Web-Slinging Wonder
Spider-Man Sequel Busts Loose

Summers and movie sequels go together like Saturday mornings and cartoons. This summer is no different, with several sequels already in theaters. This summer has been good. The movies so far have entertained me. But it took the web-slinging, wall-crawling action of everyone's favorite Marvel hero to rekindle my love of summer movies.

From start to finish Spider-Man 2 is a great movie. Note that I didn't say "great summer movie" or "great superhero movie." This is a great movie, period. It has everything: character, intrigue, suspense, love, warmth, and pathos. If you go expecting a mindless action movie, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Yes, there is plenty of action, but there's also a lot more.

The story of Spider-Man 2 picks up two years after the conclusion of the first movie. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) has made something of a career moonlighting as the wall-crawling superhero. In addition to crime fighting, he also tries to have a personal life by holding down a job, attending college, and spending time with his friends. Sadly, his personal life is crumbling because his life as Spider-Man gets in the way.

Before things can get better, they get worse. An experiment gone wrong has transformed a brilliant scientist named Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) into a monster with four mechanical tentacles. Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), Peter's high school crush, has found a steady boyfriend. And to make matters worse, Peter's spider-powers seem to be malfunctioning at all the wrong times. Unsure of his future and the path he has taken, he begins to consider whether the world needs a Spider-Man at all.

The beauty of this film is in the way it handles the comic book elements of the story. Rather than resigning itself to being "merely a comic book movie," Spider-Man 2 elevates the comic book to its rightful place as a literary form. Rather than eschewing the trappings of comicdom (colorful costumes, superhero monikers, etc.), the film embraces them. Spider-Man looks like the comic book hero, from the costume to the poses he makes. Doctor Octopus, a pudgy, middle-aged man, manages to look menacing with four telescoping tentacles that snake around him and seem alive. Even a secondary character like J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), the editor of the Daily Bugle, is a perfect likeness of the comic book character.

Moreover, under the direction of Sam Raimi Spider-Man 2 becomes the benchmark by which all superhero movie action will be judged. The action is quicker than the stiff punch and kick of Tim Burton's Batman. It is more fluid than the martial arts choreography in Mark Steven Johnson's Daredevil. It is more explosive than the laser beams and lightning of Bryan Singer's X-Men. This is a truly "spectacular" Spider-Man. The action relies heavily on computer generated images, but the special effects seamlessly interweave with the storytelling. It looks like a hero and villain duking it out in fight scenes pulled from a comic book. Whether battling on a clock tower or on a fast moving elevated train, Spider-Man is in his element. With a variety of angles and fast moving camera shots, this is a comic book brought to life.

In addition, the music of the film (including a score by Danny Elfman) helps create an soundtrack that is memorable and definitive. Elfman could make a living just scoring super hero films. He excels at being able to assign a distinctive refrain to a film that turns a summer action movie into an epic filled with musical ambiance. The distinction between his "Spidey Suite" and his "Doc Ock Suite" is subtle, but the villain's music is punctured with a thundering drum reminiscent of his mechanical arms pounding the ground.

There are a number of small touches that comic book fans will love. Several ancillary characters are directly out of the Spider-Man comics. Some of the additions may be prelude to coming storylines in future sequels. (At least I hope!) Also, a very brief cameo by Stan Lee (co-creator of Spider-Man) is also a nice touch.

I often say that a summer movie "isn't art, but..." as if to excuse a summer movie for being silly popcorn entertainment. I won't say that about Spider-Man 2. This film has enough good acting, direction, and writing to match it with any movie. This doesn't just try to be a blockbuster, it actually aspires to be a great film.

MY RATING: 10 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 127 min.