I am sighing by the way

Rating: Null/10 (29 August 2004)

They've done it again, the golden age continues. Spiderman 2 is another triumph, two hours of gripping action adventure backed up with a heartbreaking story. It's funny, heart stopping, everything you'd want or expect - it's better in so many ways than the first film, but also complements it. As though someone was reading my mind many of the objections I had to the first film have been addressed - it feels like one continuous story; it really looks like a man flying through the city now - its incredibly difficult to tell which is human and which isn't; it is also more willing to take time to tell the story.
But - and here I am sighing by the way - it doesn't feel like Spiderman. Not the comic book hero. This isn't an adaptation it's a re-interpretation - and done so well. But the central character just feels too far away from the man who appears on the printed page. Before you start shouting that he's been humanized to make him acceptable for a general audience I understand but I have an argument. Over the years there have been many of adaptations of Sherlock Holmes and countless actors interpreting the role. But I think if you stand them next to each other, the general essence of the character remains the same, because he is what people are tuning in for, to see him solve a case.
So why in putting Spidey on screen have they stripped him of all the characterization which made him such a joy on the printed page? At the basic level it's the wisecracks. At times Spidey's sarcasm is hilarious; the problem is that because he's such a troubled soul in the films it would be incongruous so out they went. Spidey also has a slightly naïve arrogance which means he'll burst into a situation already assuming that he's going to win before realizing the odds are against him; he'll also seek out danger to a certain extent, look for mayhem when he can. In the films, it all seems so reactionary - Spiderman only ever crops up when someone in the vicinity of Peter Parker is in trouble - we never actually see him out on an evening 'patrol' - it's implied but we really need to be able to watch him taking out those petty criminals to get sense of what his life is like so that we can understand the tiredness in his eyes.
There are rumours that Eliza Dushka is in the running for the third film to play The Black Cat. Which is fine - perfect casting in fact. The trouble is that part of that relationship arc is the verbal sparring and sexual chemistry between the two of them. But since this version of Peter seems to want to either look dumbfounded, awestruck or give a deep philosophical it's difficult to see how the dynamic will work. So top of my wish list for the third film is to let Spidey relax into his vocation a little and enjoy the power he has. Otherwise you start to question whether people are turning up for a film which happens to be about a character called Spiderman, or to see Spidey back in action.