| Spider-Man 2 Can director Sam Raimi and his team do it again? You betcha—and then some.
As the sequel opens, Peter Parker is living with the consequences of his Episode 1 choice to use his great Spidey powers responsibly. Protecting the innocent and fighting crime is costing him everything—his job, his academic studies, and, worst of all, any chance to spend time with his secret love Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). On top of that, Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) won’t give Spidey a break in the paper and won’t give Peter any real work. And Aunt May (Rosemary Harris), still grieving the loss of Uncle Ben, is about to lose her house to the bank. Things go from bad to worst when Peter’s Spider-Man hating best friend Harry (James Franco) introduces Peter to his scientific hero, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina). Dr. Octavius’s attempt to create fusion ends in disaster, leaving the newly created Doc Ock with four huge indestructible and powerful mechanical arms that somehow control his mind, prompting him to do any evil necessary to recreate the destructive fusion experiment on a grand scale. Meanwhile, Peter seems to be losing his powers. Eventually, he decides that the cost of being Spider-Man is too high, anyway. No friends. No money. No Mary Jane. Why should he be the one to give up everything to protect people? Why not throw in the cowl?
The Verdict (What we thought of the movie on it’s own.) I mostly liked the first “Spider-Man” film, but in this outing director Raimi and his cast outgrow the original in every area. The lightning-fast and intricate action is better than any superhero movie I’ve seen. A showdown fight scene on and around an elevated train is worth the price of admission alone. Another brief scene, in which Peter and Mary Jane attempt to dodge a car hurled through a shop window, is just visually stunning. As with the first film, Raimi is again unafraid to eat up lots of screen time with—gasp!—talking. Hardcore action fiends might object, but all that character development pays off big time when the cars start flying and the webs start slinging. Raimi’s refusal to rush though scenes in order to satisfy the attention-challenged gives the story room to breathe. He really wants us to care about these characters—and we do. Two examples: In one scene, Spider-Man’s powers falter and he’s forced to ride an elevator to the ground floor of a building. We get an eternal and funny two-shot of Spidey standing next to a fellow passenger making small talk about his suit. Then in a painful scene, Peter confesses to Aunt May his involvement in Uncle Ben’s death. The camera stays on him, alone at the dining room table, for what felt like minutes. Long, refreshing minutes in the era of quick cuts and jump scenes. When looked at in a black-and-white script, the Shakespearean relationships in “Spider-Man 2,” the colorful costumes, and the wordy monologs about hope and heroes and courage must feel downright corny. But Raimi’s commitment to pull you into the characters—and his actors’ ability to deliver those characters—makes the whole corny package feel like grand opera instead of big cartoon. Especially satisfying is Alfred Molina’s portrayal of Doc Ock. He delivers a soulful villain in a roll that could have made many an actor look ridiculous. Maguire steps up his game from the first film, disappearing into that old vacant look of his much less frequently. Dunst and Franco are fine if not memorable. And Rosemary Harris shines as the not-so-frail old Aunt May who helps set Peter back on the right path with the most moving of the movie’s corny/triumphant speeches. If “S-M 2” stumbles, it’s in the ending. In addition to wrapping up the Doc Ock story, the film rapid-fires through a series of rushed “reveals” between most of the major characters. You become aware that you’re being set up for the already planned third movie, and you just wait to see how much you’ll be given to sit on between now and then. It turns out we’re given a lot. We breeze through “big” moments that feel like they should have been developed as carefully as the rest of the story. Still, a rushed, multiple ending is a small price to pay for a worthwhile comic book movie that nails both satisfying action and some meaty worldview issues. Also appreciated is the surprising absence of much profanity and any sexual content. The film’s rating comes from the intense and bloodless (though sometimes fatal) comic book violence.
Worldview (How the movie’s perspective on life compares with a biblical take.) In the end, “Spider-Man 2” succeeds most because all that talking and relationship-development is actually about something bigger than the story itself. “Spider-Man 2” isn’t just a good-versus-evil film. Its central conflict is much closer to real life—right versus less right. Not satisfied to just revisit the first film’s moral: “With great power comes great responsibility,” this movie shows us the gritty reality of what that responsibility can cost—money, friendships, respect, true love. That message alone puts “Spider-Man 2” in a rare class of films courageous enough to deliver a message that truly counters our culture’s loudest cries—“find what works best for you and do that; make yourself happy first.” But Raimi and the screenwriters don’t even stop there. They also take the time to show us the cost of giving up—of turning your back on doing the right thing because it’s just too hard. It is your choice. And you may even be happier for while, as Peter is when he rejects his Spidey powers. But eventually you have to face the consequences of putting your own happiness above the good of others. It’s just not a life worth living. Aunt May’s speech to Peter nails it. The world desperately needs heroes willing to set aside their own dreams of happiness in order to do the harder thing—men and women courageous enough to find contentment in giving themselves away to others instead of looking for satisfaction on the easier road. For Christians, Jesus set the bar even higher: “Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it,” (Matthew 10:38-39, NIV). Our greatest hero sacrificed His whole life to offer salvation to the world. Those who claim His name need the courage to sacrifice our lives to walk His costly path. Of course, it’s terminal. But what other life is worth living? If you see the movie, questions you can discuss with friends, parents, or just think about yourself: • Do think “Spider-Man 2” topped the first one? • Did you like all the talking and relationship-building in the film, or did you want to see more action? • What was your favorite action sequence? • Were you surprised by all the revelations at the end of the film? • What do you expect is going to happen in the next movie? • What great powers have you been given? What right things do you think you should be doing in your life? What does doing the right thing cost you? • If you’re a Christian, what would you say are your spiritual gifts? Have you found a way to use those spiritual gifts to do the right thing by serving others (1 Corinthians 12)? • What does it cost you when you choose
not to do the right thing in your life? Why? |
