X-sections
Dutch
The Editor
e-mail Reggy!
|
|
Movie: Spider-man 2
Director: Sam Raimi
Actors: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons
|
|
Peter Parker is getting a hard time in the sequel to the successful Spider-man movie. He must confront one of the meanest villains ever but also has to cope with financial issues and emotional problems. So the sequel offers a lot more on an action and drama level. The complete cast and crew are also back with Super-director Sam Raimi at the helm.
The story in a nutshell:
Study, work and love life gets in trouble due to the responsibilities Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) has to carry as the crime-fighting superhero Spider-man. He can't express his love for Mary-Jane because his enemies could use her to get to him. Peter also feels responsible for the death of Uncle Ben and the death of the father of this best friend Harry. These emotional problems lead to a dysfunction of Spider-man's special powers. Peter decides it's time to get rid of the Spidey-costume in order to have a normal life again. His timing isn't perfect, 'cause the mad scientist Doctor Otto Octavius wants to complete his solar power experiment at any cost, even if the city could completely be destroyed.
Spider-man part 1 became one of the top-grossing movies of all time. Sam Raimi, director of the classic Evil Dead movies and Darkman, was brought back to make the sequel. He got total freedom and a bigger budget of $200 million to create a mind-blowing superhero flick. The result is that Spider-man 2 is indeed bigger and more epic. What surprises me is that not all the attention goes to the huge action sequences, the story mostly revolves around Peter Parker's emotional burdens he has to confront. Sam Raimi makes a daring move and proves that a big budget superhero-film really comes to life with a well-written story, a story that's not all about the action and special effects.
Tobey Maguire is just perfect as your average guy who must live with superpowers. Even the smaller roles like Kirsten Dunst's M.J. and James Franco's Harry Osborn are wonderfully written and get the right amount of attention. The emotional moments Parker has with his Ant May (Rosemary Harris) are heart wrenching. Alfred Molina, known for his wonderful performance in Boogie Nights, is fantastic as the villain who doesn't really hate Spider-man but struggles with his inner demons.
Don't worry, this doesn't mean that Spider-man 2 has become a tearjerker, the movie contains a lot more comedy than the previous film. The wonderful performance of J.K Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson cracks me up, and we also witness a very funny Maguire in some hilarious slapstick moments as a clumsy Parker.
Now lets talk about the action, which is jaw-dropping-wet-your-pants kinda action. The Doc Ock-Spidey fight on top of a building is very intense and it surprises me that you really can't tell if it is CGI or real actors kicking the beejesus out of each other. I also haven't got the words for the super-exiting metro sequence, you just gotta see this baby! This movie got it all, throwing cars, smashing things up, destroying trains and buildings!
Spider-man 2 is just wonderful, epic, probably a bit to "American" for the Dutch viewers (but I don't care). But the real hero of the film is Sam Raimi who demonstrates how to make a great sequel. Can't wait to see Spider-man 3!
Written by Reggy 15/07/04
|
|
