Review 59: Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 is amazing superhero sequel, one improves on the first film in almost every aspect, writing, acting, directing, villain, you name it.
Set two years after the events of the first film. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) struggles to manage both his personal life and his duties as Spider-Man. Peter still pines after Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), who is now engaged, and Harry (James Franco) continues to thirst for revenge against Spider-Man.
As the stress of his dual life causes Peter's superpowers to wane, the hero must contend with the presence of Otto Octavius/Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina) a mad scientist with four mechanical tentacles fused to his spine who sets out to recreate a dangerous fusion-based experiment that could destroy half of New York City. As the villain rampages across the city, Peter must choose between living the normal life he desires, or committing to his responsibility to protect New York as Spider-Man.
As the stress of his dual life causes Peter's superpowers to wane, the hero must contend with the presence of Otto Octavius/Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina) a mad scientist with four mechanical tentacles fused to his spine who sets out to recreate a dangerous fusion-based experiment that could destroy half of New York City. As the villain rampages across the city, Peter must choose between living the normal life he desires, or committing to his responsibility to protect New York as Spider-Man.
The plot is Fantastic. Moreso than its predorcessor, it beautifully encapsulates what the spirit of the Spider-Man comics and what makes him so relatable. Peter is having a tough time juggling his duel identity, being Spider-Man isn't giving him enough time to keep up with his regular life, he cannot keep a job no matter how hard he tries. Being the Web Crawler is portrayed as a burdan that he's not willing to bear.
Watching Spider-Man 2 as the Peter’s powers start to wane because of the stress on his duel life, I was vividly reminded of Superman II where Clark Kent willingly gives up his powers so he can be with Lois Lane
The primary theme of Spider-Man 2 is Sacrifice: What the characters want, the choices they make based on their desires and the risks they take or don't take. Aunt May says it Peter who then passes it on to Doc Ock: "Sometimes, to do what's right we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most. Even out dreams".
There are sacrifices and consequences to every pivotal action. Doing the wrong thing has consequences as each of the principle characters discovers throughout the film. But there are also consequences in the form of sacrifices to doing the right thing. The question is wether those sacrifices are worth it in the end.
The primary theme of Spider-Man 2 is Sacrifice: What the characters want, the choices they make based on their desires and the risks they take or don't take. Aunt May says it Peter who then passes it on to Doc Ock: "Sometimes, to do what's right we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most. Even out dreams".
There are sacrifices and consequences to every pivotal action. Doing the wrong thing has consequences as each of the principle characters discovers throughout the film. But there are also consequences in the form of sacrifices to doing the right thing. The question is wether those sacrifices are worth it in the end.
Returning director Sam Raimi's direction is exquisite, the cinematography is beautiful and captures the bustling atmosphere of New York, the special effects is splendid, the score by Danny Elfman is spectacular, the action scenes are immense and feature more intensity (theres this really great train chase between Spider-Man and Doc Ock), the editing is smart,, they keep the humor, the drama is well done, it well made, the sound effects are terrific and I love the character development.
The acting is brilliant. Each of the main characters has a journey that includes choices, risk and sacrifice. Tobey Maguire is excellent once again bringing out the underlying humanity in Peter Parker and the struggles he faces both internally and
In the first films he made the wrong choice in letting the burger go and thereby leading to the death of Uncle Ben. He isn't Spider-Man because of the power, he's doing because he feels he has to so he can atone for his uncles death. But it interferes with his life, he can't hold a steady job, he can't get to classes on time and he can't be there for his friends. Most importantly, he can't be with Mary Jane because is his enemies found out who he was, she could get hurt.
He makes the choice to quit being Spider-Man, for a while things seem to get better for him, he's getting good grades again and he has a full life, but something still feels off.
Every time he hears police sirens or sees a crime in progress, he walks away and feels very uncomfortable about it. He ultimately has to overcome his insecurities and meet his problems head on instead of trying to run from them.
Kirsten Dunst once again lights up the screen as Mary Jane Watson. She's become frustrated over Peter's apparent reluctance to be with her and lack of commitment as a friend even (brought on by crimefighting duties as Spider-Man no less). She's really starting to feel the absence of Peter in her life which leaves a deep hole inside her emotionally which she's struggling to fill.
Throughout the film, there a few hints that deep down she knows he's Spider-Man but can't bring herself to admit it because she's conflicted. She's inherently selfish but she's trying hard not to be. She wants him to give up being Spider-Man so that they can be together or for him to be with her regardless of the fact that he is Spider-Man.
But at the same time she wants to respect his decision not to endanger her. As a result, she, much like Peter, spends a large chunk of the film being indecisive and taking her frustrations out on him.
James Franco is also once again fantastic as Harry Osborn. In this film, Harry is the entire opposite of Peter. He refuses to change no matter what happens and is entirely obsessed with getting Spider-Man to "pay" for his fathers murder. He doesn't care about what exactly happened regardless of the evidence. But he's also so obsessed with become his father now that he's gone that he feels that he now has to avenge him.
Norman never really paid that much attention to him and Harry almost certainly has a lot of bent up emotions regarding this. He acts so irrationally because he feels he can never measure to him and now that he's dead, he's still trying to impress him.
Ultimately, Harry represents the irredeemable, the character who never makes the right choice even when he's given ample chances to do so and his relationships with Peter and M. J. begin to crumble and Harry allows this to happen.
As Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus, Alfred Molina makes for both a spectacular as well, layered, complex and sympathetic villain. One of the most compelling things about him is he doesn't see himself as a villain.
He starts out as an extremely likeable guy; a legitimate scientist who's conducting experiments to create renewable energy. He has a noble goal but unfortunately, the experiment goes awry and makes him go insane. He looses his wife and his job and he develops a selfish desire to finish his work and make up for loosing his wife which leads him to do terrible things. Acts of violence and criminal activity he doesn't want to commit but feels compelled to. As he says it "the real crime would be not to finish what we started."
Unlike Peter and M. J., his flaw isn't one of indecision, it's one of making a mistake and then trying to fix that mistake by making that same mistake again. He knows very well that his experiment was unstable but he tries it again regardless.
In the first films he made the wrong choice in letting the burger go and thereby leading to the death of Uncle Ben. He isn't Spider-Man because of the power, he's doing because he feels he has to so he can atone for his uncles death. But it interferes with his life, he can't hold a steady job, he can't get to classes on time and he can't be there for his friends. Most importantly, he can't be with Mary Jane because is his enemies found out who he was, she could get hurt.
He makes the choice to quit being Spider-Man, for a while things seem to get better for him, he's getting good grades again and he has a full life, but something still feels off.
Every time he hears police sirens or sees a crime in progress, he walks away and feels very uncomfortable about it. He ultimately has to overcome his insecurities and meet his problems head on instead of trying to run from them.
Kirsten Dunst once again lights up the screen as Mary Jane Watson. She's become frustrated over Peter's apparent reluctance to be with her and lack of commitment as a friend even (brought on by crimefighting duties as Spider-Man no less). She's really starting to feel the absence of Peter in her life which leaves a deep hole inside her emotionally which she's struggling to fill.
Throughout the film, there a few hints that deep down she knows he's Spider-Man but can't bring herself to admit it because she's conflicted. She's inherently selfish but she's trying hard not to be. She wants him to give up being Spider-Man so that they can be together or for him to be with her regardless of the fact that he is Spider-Man.
But at the same time she wants to respect his decision not to endanger her. As a result, she, much like Peter, spends a large chunk of the film being indecisive and taking her frustrations out on him.
James Franco is also once again fantastic as Harry Osborn. In this film, Harry is the entire opposite of Peter. He refuses to change no matter what happens and is entirely obsessed with getting Spider-Man to "pay" for his fathers murder. He doesn't care about what exactly happened regardless of the evidence. But he's also so obsessed with become his father now that he's gone that he feels that he now has to avenge him.
Norman never really paid that much attention to him and Harry almost certainly has a lot of bent up emotions regarding this. He acts so irrationally because he feels he can never measure to him and now that he's dead, he's still trying to impress him.
Ultimately, Harry represents the irredeemable, the character who never makes the right choice even when he's given ample chances to do so and his relationships with Peter and M. J. begin to crumble and Harry allows this to happen.
As Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus, Alfred Molina makes for both a spectacular as well, layered, complex and sympathetic villain. One of the most compelling things about him is he doesn't see himself as a villain.
He starts out as an extremely likeable guy; a legitimate scientist who's conducting experiments to create renewable energy. He has a noble goal but unfortunately, the experiment goes awry and makes him go insane. He looses his wife and his job and he develops a selfish desire to finish his work and make up for loosing his wife which leads him to do terrible things. Acts of violence and criminal activity he doesn't want to commit but feels compelled to. As he says it "the real crime would be not to finish what we started."
Unlike Peter and M. J., his flaw isn't one of indecision, it's one of making a mistake and then trying to fix that mistake by making that same mistake again. He knows very well that his experiment was unstable but he tries it again regardless.
In a lot of ways, he’s the antithesis of Peter: If Peter is the geek gone good, then Otto Octavius is the geek gone bad.
The film does a superb job of building him up as a good person and as a result we feel the tragedy of his situation when he goes insane and becomes a villain.
Additionally J. K. Simmons, Elizabeth Banks, Dylan Baker, Donna Murphy and Bill Nunn round out the films large supporting cast with
The film does a superb job of building him up as a good person and as a result we feel the tragedy of his situation when he goes insane and becomes a villain.
Additionally J. K. Simmons, Elizabeth Banks, Dylan Baker, Donna Murphy and Bill Nunn round out the films large supporting cast with
Spider-Man 2 is superhero film of a unique quality, 5/5.
The Anonymous Critic
Comments
Post a Comment