...can he swing?from a thread?take a look,overhead!... (Spider-Man 2 (DVD))

Member Name: Wolfzilla

Product:	Spider-Man 2 (DVD)
Date:	23/01/09 (66 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Awesome entertainment,good performances,action

Disadvantages: Some story elements

Somehow, despite the fact I enjoyed the original, I somehow managed to miss out on catching Spider-Man 2 in the cinema. It sat on my DVD shelf for months as well, until Igot around trying to chip into my never ending backlog of DVDs.

The movie picks up a few years after the events of the original movie, which are recapped, in a very brief way, in the credits, and in the first section of the film. For those unaware of the story, and who don't mind spoilers for the first movie, youngster Peter Parker(Tobey Maguire - Seabiscuit) was bitten by a genetically modified spider, and gained spider-like abilities, such as being able to climb walls and fire web and so on. When his uncle was killed by a robber Peter could have stopped, he dedicates his life to fighting crime as the masked hero Spiderman. However, as with any young man, Peter has personal problems as well. He doesn't want to show affection to the girl he loves,Mary Jane(Kirsten Dunst - The Crow:Salvation), in case she gets hurt, and his best friend Harry(James Franco - The Ape) hates his alter ego, because he blames him for the death of his father.

When things pick up, Peter is now living in the city, trying to get by in university while holding down part time jobs in pizza delivery and freelance photography while maintaining his crime-fighting duties.
As he tries to sort things out with Mary Jane, who is getting more and more tired of his attitude towards her, he comes under a new threat from a scientist named Dr.Octavious(Alfred Molina - Raiders of the Lost Ark), who is a kindly man by default, but is driven mad by a set of cybernetic tentacles fused onto his waist in a lab accident. Doc Ock, as the press dubs him, plans to do the experiment again, on a much grander scale, which would put the entire of New York at risk if it goes the same way as the first. This occurs just as Peter decides to give up his alter ego, and he is lead into a conflict over his desires, and his responsibilities. When Octavious kidnaps Mary Jane, these both collide and Peter is forced to take up his role as the hero once more, even if it costs him his private life.

The story may sound basic, but naturally I've cut corners here and there, and it is a comic book movie at that, but you should be able to take the gist of the plot from that. For the most part, I feel the plot of the movie is very good, and while you might write it off as typical action movie rubbish, I feel obliged to stand up for it, as while it may not differ in story to a B-Superhero movie, there is no denying Spider-Man 2 does it with a panache that not even it's peers in the big-budget superhero movies can stand up to. Like the original, the movie does preach it's 'with great power comes great responisibility' message, which may sound cheesy, but movies like this are needed, and when they are made like this, the slightly corny nature of it doesn't deter at all.
My only plot complaints really, were that too much of the film, especially at the start, harked back too closely to the original movie. While I realise this was supposed to represent Peter discovering his powers again and so on, I just wish they had showed a little more originality in doing so. Some of the conversations used to establish the relationships between Peter and Harry and Mary Jane came accross as really forced and a bit silly. When someone is your friend, regardless of gender, while walking down a street at night and asking if you want to go get something to eat wouldn't immediately smack me as meaning they were trying to talk you out of marriage.
One thing about the plot that bothered me, not in it's implementation, but in way of it's timing in the series. I felt the second entry was possibly too soon to pull the Spiderman considering retirement angle. I hear Sam Raimi only has plans for a trilogy, but even then the third and final movie would have been a better time to pull it. On the subject of the angle, one thing that bothered me, was the way Peter's powers seemed to disappear, just because he gave up the name. Sure they wouldn't have worked as well, but things like strength wouldn't have been altered so significantly in such a short space of time.
One thing I did like was some subtle links to the first movie, such as Mary Jane asking her would be fiancee to kiss her upside down,stuff like that is cool to see.

Another plus is that Doctor Octopus has been realised a lot better than the Green Goblin was. While the Doc didn't look much like his comic counterpart, his outfit actually looked more natural, and general more menacing than the Goblin's. Sadly the character of the Black Cat was removed from the movie, my suspicion being that they felt she was going to resemble Catwoman from Batman Returns too much, but the absence of the Lizard was a bit of a kick where it hurts, after all the talk of two villains, only getting one was a bit disappointing.

Acting in the movie is generally spot on, with all the characters returning from the first movie still keeping up a high standard, and I especially felt James Franco did well in the, again, supporting role of Harry, hopefully he gets his chance to shine. Molina brings Octavious to life well, and thankfully doesn't try to out-crazy Willem Dafoe's performance in the first film and instead goes for the opposite type of crazy: calm.


The music...well it does it's job. There is no denying Danny Elfman's score is good, but when compared to the masterful themes he crafted for Batman and the Flash, his Spiderman seems slightly lacking, but in saying that it is better than anything that Daredevil,The Hulk,X-Men or The Punisher got in their movies. It's more the soundtrack advertisement elements of the music that annoy me. Because they are ok, but when it comes to stuff like that it's a personal taste thing, and the songs didn't do it for me. I did like the oriental woman's rendition of the old cartoon theme.

The special effects are as good as you could expect. Everything looks awesome effects wise, from Spidey swinging the streets to Ock's tentacles, it's just...spectacular.

The thing I enjoyed most about this movie, was when it let itself go. After the first while, where I complained about it recapping the first film too much, when Spider-Man 2 finally became it's own movie, it was awesome. Action scenes kept me on the edge of my seat, this was a genuinely exciting film, that also had good characters and a well performing cast. I would say it's not Oscar worthy, but it's ten times better than any of the Lord of the Rings films in terms of acting and excitement. Here is an extremely well made movie that is not only exciting, but is quality in most aspects, and has acting of a standard that series could only dream of. Apparently no matter how good a comic-book movie is, it's still a comic-book movie in the eyes of some, which is just sad.

I would recommend this movie to anyone, especially those who like Spiderman, be it in his animated or comic book form. Raimi is clearly a fan, and it shows. His movies combine a genuine enthusiasm for the subject with actual film-making quality into an under three hour spectacle that I fail to see how anyone couldn't get some enjoyment from.

While it may seem like I am getting a little over-enthusiastic with my scoring of the movie, especially given that I reeled off a number of faults in it, but there is something about Spider-Man 2 that just works, in a way that very few other comic-book movies have done, and like it's prequel, has excelled into actually hitting the leagues of being a 'proper' movie in the eyes of many(if not the Academy). Such is the acceptance of these movies, I hear popular 16-year old girls talking about it being cool, not something you expect from something comic-book related.
So I'm sticking with the part of me that says Spider-Man 2 is worth 4-Stars, it's only when you go through it with the deliberate intention of finding faults that they actually smack you in the face, at least that is what I found, but granted I did grow up reading Spiderman comics, and my days off college were often spent sitting watching Fox Kids reruns of the awesome cartoon, so perhaps my view is a little biased. However, all I can really say, is that you should watch Spider-Man 2. Watch the first movie first, but if you take anything out of the original, part 2 will certainly hold entertainment for you. It's an action movie, a summer blockbuster, and generally just a damn good time in DVD form.

Summary: Summer Blockbuster?action flick?comic-book hero movie?fun?Spider-Man 2 excells in all these