Spiderman 2

Review by Garnet Brooks

The second in this series is almost as good as the first. The director is Sam Raimi. Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, and Albert Molina are its stars. It is a blockbuster movie that nonetheless manages to be complex and interesting.

While the mirror image of the Green Goblin appears briefly, the villain here is Doc Ock short for Doctor Octopus. Goofy names are still around in this second film and this one testifies to Spiderman's comic book origins. The doctor is part mad scientist and part ethical man. He is looking for a cheap, clean power source which for some unfathomable reason leads him to graft a metal spine and metal octopus-like arms onto his back. There is an explanation for this but it doesn't make much sense. Still, visually he is splendid and gets to climb tall buildings and fight with Spiderman as the arachnoid hero jumps from building to building trailing his superwebs.

Harry is back as the best friend and Peter Parker is still in love with MJ who is now a success. Her face is plastered on billboards all around the city while Peter is still getting fired from jobs. He lives in the city selling his pictures now and again but decides to take a break from the hero business. He becomes happier, succeeds as a student, relates to his loved ones and hangs out. It can't last. Peter's aunt is his conscious much as his uncle was in the first film. Peter realizes as he is talking to her that he must step up again and become the city's protector even if most of the inhabitants think he is a menace.

Peter is there when needed fighting Doc Ock. The man was an acquaintance of his before the doctor went bad. Peter is there in the end to help the man regain control of himself from the snake-like mechanoid arms that have taken control of the doctor's brain.

The conflict is still there between MJ and Peter. MJ has found an astronaut boyfriend and promises to marry him. Peter does not want to lose MJ but he is afraid she will come to harm. She does. Doc Ock realizing that Peter loves her captures MJ setting up a great action sequence. Peter and MJ still have time to work it out.

One of the things Raimi does in this film is play with the secret identity theme. One example of this is an action sequence in which Spiderman looses his mask as he is trying to stop a runaway subway car. All the passengers see his face but no one tells. For the first time Peter feels a sense that the people he saves appreciate and respect him. This is not the only incident of unmasking. MJ as well as Harry find out his secret identity. Though it is not stated directly one gets the sense that Peter's aunt too suspects his secret identity.

Stan Lee has a cameo performance in this film again. We also see two other familiar figures. One is the nerdy underling played by Ted Raimi, brother of the director. He is a part of the newspaper staff. The larger than life character who is its managing editor is J. Jonah Jameson, as hard-bitten as they get. He is played by J.K. Simmons. His performance is wonderfully funny. He and Ted Raimi make a great pair.

As usual, at the end good triumphs but harbingers of things to come are planted. Harry has spent this film hating Spiderman and when he discovers his identity and discovers the truth about his father's death he is left tormented. He discovers his father's cache of weapons.

The story line here is clear and linear. For an action film it is surprisingly focused on people's feelings especially on those of Peter. Peter is struggling with his sense of identity. Raimi elaborates on his ideas about this to some extent in the director's commentary.

The Spiderman two disc set has great extras. It has commentaries, a blooper reel, a music video, and an extensive documentary. Their are neat things like a trivia game. The film is already a classic. I even got used to that blue and red spandex costume.