard looming over
him. The great responsibility born out of guilt over the death of Uncle
Ben
is pounded home by his seeming inability to protect Aunt May. In
"Spider-Man 2," Raimi dispenses with the comic book violence of the first
film for more realistic dangers, beginning with Doc Ock's destruction of
the hospital operating room he awakens in after his accident. Every
aspect
is brighter and sharper. The film's only misstep is its insistence on
pu****ng Osborn Junior's agenda, especially when a return of the Green
Goblin is hinted at at film's end.
The returning cast are all at least as good as the first time around.
Maguire stretches into the more complex situations he is given, creating a
more sympathetic and recognizable character. Rosemary Harris gives so
much
heart to this project, her im****tance cannot be overstated. The promising
Franco is wasted in a petulant funk through most of the story, although he
plays the Spider-Man unmasked scene with emotional force. Molina resists
overt scenery chewing to project the same conflicted nature as his
opponent
without forgoing villainous menace when necessary. In small roles,
Elizabeth Banks ("Seabiscuit") gives a snappy turn as JD's assistant Miss
Brant and Mageina Tovah is touching as the geeky daughter of Peter's
landlord who has a crush on him. Bruce Campbell of director Raimi's "Evil
Dead" series is less recognizable but no less funny in his sequel cameo as
a snooty usher and "Queer as Folk's" Hal Sparks has an amusing elevator
encounter with the super hero. Daniel Gillies has the requisite allure as
MJ's fiance, the astronaut son of J.D. Jameson.
Visual effects designer John Dykstra ("Spider-Man") corrects the first
film's faults with only a flawed burning building sequence seeming
artificial. Raimi pulls together all the technical elements masterfully
into a powerhouse whole, but it is his assured wit more than anything that
makes this film work so well. In one simple shot, where an unmasked
Spidey
is passed overhead by the grateful hands of train passengers he has just
saved from death, Raimi's image suggests three different, complementary
ideas - that of a rock star being surfed from the stage, that of a
Christlike savior via the arrangement of Maguire's body and the side gash
in his suit and, finally, that of a Pre-Raphaelite painting of an
Arthurian
knight delivered from battle on a ****eld.
"Spider-Man 2" is already assured of becoming a box office juggernaut, but
it is so refre****ng to anticipate such a deserving work's success. You
don't have to be a fan of comic books to get into "Spider-Man 2."
A-
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X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1292825
X-RT-TitleID: 1133520
X-RT-SourceID: 386
X-RT-AuthorID: 1487
X-RT-RatingText: A-
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