Spiderman 2
Grade:
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Plot Summary:
Spiderman deals with personal issues in his life, and the arrival of Doctor Octopus with his own sinister plans. Much, much more ticket-buying follows...
Opinion:
Everyone
knows sequels are never as good as the original--they tend to turn into 'money grabs' instead of creative endeavors where the same plot and situations from the original are recycled to try to vainly recapture what people liked about the original. (Video game sequels are an exception, because graphics technology gets better every year and it's easy to make a better looking game the second time around). Comic book superhero sequels might just be a second exception too. (And you can insert your own joke about how the amount of CGI in movies these days makes them
seem like video games...) It's not hard to figure out why comic book sequels can succeed--the first movie in a superhero series usually has to spend a fair amount of time on the 'origin story' whereas future movies already have the origin in the books and can more efficiently head into the main plot. Plus, comic books are inherently designed to have continuing adventures and storylines from month to month, so comic book movies tend to be open-ended in the same way. (Many sequels fail because the first movie wrapped things up so tightly--without planning on being successful enough for a sequel--that there was nowhere for future movies to go)
Sequels are much more risky financially as well--generally they will only make from 50% to 75% of the gross of the original, which is cut down even more because the actors from a successful film will demand higher salaries for the sequel, etc... However, comic book movies have tended to be exceptions again, as X2 grossed far more than the original, and Spiderman 2 is already (as of now--five days after release) breaking box office records. I mentioned "
Spiderman" (the first) was good but 'overrated'--where the quality didn't quite match the box office. "Spiderman 2", like "X2", really is an improvement on its predecessor in almost every respect--so if it's in the cards for S2 to end up with $400+ million box office again--well, you won't be hearing any complaints from me.
So, in what areas does S2 improve on S1?
Villain: Excuse the untechnical jargon, but Doctor Octopus is just...
cool. The Green Goblin didn't really have any special abilities or unique characteristics, but Doc Ock--he's special. "Spiderman 2", like the first, also takes the time to get to know Dr. Octavius--giving him a human side which adds to the drama when he and Spiderman face off.
Humor: While "Spiderman 2" would never be considered a comedy, there's lots of light moments which keep the movie from getting too serious. Spiderman 2 really is a 'fun' movie--simultaneously funny, dramatic, moving, and exhilarating.
Romance: There's a better sense of the connection between Mary Jane and Peter in this one, and the movie takes the time to develop it carefully. Some critics have complained that the emphasis on Peter's (failed) love life and other non-action scenes slow the movie's pace to a crawl--however, as mentioned in the "Spiderman" analysis, the key to the success and appeal of Spiderman is Peter Parker, and thus emphasis on his struggles and feelings in his non-crime fighting life is not only acceptable but vital. Plus, Peter and Mary Jane have a happier, more satisfactory resolution.
Action: The action scenes go for quality, not quantity, since the movie has other things it wants to get done too. However, as quality goes, it is in this area that I think director Sam Raimi has made his biggest improvement. There is a faster pace to the action set pieces--not in the sense of constant MTV-style short attention span cuts (a characteristic of weaker action movies, where cuts are made as quickly as possible to hide the lack of physical skills of the combatants), but in the sense of more things happen in a shorter length of time. The faster pace helps add to the excitement by neither being slow developing, nor going on for too long (critical mistakes in action scenes) Plus, you know, that 'coolness' thing in any scene with Doc Ock in it...
Content Analysis: (0-2-3-0 on the Baron's scale, light-to-mid PG-13)
Spiderman 2 has the same 'stylized action violence' in its predecessor and other recent comic book movies, but I found the violence to be less brutal and bloody this time around. The faster pace of the action scenes makes it seem like they might be more brutal, but in actuality, even by PG-13 standards, Raimi has shown a lot of restraint. Many scenes are scary and tense (the 13 and 14 year olds who accompanied us to the movie closed their eyes at some parts, because they thought something bad was going to happen) but in the end aren't bad at all. The robotic tentacles could have easily been used to do some real 'hard-R' carnage if the filmmakers had so desired, but as it turns out they just grab people and throw them around a lot.
In-depth Analysis:
The first movie (and my subsequent analysis) discussed the main Spiderman theme "With great power comes great responsibility"--the idea that Peter is obligated to serve his fellow man after having received the 'gift' of spider powers. To what extent is he responsible for helping others, though? How much time should he be spending actively helping people as Spiderman, and how much being Peter Parker? This conflict is central to Peter's personal crisis in the first half of the movie, as every other aspect of his life gets messed up by his time as Spiderman. How does Peter decide when he's 'superheroing' too much and needs to slow down?
The main problem is that even with super powers, Peter can't be everywhere at once. In a city with over ten million people, there will always be people somewhere whom he can't help. You can see the feeling of regret Peter has when he saves one person from a burning building but hears that someone else inside died. It's natural for him to want to save 'everyone', but not realistic.
I'm reminded of the story about a man walking along a beach early in the morning and sees an older man ahead of him throwing starfish on the beach into the ocean. The old man explains that if the starfish are still on the sand when the sun comes out, they will die, so he's throwing them back into the sea to save them. The man looked at the vast stretch of beach in both directions, covered with starfish, and said, "There's so many of them, and you'll only have time to save a few before the sun comes. Do you really think you're making a difference?" The old man replied, looking at the starfish in his hand, "It makes a difference for this one, doesn't it?".
I think Peter is correct in thinking he needed to slow down a little (although not give up entirely...) and live his own life as well--while helping those he has a chance to without trying to hard to save 'everyone'.
A related issue came to mind while watching "Spiderman 2". The existence of Spiderman is known to the people of New York, the same way Superman and Batman were known to the inhabitants of Metropolis and Gotham City respectively (which are really just representations of New York City, anyway--NYC seems to have the monopoly on superheroes...)
What happens, though, if you live in the same city as a superhero, but when you get in trouble, he doesn't come (busy somewhere else or something...)? This would have to happen quite often, since even Superman can't be in two places at once, but do you suppose there would be a backlash against a superhero who saves some people but not others?
In my
post on 'Blessings and Rights' I discussed the tendency of some people to treat new forms of medical technology and drugs as 'rights' which everyone deserves, rather than blessings that are able to save a certain number of people whom normally would have no chance. Do you suppose people who lived with a superhero would start to think of being saved by him as a 'right'--and thus get mad if he happened to save someone else when they got in trouble but not you? I think they would...
Do you suppose someone would start collecting statistics to show that Spiderman, for example, happened to save a higher percentage of white people, versus minorites, and thus he's 'biased' (he might not get over to the predominantly black neighborhoods in NYC that often...) Do you suppose there would be a lawsuit (assuming you found someone to sue...)? The Spiderman movies do a good job of portraying life in the 'real world', but I think a deeper analysis of how actually having a superhero living in your midst would change the view of society. (You can already see a little bit of this, when you hear about people describe a 'miraculous' escape from danger, or a 'miraculous' healing which is ascribed to God, and immediately one or more agnostic/atheist types will complain about God saving that person but not someone else.)
Random Notes and Comments:
(1) For those of you who live in or have been to New York before and are little confused watching the train scenes; no, New York City doesn't have an elevated train running through the city now--those scenes were filmed in Chicago.
(2) Alfred Molina (Doc Ock) had his first film role alongside Harrison Ford, as Indiana Jones's companion in "Raiders of the Lost Ark". He was the guy who accompanied Indy into the cave into the beginning, betrayed him, and then met an ignoble death. Ironically, if you remember, one of his scenes in that movie involved him being covered in spiders.
(3) Peter Parker talks a lot about protecting the people he loves by not telling them about his secret identity--but, ironically, both Aunt May and Mary Jane are constantly in danger throughout both movies anyway. Might as well just give in and get the girl, right?
(4) No, I don't know how Doc Ock knew Peter was at the diner with Mary Jane...
(5) You'll notice this movie has a 'New York Unity' moment, same as the first. This one's MUCH better...
(6) Dr. Octavius's fusion project was his life's work--so, how and when did he get the time to research, design, develop, and test the advanced robotic tentacles?
(7) ...and if the tentacles are tied to and controlled by his brain, why do they need their own AI?
(8) ...and why would Dr. Octavius and Oscorp be ruined by the fusion project's failure? Seems to me the robotic tentacle technology would be worth a pretty penny in its own right...
