Throwback Thursday Review: 'Spider-Man 2'

Sorry this was published a little late due to my trip to Orlando for Star Wars Celebration this past weekend. Anyways, I'm continuing my series of Spider-Man reviews leading up to Spider-Man: Homecoming with my review of Spider-Man 2. Tomorrow I'll review Transformers: Dark of the Moon and next week will be a Throwback Thursday Review over Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End before I continue this series with my thoughts on Spider-Man 3. Other reviews you may see throughout April include The Boss Baby, The Zookeeper's Wife, Going in Style, Free Fire, and The Circle but don't be too surprised if reviews over The Boss Baby, The Zookeeper's Wife, and Going in Style don't end up happening. 

'Spider-Man 2' Review

Nominated for: Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.
Won: Best Visual Effects.

In Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker finds it difficult to balance everyday life with his web-slinging antics. The opening thirty minutes show Parker being fired from his part-time job as a pizza delivery guy, consistently missing class, failing to attend a single performance of Mary Jane's play The Importance of Being Earnest, and on-top that forgetting his own birthday. Struggling to find his place in the world, Parker's abilities begin to wither out and he questions whether he should continue being Spider-Man.

Returning director Sam Raimi guided the friendly, neighborhood web-head to new heights for his second go around. One fascinating aspect of Spider-Man 2 is that it's a multi-faceted feature with broad appeal to children and adults. Growing up, I absolutely loved Spider-Man 2 for it's colorful, campy nature and the exhilarating action but I never realized how complex the underlying narrative was till more recent revisits. Everyone can relate to juggling the hectic schedule accompanying their everyday lives and Raimi expertly channeled the frantic nature of a busy agenda. Raimi maintained the exhilarating energy he brought to the action in Spider-Man, even pushing the envelope further in some instances (ie. the train sequence) and really fleshing out the characters to ground the outlandish world around them thanks to his team of screenwriters.

Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon lent their expertise to develop the screen story whilst Alvin Sargent penned the screenplay and the end result is an incredibly relatable superhero movie. The story never feels compromised for the sake of spectacle and vice versa, the action's never shortchanged to enhance the drama. Even though Spider-Man 2 is thirteen years old, the visual effects hold up remarkably well and certainly stood the test of time as Spider-Man's heroics seemed not only plausible but it was convincing thanks to the excellent technical execution of both practical effects and CGI. On top of all that, the costumes are amazing and Danny Elfman unsurprisingly composed another marvelous score that's got the grandeur one would expect to accompany the quintessential hero, the sprawling epic nature of an adventurous blockbuster, and the more compassionate character arrangements. I have a few nitpicks here and there such as the writing for Mary Jane, positioning her as the typical damsel-in-distress and her overall cliché characterization, but for the most part there's little to detract from Spider-Man 2.

Tobey Maguire's performance is an improvement over his first incarnation but once again he really fails to apprehend the duality required by the role. Maguire absolutely encapsulated the awkward geekiness of Peter Parker but was still lacking the cool, collected quippy demeanor of Spider-Man. He throws out one-liners but his inflection just doesn't allow them to come across to be as energetic as they are intended to be.

Kirsten Dunst is once again trapped in the stereotypical role of the female love interest, doomed to persistently be Spidey's damsel, while James Franco gets to sink his teeth into a meatier character arc as Harry Osborn transitions into adulthood. Rosemary Harris and J.K. Simmons each return as Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson to respectively act as Peter's moral compass and bark orders like nobody's business.

Meanwhile, Alfred Molina stepped into the shoes of Williem Dafoe to act as the new big bad, bolstering the antagonistic presence of Dr. Otto Octavius. Molina's Doc Ock is a layered villain whose course of action can be grasped, he gets to toy with all the fun of being the mad scientist and simultaneously handle the physical aspect of the conflict thanks to Doc Ock's robotic tendrils making him a versatile threat. It's that balance of knowledge and power that allows to Doc Ock to demand attention and march about with serious gravitas.

I'll go ahead and now reveal that Spider-Man 2 is currently my favorite Spider-Man film. This is in large part to how rich and complex the character and storytelling lain out prove to be under the guise of a fun comic book movie. Spider-Man 2 has just about everything a great Spider-Man flick needs; an engaging narrative fueled by captivating character arcs, astonishing action, and ideal execution. Spider-Man 2's not just a great superhero movie, it's an incredible film.

Film Assessment: A