Ok, here's how it goes down...
I LOVE movies. All kinds. Mostly those big budget spectacles where you wonder how you managed to eat a dumptruck full of popcorn when it's all over with.
I'm especially tetched when it comes to super hero flix. And let's face it: that's what they are - FLIX. Not "movies", not "films," Heaven forbid they be "cinema..." No, they are FLIX, those flashy pictures that beg you to scarf down garbage-can sized containers of hot buttered popcorn (with or without Hot Tamales) and gargle a gallon and a half of high-sugar carbonated soda water, all in the comfort of a semi-reclined plastic chair designed for kindergarteners and surrounded, in the dark, by 75 of your closest... bodies... that need a French bath at best.
Ok, I went a little off the deep end with that one. My apologies.
But you know what I mean. There's excitement at movie theaters! There's energy! There's pazazz! Especially with a Popcorn Flick.
This week is/was no exception. Wednesday, SPIDER-MAN 2 opened to the general gaping audience, and we ate it up like that big bucket o' corn.
The film takes place two years after the fateful events of the previous film, and we can see how those two years have effected the characters.
Peter Parker is a struggling shlub of a guy. You cannot help but feel for him. He's trying to make ALL his ends meet, and having the worst time of it. His finances are swirling, his education is reaching for the barf bag, and his love life is a non-entity. And through all that, he is STILL Spider-Man: a true hero. And that's part of his problem... so he thinks.
The flip of that coin is Mary Jane Watson. When last we left this damsel, she was having the tough time of it. She was struggling to become successful in the Big Apple, working as a waitress and practically begging for acting gigs. NOW, we see her face on billboards, she's in a successfully (I'm assuming off-Broadway) play, she has a (good looking, successful, popular) boyfriend. She's got it made... or does she?
And then there's Harry Osborne. Poor Harry. He lost his father (who pretty much ignored him most of his life) when daddy was "killed" by Spider-Man. Now Harry is the head of Oscorp. He's rich, he's good looking, and he's miserable as hell. Why? Why, because he knows that Mary Jane really does love Peter Parker, his supposed best friend. And he's obsessed with getting revenge upon Spider-Man for what happened to his father, Norman. What's a poor little rich boy to do?
We also have Aunt May, loving widow of Ben Parker, who was shot and killed during a car-jacking in the previous film - a crime that Peter COULD have prevented. She is trying to cope with the loss of her spouse (not to mention the spouse's income), and trying to help Peter be the good boy she knows he is.
About the only hold-over character who DOESN'T change (much) is J. Jonah Jameson, chief of the Daily Bugle and Peter's boss. He is still a cantankerous fart who loves to stir the pot for his readership. And even HE changes some.
New to the cast is Dr. Otto Octavias (sp?), a brilliant physicist who is preparing to show the world a new power source. Of course, something goes wrong... otherwise we wouldn't have a movie.
This movie has a lot more depth than you would expect. The angst of Peter struggling to find his true place in the world is incredible. The poor guy is just pulled EVERY direction in the worst way. But even when he is in the doldrums, you have to like him, because even when he's giving up... he doesn't give up.
One of the greatest scenes is Pete, as Spider-Man, riding in an elevator (I won't tell you WHY he's in an elevator, that would be giving it away). In comes a guy getting ready to walk his dog. And there's Spidey, riding in the elevator. If you've read the comics, you can almost SEE the thought bubbles over his head as the conversation takes place. Goes something like this: "I'm a hero! I'm a DORK! I'm a HERO! I'm a DORK!!" It's a piece of inspired brilliance.
I LOVED this movie. Roger Ebert called it the best super hero movie ever, and I have to agree with him. Great story, excellent acting, action galore, humor, angst, action, kissing, action (the subway fight is phenomenal).
So here's how it breaks down: 5 stars
Here's the scale:
1 star - tolerable, but JUST barely
2 stars - Ok, will probably watch it on cable if nothing better is on
3 stars - pretty good, willing to spend money to see it
4 stars - great flick, see it several times
5 stars - will be an oft-viewed member of personal collection as soon as it becomes available.
Let me know what you think!
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