July 05, 2004
Spiderman 2
Critic: Neal T. Redman
On a scale of 0 to Awesome, I rate this: Solid and Thoughtful
Released: June 30, 2004
Director: Sam Raimi
MPAA RATING: PG-13, for stylized action violence
Spidey and Sam Raimi are back, and they have delivered. The first movie was well done, but it was still... lacking something. I'm not sure if it was the usual doldrums of having to introduce new characters in a comic universe, or what, but it wasn't quite all there.
In the second film, Raimi doesn't deviate from his approach in the first film, he just does it better. The movie really fires on all cylinders throughout with excellent pacing, mixing up character development, action, pathos, and humor with excellent timing. A fine example of this can be seen early on in the film, where a serious scene between two characters is followed by a much more lighthearted elevator scene.
Raimi really has capitalized on Spiderman in this movie. For many comic book readers, he's their favorite because he's so human. His powers hurt him more than help him, and it's not all a bed of roses. Both the first and second film are able to capture the thrill and fun of Spiderman's powers (you can really see how much fun swinging through New York would be), but also their negative aspects as well.
Kirsten Dunst still leaves a little to be desired (but more as an actress in The Importance of Being Earnest), but is still able to pull off her part, and the rest of the cast does an excellent job, giving the movie a balanced sense of seriousness and fun.
Never too serious, never too lighthearted, Spiderman 2 sets the bar for all superhero movies. Too bad it came out too late for Halle Berry and Catwoman to follow its lead.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and felt that any other super-hero movie just got served. There's a completeness(even though it's sort of a "to be continued...") to it that most of the genre lack. They took risks and left many questions unaswered and it still worked. I loved when the still frame with the 'happy' music after Peter's professor complimented him. Bringing in more comedy also brought in more of the true Spidey comic book feel. Although the comic book Parker is much more sacastic, I can still appreciate the type of character they are developing in with the film. Maybe by Spider-man 6 Peter will be grown up and have a well-developed sense of irony.
Posted by: eddie at July 9, 2004 10:13 AMYeah, I miss some of Spidey's usual wisecracks. "Ohhhh, Jameson, you really do care." Heh. Jameson, thankfully, is still the old bastard he is from the comics. There are differences in characters, but they still work. Which is much more than far too many films based on other works can say.
Posted by: Neal at July 12, 2004 10:35 PMI'm hoping to see this soon. I went to see it opening weekend and I totally was not gonna stand in that line. I didn't want to see it, but you seem to have rated it so highly that I'm sluggishly going to get into a theater hopefully this weekend. I'll post my thoughts when I get a view in!
Posted by: Steph Lewis at July 23, 2004 10:57 PM