As good as it could be - I'm satisfied

Rating: 10/10 (1 July 2004)

Like many other people (and you if you are reading this), I read a lot about Spiderman 2 before I went to see it. I had heard so much hype about how it was the best comic movie and was even better than the first Spiderman (which I thoroughly enjoyed). Thankfully, there were some calming notes too about not expecting too much so I was trying to damp down my excitement. I had heard a few comments about pacing complaints and sappy speeches, etc.

Let me start by saying that I was an avid comic collector in the late 70's and early 80s. Since then I have not kept up with comic books but I have always loved those heroes and been anxious for the movies. Batman and Superman movies got really bad, even for me, so I was thrilled when the first Spiderman came out and was so true to the legend (organic webshooters notwithstanding and acceptable). THAT was what a comic movie should be! Then the rollercoaster of Daredevil (so-so), X2 (real good), Hulk (what were they smoking?), Hellboy (entertaining), LXG (okay) and such showed a tendency to want to change from the comic formula. Comics ARE sappy. They have speeches. They have to tell a story in an oddly paced type of way. When the action happens, it has to be dramatic. When characters are just interacting without action, you have to make it a little sappy to get the points across quickly. So I prefer a comic movie similar to that.

Spidey2 is like that. The pacing was great as far as I am concerned. The action was indeed very incredible although I was a little disappointed the "big" fight comes in an early meeting between Spidey & Doc Ock rather than in their final meeting. I cannot imagine anyone playing a better Spiderman/Peter Parker than Tobey M. Even though he has some scenes as Spidey without his mask (thus showing his face), he conveys the right feelings and is just right as either character. I cannot imagine anyone better at Doc Ock than Alfred Molina. He just nails it and the tentacles are so realistic and sinister (as well as the "fact" that the tentacles each have AI so after the accident, they twist and influence Doc's own thoughts) that it was believable. In the comics and cartoons, I never liked the tentacles as much as I liked them in this movie. And as for J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, it is impossible to overstate who incredible he is in making that character come to life. Finally, I am not a big Sam Raimi fan (don't care either way about him) but in both Spidey movies, he has stayed close to the comic, filmed it like a comic come to life and in my book that makes him incredible.
Now, my concerns or negative comments. I think Spidey was a little too free with revealing his secret identity in this one. My other disappointment was the emphasis on Harry and his discovery at the end. No shock since it has been mentioned and spoiled a lot but I find it hard to believe that they would have him as the villian in the next film. Awfully early to start repeating. At least there is a chance Doc Ock can come back since it did not show him dead. I won't mention what it did show. Also, I was surprised that Aunt May did not have a heart-attack. She had one practically every storyline in the comics and it got to be almost a tired jokes. In this movie, she was very good and showed both frailty and strength in just the right measure I thought.
Well, as you can guess, I did thoroughly enjoy the movie and rated it accordingly. I do believe it was as good as the original and I only wish all comic book movies were made like this. Maybe then, we would not have to sit through movies like the Hulk and such where they "re-invent" away everything that makes it a good story or focus on the love stories, social issues, etc. rather than treat it like a comic book story. Comic book characters are popular for a reason, don't monkey with it. Lance Armstrong rides a bicycle and, like in the commercials, to see him in a boxing ring would be silly. I wish filmmakers would remember that and keep comic book movies like comic book stories.
In the words of Stan "The Man" Lee - Nuff Said.