Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Flash forward two years and life is no easier for Peter Parker (Toby Maguire). He’s still pining over Mary-Jane Watson (Kirstin Dunst), he’s getting no end of slack about his ‘friend the bug’ from Harry Osborne (James Franco) and as well as that he’s failing school with no money to support himself with. But at least he doesn’t have any super-villains to fight…right…?

That score rises up once again and suddenly, we’re back. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been since you may have seen Spider-Man, both the general feel and the ‘recap’ put you right back in the mood. The recap is shown via some wonderfully drawn out reconstructed images from the first film. It’s more fun than a flashback and better than nothing.

Something instantly different about Spider-Man 2 is that it instantly focuses on humour. Within Spider-Man, humour was there, but it was used mostly to show us more about the characters, or move the plot along. With this film, however, now that the ‘origin story’ is done and wrapped up, there’s time to play around. But as well as that, the opening scene, a hyper-active depiction of Pete’s job as a pizza delivery boy, shows that sometimes his life is just as epic as his alter-ego’s, which is always a good thing because we get to see what everybody wants: the ability to use super-powers for their own agenda. But never fear! Spider-Man is still not selfish, as we see when everyone’s favourite mutant arachnid saves a few children from a bus. It seems that pizza delivering isn’t all that Peter has on his hands either. All hell is breaking loose for him at the Daily Bugle, where he’s still trying to flog pictures of Spider-Man to loudmouthed arrogant (yet slightly noble) editor J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons). I think it’s fair to say that (as in Spider-Man) J.K. Simmons steals just about every scene he’s in. In terms of sheer hilarity, the man hit’s the mark and flies off the scale. There seems to be an aura about him that just makes it impossible to keep a straight face. That or, as is commonly perceived, he is just a really fantastic actor.

It seems that like Peter, loving old Aunt May is also somewhat low on money. One of the first really strong scenes built on action alone is of May giving her broke nephew the last scrap of cash she has. Returning director Sam Raimi seems to know that he can up-the-ante and does so to full effect at the most conveniently distressing of times. On that note, it seems like some kind of miracle that it’s so easy to follow the plotlines (for there are a lot). Maybe it’s down to Raimi’s ability to blend everything together and give everything a reason for happening but somehow everything just fits.

Considering it’s been 3 years since the release, it almost feels bad to say that the CG still looks absolutely wonderful. Usually, effects are dated within 6 months but somehow Spider-Man 2 (which won an Academy Award for its effects) stands tall and proud, still looking beautiful.
As ever with Spider-Man the camera movements are fluidly creative and generally incredible. Due to the extreme nature of the plot (It’s a man with the attributes of a spider!) you need to be inventive with your camera movements and Spider-Man 2 doesn’t disappoint for a second. Danny Elfman’s score naturally is superb and finally, the whole dialogue problem is sorted out. There may not be a great deal of stand out lines, but it’s generally better than the first film.

A special note for the legendary Bruce Campbell who returns in yet another cameo. This time Bruce is a character credited only as ‘rude usher’. To say anymore would completely wreck every fibre of the scene but it’s easily one of the stand-out parts of just about any super-hero film.

Before long Peter is invited to meet a doctor Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina). One of the first impressions one might get are that he’s outspoken and opinionated (“Peter Parker: brilliant but lazy…”) but it doesn’t take long to learn that he is wise. Not just clever (as a scientist, that’s expected) but wise. However, as wise as he is who really holds a possibly cataclysmic experiment that has the potential to harness the power of the sun at the heart of New York?! Just destroy the city why don’t you…
Naturally, to harness the power of the sun, Octavius isn’t going to use his hands. We’ve gathered that the man is ambitious (overly so) but also wise. And so he crafted 4 metallic arms which connect themselves to his spinal column so he can control them. It all seems good until he puts the arms on, because it isn’t until that point that you truly see how much of a hideous spectacle they really are. Naturally, you can guess what happens…
As push comes to shove, we find ourselves in the midst of a ‘metal arm slaughter’ which is without doubt one of the most disturbing scenes ever committed to film. “But this is a children’s film,” you may cry “surely they’re clichéd as all hell?” I’m afraid not. There may not be any claret, but it’s a fine example of how suspense, great shots and set pieces have more effect than any bucket full of gore for your average teenage slasher addict ever will.

It seems rather petty to bring it up but one of the (admittedly) few problems with Spider-Man 2 is the transitions. It tries some new ones and frankly, they don’t work. I can’t imagine a star-wipe (or in this case spider-wipe) has ever worked in anything other than Star Wars. It seems that simple fades and cuts are best for the Spider-Man films.

The bank set piece is just plain coolness. The CG is smoking and remember those inventive, impressive camera movements? They’re flung into overdrive here. Generally, seeing Spider-Man [try to] dodge the car doors and bags of money thrown at him by Doc Ock is immense. Hell, seeing Ock throwing them is a remarkable in it’s own right. The design of the character is somewhat astonishing and makes for a great deal of creativity which is shown frequently. And if nothing else, the bank scene is great because once again, we’re treated to Mr Stan Lee saving someone once again. Looks like you don’t need super powers to be a hero.

As the film goes on it gets progressively darker, skilfully reflecting Pete’s perceptions on many the events and his responsibilities as Spider-Man.
One of the great things about Elfman’s score is that the cinematography and actors never have to push too far to show Pete’s pain in any kind of abstract way, but the score manages to create a strong emotion along with the acting in the context of the script.

The single biggest problem with the film has to be the inclusion of a song.Whoever decided ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’ should have been inserted into the film needs to be kept away from films from now on. It doesn’t matter if it was Raimi or Elfman, it just doesn’t fit at all. It just feels really cringeworthy and not in a “Wow, I can’t believe they did that.” kind of way. It just feels embarrassing in comparison to the darker tone that had successfully been built up before it.

Despite that, though, the good far outweighs the bad and this is definitely a must for all the fans of the first.

Darker, deeper and a little dafter. Spider-Man 2 is a perfect example of how sequels should turn out and shows in being one of the better Super-Hero films out there.

5/5