SPIDER-MAN 2
COLUMBIA TRISTAR
RELEASED 15 July 2004
Marvel Comics have the best superheroes, and they always have done. That’s because in Marvel, the character comes first. The powers don’t define the hero, the cause of the powers do. Be it a gamma experiment or a mutant gene, the Marvel hero must always use his powers for good, even though this means he cannot have a normal life, and often must sacrifice friends and lovers for the sake of his ‘gift’. Life for the Marvel superhero is never easy, and for the greatest superhero of all, life is about as hard as it gets.
He has always been my favourite comic-book character, and a wonderful inspiration to young kids in a grey world. Spider-Man has a rich history of tales spun over the last forty-two years. Peter Parker has always wrestled with the responsibilty bestowed upon him by that radioactive spider. Every time he’s given up the costume, some dramatic event will always bring him back to his destiny. Peter never has any money, he’s always messing up relationships, and his professional career is a struggle. And it’s not his fault. It’s Spider-Man’s. But that’s the hand life has dealt him.
Two years ago, Spider-Man became the most successful film of the year. A wonderful cast, amazing special effects, imaginative direction, and a witty and smart script combined to make a truly feel-good movie. But it wasn’t perfect. The first hour was, but the second was hampered by less-than-exciting action, not helped by a villian (the excellent Willem Dafoe) made to look like a reject Power Ranger. All Willem Dafoe’s menacing personality was completely lost beneath a solid mask. There was no tension, no drama. Why did the first hour work so well? Because it was all about Peter Parker and the supporting cast. Watching Peter learn to use his powers and become Spider-Man was joyous. Uncle Ben’s murder was tragic. Mary-Jane was the beautiful girl next door. Aunt May is everything anybody could hope for in a surrogate mother. ‘Spider-Man 2’ has taken everything that worked in the original, moved the story on, added a conflicted villian, and come up with some truly superb action sequences.
It’s two years since Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) decided his responsibility as Spider-Man must come before his true-love Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). Failing to juggle his dual identity, he can’t even hold down a job as a pizza delivery boy, his college grades are slipping, his friends feel like they barely know him, and the landlord wants the rent! Could things get any worse? How about a new super-villian nicknamed Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina). Not only must Spider-Man fight a new enemey, but his best friend Harry Osbourne (James Franco) is becoming emotionally unstable, obsessed with discovering Spider-Man’s identity after seeing our hero next to the corpse of Harry’s dad Norman (Willem Dafoe) in the first movie and assuming Spider-Man is responsible for his death. Peter Parker begins to wonder whether the price of being a superhero is really worth it. Will his self-doubt end the webbed-one’s career?
As I’ve already said, everything about ‘Spider-Man 2’ is better than the original. This time around the actors really get a chance to delve further into their characters, and no-one radiates more emotion than Tobey Maguire as our put-upon hero. No matter how hard he tries, nothing seems to go right! Early performances in ‘Pleasantville’ and ‘The Ice Storm’ marked Maguire as one of the best performers of his generation, and now he has brought that talent to a blockbuster franchise. It’s impossible to see anyone else play Peter Parker now, much in the same way as Christopher Reeve made Superman his own. It’s no exaggeration to stress how important Rosemary Harris as Aunt May is in ‘Spider-Man 2’. She is the support Peter needs in times of angst, a shoulder to cry on and donator of wise advice. She has two important scenes with Maguire which would get you emotional in any film, let alone a summer blockbuster. Kirsten Dunst and James Franco both finish the film changed in different ways, and some final credit should go the hilarious newspaper boss J. Jonah Jameson, gloriously played by J.K. Simmons. He plays him exactly as he is on the comic book page, and looks perfect.
Something I’ve touched on but not gone into detail is the rich humour ‘Spider-Man 2’ has. There are scenes which will have you crying with laughter, from throwaway lines to unlikely scenes involving our costumed hero. How would you deliver pizzas if you didn’t have to use the roads? And what do you do if you have no webbing to get down from a tall building - use the lift? Trust me, you’ll leave ‘Spider-Man 2’ with a big smile on your face. There are surprises, excitement, tragedy, laughs, romance, in fact ‘Spider-Man 2’ has it all! The Spider-Man film franchise has taken a huge leap forward and I think we can expect to see many more adventures of the wall-crawling superhero in the coming years.
FIVE OUT OF FIVE