Spiderman 2
Historically, sequels haven't always been as good as the movies they follow. Some good historical exceptions would be Superman II and Back to the Future II. These followed strong movies and yet improved on them. A recent example would be Shrek 2. I thoroughly enjoyed the first Spiderman movie and was quietly optimistic about the second being a worthy successor. I was not disappointed.
The comic-style illustrations depicting the events of the first film during the opening credits indicated that the story would tie-in well with its predecessor and was reminiscent of the opening of Superman II. When I saw the film was written by the creative team behind Smallville, Miles Miller and Al Gough I expected some good writing.
The film picks up two years after the first one. Peter Parker has moved on from school to university. MJ has become an actor and Harry is now running his father's business. Harry still harbours a lot of resentment toward Spiderman for the death of his father, and is hurt by Peter's apparent friendship with the superhero. MJ is still hoping for something to happen between herself and Peter, but at the same time is developing a serious relationship with an astronaught.
This movie has a lot of drama and character development. All of the development flows naturally from the first movie and leads nicely into the third (which is planned to be released in 2007). The characters, and their interrelationships are different at the end of the film than they are at the start. As expected there is a great deal of development between Peter and MJ. Their relationship is central to this movie. Development between Peter and his Aunt May was also quite interesting. Peter's relationship with Harry was not addressed as heavily as the others, but was still very interesting. Harry's character is left at a point near the end of the film where he can be used to address some interesting issues in Spiderman 3.
The film also has plenty of action and special effects, not to mention an interesting villain in the form of Doctor Octopus. Doc Oc is not the typical two-dimensional villain. He is not even a particularly evil man. He is a loving husband, a mentor and a scientist who wishes to make a contribution to the world. His line to Peter that "Intelligence is not a privilege, it's a responsibility to be used for the good of mankind" revealed where his heart was. When his body is infused with four mechanical arms that possess a form of artificial intelligence, they take him over and bring out the worst aspects of his personality. While much of this transformation is comic-bookish it is still well executed and treated seriously. There is a bit of a theme to Doc Oc, about what we allow to control us, that we really should control, such as our emotions.
Another aspect that comes into the film is the gradual depleting of Peter's powers. This is related to the many stresses in his life. Peter, in fact, has a pretty hard life in this film. He is struggling to stay on top of a lot of things. There is something in his struggle that I think most people can identify with. He struggles to get by financially, paying the rent, holding down a job, studying. This is all complicated further by his duel identity as Spiderman. Most of our lives have enough stresses without the addition of being a superhero, plus Peter is watching the love of his life slip through his fingers because he has chosen a life of responsibility. Issues of sacrifice and choice are dealt with nicely.
(the following bit contains spoilers....)
The final showdown between Spiderman and Doc Oc also defies standard movie practice. The city is eventually saved, not by brute force or killing, but by diplomacy and reasoning. (Don't worry there's plenty of crashes and bangs as well) It doesn't come across at all as anti-climatic, but satisfying. I liked Peter repeating Oc's words from his speech back to him.
Now that Harry knows that Peter is Spiderman he is faced with the fact that his best friend killed his father. This could well bring about the 'friend-becomes-enemy' theme in the third film. This is reinforced by Harry's discovery of his father's goblin suit and hoverboard.
The love story between Peter and MJ emphasises true sacrificial love over the romantic feelings that are sometimes focused on by teenage dramas. Love, as described in 1 Corinthians 13 in The Bible is about the other person. It's about giving. It's about wanting what's best for someone else, ahead of your own needs. Peter demonstrates this kind of love by not pursing things with MJ in order to protect her. He sacrifices his own desires for what is best for her. However, this also hurts her because she cares for him and knows all along that he cares for her. In the end, she also gives him an act of sacrificial love, by being willing to take the risk, and to share him with the needy of the world. She should have been more honest with her fiance however, but she's a flawed character, which makes her more lifelike.
One important point I need to make about this movie is that it's not a children's film. The violence makes it unsuitable for children and the drama makes it uninteresting for them. I watched this in a cinema full of children who frequently got bored and began talking amongst themselves. The fact that it carries an (M) rating should be an indicator to parents that this is not a kid's film but sadly in this day and age many parents seem to pay no attention to ratings. The assumption that it's a superhero film therefore is suitable for kids is becoming increasingly false. Look at Daredevil - most definitely an adult film. This issue goes beyond just the superhero genre though. While I enjoyed the film Shrek 2 very much, I would not recommend it for children. Many of the concepts and language are too adult. I know they aimed to make a movie that was for kids but also had a lot in it for the adults, but I think they took it too far for that. In any case, that's getting off topic.
My final verdict: this was an entertaining, thought-provoking and satisfying movie. I can't wait for Spiderman 3.
The comic-style illustrations depicting the events of the first film during the opening credits indicated that the story would tie-in well with its predecessor and was reminiscent of the opening of Superman II. When I saw the film was written by the creative team behind Smallville, Miles Miller and Al Gough I expected some good writing.
The film picks up two years after the first one. Peter Parker has moved on from school to university. MJ has become an actor and Harry is now running his father's business. Harry still harbours a lot of resentment toward Spiderman for the death of his father, and is hurt by Peter's apparent friendship with the superhero. MJ is still hoping for something to happen between herself and Peter, but at the same time is developing a serious relationship with an astronaught.
This movie has a lot of drama and character development. All of the development flows naturally from the first movie and leads nicely into the third (which is planned to be released in 2007). The characters, and their interrelationships are different at the end of the film than they are at the start. As expected there is a great deal of development between Peter and MJ. Their relationship is central to this movie. Development between Peter and his Aunt May was also quite interesting. Peter's relationship with Harry was not addressed as heavily as the others, but was still very interesting. Harry's character is left at a point near the end of the film where he can be used to address some interesting issues in Spiderman 3.
The film also has plenty of action and special effects, not to mention an interesting villain in the form of Doctor Octopus. Doc Oc is not the typical two-dimensional villain. He is not even a particularly evil man. He is a loving husband, a mentor and a scientist who wishes to make a contribution to the world. His line to Peter that "Intelligence is not a privilege, it's a responsibility to be used for the good of mankind" revealed where his heart was. When his body is infused with four mechanical arms that possess a form of artificial intelligence, they take him over and bring out the worst aspects of his personality. While much of this transformation is comic-bookish it is still well executed and treated seriously. There is a bit of a theme to Doc Oc, about what we allow to control us, that we really should control, such as our emotions.
Another aspect that comes into the film is the gradual depleting of Peter's powers. This is related to the many stresses in his life. Peter, in fact, has a pretty hard life in this film. He is struggling to stay on top of a lot of things. There is something in his struggle that I think most people can identify with. He struggles to get by financially, paying the rent, holding down a job, studying. This is all complicated further by his duel identity as Spiderman. Most of our lives have enough stresses without the addition of being a superhero, plus Peter is watching the love of his life slip through his fingers because he has chosen a life of responsibility. Issues of sacrifice and choice are dealt with nicely.
(the following bit contains spoilers....)
The final showdown between Spiderman and Doc Oc also defies standard movie practice. The city is eventually saved, not by brute force or killing, but by diplomacy and reasoning. (Don't worry there's plenty of crashes and bangs as well) It doesn't come across at all as anti-climatic, but satisfying. I liked Peter repeating Oc's words from his speech back to him.
Now that Harry knows that Peter is Spiderman he is faced with the fact that his best friend killed his father. This could well bring about the 'friend-becomes-enemy' theme in the third film. This is reinforced by Harry's discovery of his father's goblin suit and hoverboard.
The love story between Peter and MJ emphasises true sacrificial love over the romantic feelings that are sometimes focused on by teenage dramas. Love, as described in 1 Corinthians 13 in The Bible is about the other person. It's about giving. It's about wanting what's best for someone else, ahead of your own needs. Peter demonstrates this kind of love by not pursing things with MJ in order to protect her. He sacrifices his own desires for what is best for her. However, this also hurts her because she cares for him and knows all along that he cares for her. In the end, she also gives him an act of sacrificial love, by being willing to take the risk, and to share him with the needy of the world. She should have been more honest with her fiance however, but she's a flawed character, which makes her more lifelike.
One important point I need to make about this movie is that it's not a children's film. The violence makes it unsuitable for children and the drama makes it uninteresting for them. I watched this in a cinema full of children who frequently got bored and began talking amongst themselves. The fact that it carries an (M) rating should be an indicator to parents that this is not a kid's film but sadly in this day and age many parents seem to pay no attention to ratings. The assumption that it's a superhero film therefore is suitable for kids is becoming increasingly false. Look at Daredevil - most definitely an adult film. This issue goes beyond just the superhero genre though. While I enjoyed the film Shrek 2 very much, I would not recommend it for children. Many of the concepts and language are too adult. I know they aimed to make a movie that was for kids but also had a lot in it for the adults, but I think they took it too far for that. In any case, that's getting off topic.
My final verdict: this was an entertaining, thought-provoking and satisfying movie. I can't wait for Spiderman 3.
posted by Adam @ 5:12 PM
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