Spiderman
2 has opened now to colossal numbers, which will keep
the bean counters employed by Sony delightedly smiling for
some time to come. It is unfortunate that said bean
counters are not confined to the accountancy and distribution
offices of the film giant, but are instead distributed throughout.
Unfortunate, I say, because most of the individuals
who make the decisions in corporate filmmaking giants like
Sony have to watch the bottom line and will attribute the
monstrous grosses that Spiderman 2 will generate
to the ‘franchise’ and to ‘marketing’ and to other vague
notions that escape the basic truth.
Spiderman
2 is the finest film of the summer by head, shoulders
and waist. Sam Raimi’s direction of a terrific
script (ultimately executed by Alvin Sargent but certainly
midwifed by Michael Chabon, among others) is nothing
short of a miracle. Films of this type are generally
made for so many different reasons that all compete
from scene to scene that coherence and synthesis are
all one can hope for. Enter this film. It
is at once both light and meaningful; the pain of our
central character Peter Parker is clearly conveyed because
all of the acting that surrounds Tobey Maguire is expressive,
distinct and lifted off the page. Of course, any
superhero film is going to suffer from its script-based
absurdities, and this one is no different--that anyone
accepts the pseudoscience that lies at the base of a
Supervillain’s plot is a miracle of the suspension of
disbelief.
The
plot is hardly a new one; we last saw it in Superman
II, though in that case Kal-El hung up his cape
to love Lois Lane. Here, Parker puts away his
mask and tights to embrace a normal life. And
who wouldn’t? He's broke, his aunt May is broke,
he’s missing classes and failing out of Columbia, and
he's screwing up at work. In short, he’s a young
man tremulously making his way into adulthood without
any idea of what he’s doing. Yes, he suffers some
unique burdens--who else misses a friend’s play because
he was busy foiling an armed robbery?--but for the most
part, he's a perfectly normal young man.
The
film’s central villain is Doctor Otto Octavius—Doc Ock—a
role so thoroughly owned by Alfred Molina, he is both
captivating and truly frightening throughout the movie.
He is the archetypical mad scientist, but he sheds
the stereotype to become something more: a gauntlet
of adult power in this world mostly populated by young
people. Parker is forced to embrace his nature:
his ‘normal’ self is Spiderman and the sooner he accepts
it, the more of an adult he will be and the sooner we
can see him soar through Manhattan once more.
Kirsten
Dunst as Mary Jane is a tremendous actress, giving real
life and character to a femme fatale that Sargent has
penned to be something more than a damsel in distress.
She is aware of her choices and makes them without
the influential gravity (or breaks therefrom) of her
male counterparts. The love story between Dunst
and Maguire cooks with real heat because she endows
him with that mystical attraction that is at once inexplicable
and obvious. Mr. Maguire for his part is a vapid
actor who rises to the occasion when called upon to
emote (his speech to his aunt concerning the events
of the first movie is a well done piece of screen acting)
but for the most part stays out of the way and lets
the movie play across his bland features for maximum
effect. He is our Spiderman, best not to clutter
that up with anything resembling personality. Thankfully,
Mr. Maguire has none, besides a droll, observational
tone which suits the intelligent but powerless young
Parker well.
Raimi’s
film seamlessly blends rollicking special effects with
the real on-the-ground story of young people trying
to find lives and love that hold them together. Not
everything in the effects department is photo realistic
but that’s a quibble. It’s elating to watch Spiderman
fly, his fights with the Doc are real and scary. We
see just how split second his instincts are and how
indestructible he nearly is. He bleeds and we
feel it.
It
is the careful craft of Raimi and Sargent, the inspired
work of Molina and Dunst and so many smaller but pitch-perfect
performances, the plainness of Maguire, the hard work
and high quality of this film that will walk it to its
huge box office numbers. Please, Sony, remember
this when you attempt to cut costs on the certain third
installment. Spiderman 2 is an excellent
film. Do not hire Chris Columbus or McG to do
the next one.
Sargent
and Raimi also make some bold choices in how the story
begins to unfold, and are unafraid to maximize the duality
of Parker and Spiderman, enmeshing his alter ego reality
into everyday reality to tremendous and thrilling effect.
Spiderman 2 is a rare film altogether:
popular entertainment that is soulful, smart,
well-executed and utterly accessible. It is an
even rarer sequel which beats its chest and roars to
be seen. Walk in, sit down and enjoy the ride.
Dileep
can be reached at dileep@babblog.com.
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