Jul 06, 2004 02:35 PM
2219 Views
(Updated Jul 06, 2004 04:18 PM)
Woohoo!!its here finally!!! & can?t really say how I saw it(dont ask plz)?but, rest assured..it?s the same film you?ll be seeing when it opens on 23rd July!! Firstly they thought of releasing in may end, then the first week of june, but finally its here?& its here b-i-g time!! Its totally exhilarating, stupendous, mind-blowing stuff?& u might run out of words for it!!Its lavish entertainment truly.
So what can I say? Well, let me begin by stating for the record, this is exponentially better than the first Spider-man, and it does for this franchise what X2 did for the X-men series, turning up everything that fans liked about the first film and introducing a whole hell of a lot of new things to enjoy. So far, it?s pretty obvious that X-Men and Spider-man are the crown gems of the Marvel Films universe, and I have a feeling that when fans get a load of this movie, they?re going to go into full-system shock at just how right it is.
As I prepared to write this review, I went back and read the revs on the first movie, when it was released in 2002. A lot of times, we?re forced as reviewers to write while still flush from just having seen something, and we don?t get the chance to reflect on a picture at all. I?ve given myself a few days to mull over my reaction to Spider-man 2 because I wanted to see if I was just amped from having seen it, or if I really did think it was a significant step up and one of the best efforts in the comic book genre thus far.. Voila!! I loved this movie from point 2 point & end to end, and I think it has just raised the bar again for what we should expect from Marvel Films.
More importantly, Sam Raimi has proven himself to be not just a damn fine commercial filmmaker, but has also finally managed to make a mainstream movie that is 100% Sam Raimi. Up till now, I?ve always felt like he was holding back, like he was playing it careful..u know, a bit here wud do, a bit there! But this time, every eccentricity I?ve always loved about him as a filmmaker has been given free reign... and it?s glorious.
Beware... If you stay now, do so at your own risk. The film?s opening title sequence is going to get you all hopped up before you even see a frame of the movie. Alex Ross has indeed contributed a pretty amazing sequence, and it does a great job of reminding us of the emotional high points from the first film. Another thing that I immediately loved about this movie over the first one may seem like a really geeky thing to notice, but it?ll make a difference to a lot of you?and Raimi and his cinematographer Bill Pope make the most of the new scale of things. Right away, as soon as the titles are finished, the movie kicks into a scene about Peter Parker, pizza delivery guy, and we get a hint of Raimi?s agenda this time out.
Peter?s working for a guy who runs a pizza delivery place with a 29-minute guarantee. Even with Peter turning into Spider-Man and webswinging his way over a traffic jam, he isn?t able to make his delivery on time, and he ends up losing his job. If the first film was about how hard it was to become Spider-Man, then this movie is all about how hard it is to live with that decision.They heap misery on him, and Raimi is an expert at turning the screws, racheting up the suffering in scene after scene.
We?ve all heard the story now about how Jake Gyllenhaal( The day after tomorrow) almost took over the role of Peter Parker this time out, but I can?t imagine this film without Tobey Maguire. He is not just one of the best young actors today, he?s also damn funny, and this film manages to really tap into the sense of humor that has always distinguished Spider-Man from a lot of the other superhero icons.
Tobey brings just the right amount of vulnerability to the role, and as things get worse and worse for him, he always manages to remind us of why we like Peter Parker in the first place. He?s a smart kid, trying to do the right thing, and he genuinely cares about the people around him even when they don?t understand him. His relationships with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and Harry Osborn (James Franco) have suffered in the time since the first film ended, but he knows that this is a sacrifice he has to make. Even as things get more and more difficult for him, he does whatever he can to uphold what he sees as his responsibilities.
It?s as a student that he wrangles a chance to meet Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), a brilliant scientist who is working on a fusion project for Oscorp(not again!!). Harry?s convinced that he?s finally found something that will prove he is the right choice to run his father?s company, and he?s pouring tons of money into the project. He?s the one who orders Octavius to take a little time and show Peter around.
Octavius ends up really liking Peter, and in one of the few scenes in the film?s first half where Peter isn?t getting punished in one way or another, he and Octavius actually have a great bonding conversation. When Peter misses a performance of Mary Jane?s play, despite all his assurances that he will be there, it?s because of a situation that demands his attention as Spider-Man. He tries to slip in late, but he comes face to face with a fairly snotty usher, played by none other than The Chin, Bruce Campbell, in one of the film?s funniest moments(wtch out for this!!!). He just has the perfect chemistry with Maguire. Peter?s so upset by how one side of his life keeps intruding on the other that his powers actually begin to fade.
He finds himself unable to produce webbing at a key moment, and his eyesight is suddenly not as keen as it once was. He?s not sure what could be causing the problem at first, never connecting it to the stress of his dual life.
And that stress just keeps getting worse and worse. The day of the big demonstration arrives at Oscorp, and Peter?s there to watch as things go terribly, tragically wrong for Octavius. His adoring wife Rosie (Donna Murphy) is killed, and the AI-driven robot arms that he uses to handle the tridium samples that fuel his experiment somehow become grafted onto him when the fusion machine goes haywire. It?s a great action moment, but even better is what happens when Octavius wakes up. If you?ve got any question about who directed this movie, it will evaporate when you see just how incredibly EVIL DEAD this moment becomes.
A Doc Ock arm with a chainsaw. POV shots as the arms rush around the room and kill people. This is absolutely Raimi, and the fact that he?s worked with Bill Pope as far back as Darkman and Army Of Darkness probably helps a lot. He?s comfortable here, and as a result, he?s more confident.
He?s able to let his own personality shine through, and the result is a sequence that will have long-time Raimi fans on their feet, cheering.
contd...
