Review #1,363: 'Spider-Man 2' (2004)

With the popularity of superhero movies now at an all-time high, thanks mainly to the runaway success of Marvel's Cinematic Universe, there's a reason that the likes of Richard Donner's Superman and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 are still considered two of the finest examples of the genre. These skilled, experienced film-makers were allowed to fully explore the character beyond the cape and build a tangible world from the pages of the comics they clearly admired. Raimi's 2002 introduction to the wall-crawler was a bigger hit than the studio could have ever imagined, so he was granted even more creative control on the direction to take the story for the follow-up. We last saw Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker turn his back on the love of his life as he struggled to juggle his personal life with the heroics required of possessing such great power, and Spider-Man 2 spends much of its opening hour dealing with the aftermath.

It's a slow build, but one which highlights Raimi's attention to detail. Peter Parker is just as important as his alter-ego Spider-Man, and this sequel explores the idea that one may have to be sacrificed for the other. Parker, a highly gifted student, is struggling to meet his homework deadlines, find time for his beloved Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), and his instinct to follow every police siren sees him sacked from a pizza delivery job. When his doubts start to cause his web-shooters to dry up, he decides the time has come to hang up the costume once and for all. His grades improve, but it may be too late to rekindle any romance with Mary Jane, who has agreed to marry her handsome astronaut boyfriend (who also happens to be the son of Parker's boss, the gloriously unethical J. Jonah Jameson played by the irreplaceable J.K. Simmons). However, thanks to his best friend Harry Osborne (James Franco), Peter lands a gig shadowing the world-renowned scientist Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina). When a fusion experiment goes tragically wrong, Octavius is transformed into the eight-limbed Dr. Octopus, and Spidey's heroics are called upon once again.

As with all the great superhero villains, 'Doc Ock' is a distorted reflection of our hero. As Peter's powers burden him with great responsibility, Octavius - a good guy under the control of his newly acquired robotic tentacles - wrestles with his own alter-ego. In a genre so often watered down with CGI action, it's refreshing to see so much attention devoted to developing the characters' arcs. If anything, Spider-Man 2 is less engaging when the focus lingers on the hero/villain smackdowns. With more creative control at his disposal, Raimi cannot resist returning to the genre he made his name in back in 1981 with The Evil Dead, which is still one of the inventive horror films ever made. He particularly indulges himself during the now-famous scene of Octavius waking up in theatre, and Raimi throws the camera at his victims POV-style in truly glorious fashion, using all the genre tricks in his arsenal to horrify the viewers without having to venture into R-rated territory. Frustratingly, we are left to wonder why the studio felt the need to meddle with Raimi's vision for the third entry into the series, which was a travesty, and the reason for the director's eventual departure from the franchise. Spider-Man 2 is also a nostalgia trip to a time when a superhero could exist in their own world without the need to be part of some larger expanded universe.


Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie