Sucks To Be Spidey.

Even my wife liked this one.

She’s about four weeks away from having our second son, and it takes a lot to get her to go see a movie these days. Especially a superhero or sci-fi movie. Couple her uncomfortability with my work schedule which means we only get one night a week together, and it was a Big Decision to go see Spider-Man 2. I kept asking her “are you sure…we don’t have to…” even though I really REALLY wanted to.

So we went out, and after the last web had been shot, and the last swing had been swung, the first thing she said was “that was really good!” And if she liked it…it’s good.

I’ve read review after glowing review about Spider-Man 2, and since I thought that the first one was a great example of what a first superhero movie should be, I had high hopes for the second. It met all of those expectations, and created new ones for what will be the third entry in a stellar (or arachnid) franchise.

From the opening credits, this movie did things right. They re-told the events of the first movie in a drawn comic book panel format, so if you were one of the seven people on the planet who didn’t see the first movie (my parents are two of them, so that leaves five…), you’re caught up to speed before you see the first scene of the flick. Great way to do it, and a nice homage to Spidey’s pulp origins.

The plot is basically that a brilliant scientist experiments with fusion technology, gets some robotic arms fused to him, and rampages through Manhattan. Spider-Man’s life sucks, Peter Parker’s life sucks more, and since the two are the same guy…well, it sucks to be Spidey. Mary Jane Watson, the girl he loves, is engaged to someone else, his best friend Harry blames him for the death of his father, and his Aunt May is losing her house. Could life possibly get any worse for him? You bet.

And that’s the movie in a nutshell. Director Sam Raimi, along with story and script writers who know their stuff, still could have screwed it up. But they didn’t. So they took that story, and made a great flick. What really made it work? Four different elements.

First, the hero. Spider-Man works so well because he’s the most human of superheroes. Does Bruce Wayne know what it’s like struggling to pay rent? Does Clark Kent know what it’s like to REALLY be a geek? Peter Parker really is the geek, who happens to luck into spider powers. But he’s still a geek. Tobey Maguire is believable and lovable as both Peter and Spider-Man, and it’s his performance of both heroes that provided the most angst, the most laughs, and the most thrills. Not the special effects (more on them later), not the sheer excitement of seeing Spider-Man in action…but Maguire’s performance. Some reviews I’ve read haven’t even touched on that, but he completely nails both the hero and the dweeb. Great work, Tobey! This is a different hero than the wet-behind-the-ears Spidey from the first movie, and it makes a more enjoyable movie. He’s a little tired, and the cumulative effects of troubles at work, at home, at school, and in his love life all contribute to his loss of his powers. I’ve seen this compared to “Superman II,” but it’s handled here in a better way than that movie—more believable and of more consequence than what we saw when Supes hung up the cape so he could get it on with Lois Lane. There are a few plot points revealed in the trailer which I was sure would turn out to be a dream or hallucination or some other “unreal” part of Spidey’s life…but they really happen, and things like a train of New Yorkers seeing Pete’s face in the Spider-Man costume make him even more human, more real, and more of a hero for the people. Great stuff.

The second thing that really worked well in this movie was the villain: Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius, AKA Doc Octopus or “Doc Ock.” The effects used to realize his biomechanical arms, both CGI and practical, were better than the effects used in the first movie. He was a more satisfying villain in most ways than Willem Dafoe was as the Green Goblin…more cerebral, Molina’s face wasn’t obscured by a mask the way Dafoe’s was, and we knew what Doc Ock was after. Not as manic as the Goblin, his ultimate defeat by Spider-Man was a much better ending for the villain than the fistfight that finished off Green Goblin. Octavius was more human before his transformation, a cooler villain onscreen during the film, and deserved more screentime than he really got.

Third, the special effects used in this movie were much better than in the first outing. One of the few problems I had with the first movie was some of the CGI Spideywork. He looked too cartoony in a few scenes…to the point where it pulled me out of the movie and I said “that’s not Spidey—that’s not even Tobey!” So I was pleased to see a much better CGI double for Tobey; there were scenes where I wasn’t quite sure if it was a guy in a suit or a bunch of pixels…either way, the effect was great. My wife was bugged by a webswinging scene toward the end of the flick…I think I was caught up enough in it that I missed it. I already mentioned Doc Ock’s arms…and they’re very cool, but a bit more brutal even than the weaponry we saw Green Goblin use in the first flick. The great thing about the effects in this movie is that they’re tools used to tell the greater story…not the story itself. Excellent.

The fourth element that really made this movie great is one that maybe only geeks like me get into…and that’s the overall arc that these movies are taking. After the first movie, I remember thinking “that was very good…hope they don’t screw it up.” That’s probably the result of watching the fourth entries in the Superman and Batman franchises. So far, things are going great. The Peter-Mary Jane arc is wonderful, and looks like it may be heading for a Spidey 3 Wedding. Spider-Man growing into his own man is another part of the arc…and his struggles in college and with MJ are a big part of that, as is his relationship with his Aunt May. I was surprised that she became a fan of Spider-Man so quickly…but events would kinda dictate that considering what happens to her in the movie. The most intriguing arc looks like it’s going to come from Harry Osborn…Peter Parker’s best friend, and the son of the Late Green Goblin. Played by James Franco with more brooding and skill than Star Wars’ Hayden Christensen, Harry is showing his true colors by the end of the movie, with great potential welling up for the next movie. It’s hard to be a rich kid sometimes…and even harder when Dad just got killed by a superhero. Very interesting, very cool.

…this isn’t a perfect movie. Part of that has to do with my dislike of Kirsten Dunst…a blank-faced, mescaline-eyed chickie who just doesn’t look good with Mary Jane’s trademark red hair. I liked her more this time around, although I thought it was an…interesting choice to have her hair as nasty as it was when she wasn’t either modeling or playing a role. The tousled look is good…that look was not. And no, I’m not talking about after she’s been beaten up by Doc Ock. Before that. Her casting choice is the only one that still doesn’t quite ring true…only Peter’s love for MJ makes her come alive. Most of the humor in the film worked well, but there were a few that could be taken as racial jabs, if not full-on slurs.

This was an excellent movie, fully deserving of five stars. I can’t wait to see what’s coming next, and hope they can keep the creative team together for the third movie. With all the webs, all the adventure, and all the passion that these movies have, they’re giving comic books a good name.

And the “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” sequence will probably be my Favorite Movie Scene of 2004.