In my review of 2002’s blockbuster, Spider-Man, I said that it was good but it missed the mark on a few key elements: the villain’s motivation and the love story. Sam Raimi must have read my review because the sequel, aptly named Spider-Man 2, not only fixes those problems but keeps everything else as good as or better than the original. Spider-Man 2 is one of those extremely rare sequels that not only improves on the first film, it also raises the bar for the inevitable sequel to follow.
The story picks up roughly two years after the events of Spider-Man. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is feeling the strain that being a superhero puts on one’s personal life. Now a college student, his grades are failing because he’s always late for class or turning in assignments. His relationship with Mary-Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) has also run into rough seas since he cannot keep even the simplest commitment to see her play due to the demands of saving the good people of New York City. His relationship with Harry Osborn (James Franco) is strained by Harry’s obsession with finding and destroying Spider-Man to avenge his dead father, the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), although Harry doesn’t know his best friend is Spider-Man. Peter’s Aunt May (Rosemary Harris), who is still disturbed by the death of Uncle Ben, is in danger of losing her house because she’s behind on the payments.
As Peter’s life unravels, an Oscorp scientist, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), seems to have created the ability to generate power from fusion, which promises cheap electricity with little waste. To handle the extremely dangerous materials needed to perform his procedure, Octavius has created four mechanical arms which plug into his spine and possess highly-developed artificial intelligence. An accident in the lab fuses the arms to his back and allows them to plug into his cerebral cortex and control him for evil purposes.
Of course, Dr. Octopus and Spider-Man duke it out in some incredible action sequences but what makes Spider-Man 2 so good is that it doesn’t merely string the action together with some obligatory scenes that just put the principal actors in peril. Director Sam Raimi is not content with that. The screenplay treats its characters with respect by giving them truly weighty issues to deal with intelligently and with a nice touch of humor. When Peter Parker decides to ditch his Spider-Man costume and follow his heart, the audience is able to sympathize completely with him. That wouldn’t happen with most superhero films. Spider-Man 2 is not merely a superhero film, it’s the best superhero film ever. That’s not an over-simplification. It’s the truth.
From the subtle but effective performance of Alfred Molina as Dr. Octavius to Tobey Maguire’s greatly improved performance, Spider-Man 2‘s cast are all exceptional. Kirsten Dunst is charming and delicious as the love interest, Mary Jane. Even J. K. Simmons is back in fine form as the grumpy, cheap, and hilarious J. Jonah Jameson.
Spider-Man 2 has improved on the original’s formula in every category. I only hope the sequel, which may now be more anticipated than this film, is even half as good. Spider-Man 2 has raised the bar for the series.
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
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