Spider-Man 2

The second time was quite obviously the charm with the Spider-Man franchise. The second movie is head and shoulders better than the first one and the first one was damn good. Spider-Man the original put the ball on the tee and Spider-Man 2 proceeds to hit a home run. It is nice when things work out that way. With anticipation so high, both Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire exceed their previous work and may have crafted the greatest comic book movie of all time. Calm down, I said "may have" so I feel no need to defend that statement.

See how much better these movies are when it is not bogged down with introducing each and every character along with explaining how a man can climb walls and swings through the streets of NYC. That’s what the opening credits are for! The sequel captures important elements of Peter Parker that were not shown the first time around. Peter is constantly strapped for cash and it was nice to see him just try to stay afloat. His life is hard but he still puts on the costume because he is driven by the words of his uncle. All of that work makes the switch at middle of the story work that much better. Also all the scenes in his rundown apartment complex are nice pauses for comic relief. I still believe Ursula deserves her own spin-off. Peter’s relationships with Aunt May, Mary Jane, and Harry Osborn are all seamless continuations from the first movie. Nothing feels forced just to create drama for a new movie; Mary Jane’s confused feelings work, Harry’s journey into obsession work, and the revelations between Peter and Aunt May work. Since the Green Goblin is gone, Dr. Octopus is a worthy successor. Raimi has fun with the birth of Doc Ock, mainly finding creative ways to show each tentacle’s separate mind. Following the casting of Willem Dafoe with Alfred Molina was a genius choice. He is another actor that can ground such an extreme character so that his actions become believable and man that dude has metal arms connected to his back and I just used the word believable. In true sequel fashion, the action sections are bigger this time around. The train fight alone is much grander than what was done in the first film. Even if it does include the stupid de-masking in public scene; camera phone snap no more secret identity. Although there was nothing truly lacking in the film, the final scenes with Harry raise the entire thing to the next level. His reaction to Peter’s face underneath the mask, Peter demanding information instead of dealing with the revelation, and the whole final scene where Norman Osborn appears to Harry and the true nature of his Goblin father is revealed. All the work done by the actors inside the Daily Bugle also deserved to be mentioned. There are just some great moments at that newspaper. Check that, there are just some great moments throughout the movie.

Spider-Man 2 is such a fine piece of work that I don’t really feel the need to go on and on detailing why it is what it is. There is no debate here. The damn thing breaks the 90% mark on Rotten Tomatoes and that is usually Oscar territory. With the passing of time there could have been some degradation but that isn’t the case. A full recommendation then is still a full recommendation today.

10 out of 10