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By
WAYNE KLEIN
Taking issue #50 of "The
Amazing Spider-Man" as its starting point, Peter
Parker decides he needs to get a life outside of
Spider-Man. Parker discovers that crime never pays
for the hero (or at least it doesn't pay his
overdue rent). Since he doesn't have time to do
his college homework, he is failing classes and
has no relationship with MJ because of his alter
ego, Parker decides to give up the Spidey suit.
When his powers begin failing him because of his
indecision, it's the final web for Parker. He has
lousy timing, though, since all this is occurring
just as Doctor Octavius (Alfred Molina, in a
marvelously nuanced performance) one of Peter's
idols, goes mad and becomes a supervillain causing
havoc.
J. K. Simmons is hilarious as J. Jonah Jameson
capturing just the right element of tabloid
journalism that drives Jameson to make Spidey a
villain (and the scenes at "The Daily Bugle" plays
like a miniature screwball comedy that could well
have been made in the 40's). The rest of the cast
from Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco
all the way down to Rosemary Harris as Aunt May,
capture elements of what made the comic characters
so compelling.
With a witty script written by Alvin Sargent
("What About Bob?," "Julia," "Straight Time" and
"Unfaithful," among many other scripts) and with
contributions by other notable writers (Michael
Chabon, Pulitzer Prize author of "The Amazing
Adventures of Kavalier & Clay"), "Spider-Man 2"
soars precisely because of the issues that Parker
faces.
Sam Raimi's sure-handed direction and visual
effects (that rank among the best, although
sometimes the CGI Spider-Man looks exactly like,
well, a CGI representation of Spider-Man),
"Spider-Man 2" visits familiar ground (already
visited by "Superman 2") but has enough
originality to stamp the story with its own
hallmark. Is it better than the original? You'll
have to decide for yourself since the first film
was exceptional, but "Spider-Man 2" at least
measures up precisely because it's more character
driven.
Comparing the different versions of "Spider-Man 2"
is a challenge (there are three out in the U.S.).
The best looking of the bunch is the Superbit
edition in which all the extras are shaved off
with all the extra disc space is devoted strictly
to the high definition transfer of picture and
sound. It's not surprising that this edition looks
and sounds the best. The catch of course is that
the Superbit Edition has no extras and is a single
disc. You'd also have to have a top-of-the-line
system to really, really appreciate the
differences (although on a big screen TV some are
readily apparent).
The 2 disc set looks pretty darn good with a high
definition transfer that looks and sounds almost
as good as the Superbit Edition. We also get
"Spider-Facts" which is, essentially, a text only
commentary track. While it occasionally has some
interesting tidbits about the film (and many
outside of the film such as tidbits about New York
City), it's dispensable. There's also an amusing
blooper reel, which is included on the first disc,
as well as previews and trailers for various
films.
The second disc (which could easily have been
included in a deluxe 3-disc Superbit Edition set
for videophiles)includes a stunning 12-part
documentary that discusses the production of the
movie from pre-production to the premiere. It's
exhaustive and fascinating to watch all on its own
as a documentary. "Ock-Umentary: Eight Arms to
Hold You" (a rather witty reference to The
Beatles' film "Help!") is also a very good
documentary on the history of Doc Ock from his
first appearance in "The Amazing Spider-Man" # 3
to the 1960's cartoons to how they adapted the
character for the film. There are also a number of
very good featurettes including a discussion of
the women in Spidey's life (which is only
appropriate as two women dominate his life and
influence most of his personal decisions),"Enter
the Web" uses multi-angle technology to give a
glimpse behind-the-scenes of the shooting of the
climax of the movie. There's also an art gallery
of Alex Ross' paintings from the title sequence
(which is used as a brilliant device to sum up the
first film for viewers who missed it and reminding
everyone of what happened). We don't get any
worthwhile games (that's a definite negative for
gamers who want to try "Spider-Man 2: The Game")
but get a featurette on the making of the game.
There are also the usual weblinks.
The commentary tracks feature director Raimi,
Maguire and the producers and there's also a
separate Technical Commentary featuring effects
supervisor John Dykstra and others discussing how
they achieved the look of the film. Those folks
who purchased this at Best Buy early enough got an
extra disc that had the VH-1 Special on the
production of the movie. It's OK -- more promo
piece fluff than behind-the-scenes documentary.
The boxed set comes with the conventional 2-disc
set (without the Best Buy disc which is a bit
curious as it would have been a nice addition)
plus a comic collector's dream team of 25 artists'
paintings inspired by the film. There's a
portfolio that allows you to view various scenes
from conception to final product (which would have
been put to better use on a multi-angle DVD for
videophiles). Taking an idea from the re-release
of "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" (a Raimi
favorite), there are five postcard sized
reproductions of the artwork used to publicize the
film including the trio of promo posters that were
plastered all over cities. Finally, there's a
reproduction (reduced to fit in the set) of "The
Amazing Spider-Man" # 50 issue that inspired much
of the story. They probably also should have
included "The Amazing Spider-Man" #3 where Doc Ock
first appeared but that's a pretty minor point.
Overall, the last set makes the better Christmas
or birthday gift for fans. Regardless, the film is
the same just differing in presentation.
"Spider-Man 2" has a number of detractors that
don't care for it. For the rest of us who liked
it, this is an intelligent, fun film and its only
major flaw is that it runs about 15 minutes too
long. |
