Spider-Man 2 (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #23

I watched this film out of order in my Top 100 countdown. I know that I'm erratic, but in this case I had a good reason. Can you figure it out?

While watching "Spider-Man 2" today I tried to figure out why most fans like it more than the first film. Is it because there's more action? That's the only reason I can think of. In all other respects the first film is either equally good or better.

I like the way that the opening credits are scenes from the first film. It's a kind of summary of "Spider-Man", which was made two years earlier. It's not detailed enough to explain things to anyone who didn't see the first film, but the collection of photos is detailed enough to bring everyone else up to speed.

Peter Parker cradles his dying Uncle Ben in his arms.

Peter stands over Uncle Ben's grave.

The Kiss! This is one of the most iconic scenes in the first film, and there are references to it in the two other films in the trilogy. I praised Sam Raimi for sticking close to the original comics, but this kiss is something new that he's injected into the story. It's done so respectfully that I can't criticise him for the novel idea. It fits the film so well. The MTV Movie Awards have a prize for the Best Kiss. This category is sadly missing from the Academy Awards. Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst won the award in 2003. That's the least that they deserve. It wasn't just the Kiss of the Year, it's the Kiss of the Century.

But for all the passion, the Kiss wasn't enough to seal the relationship. Peter Parker walked away while Mary Jane looked on wistfully.

Now Peter can't get away from her. Wherever he goes, he sees her photo on the wall.

The villain of the second film is Otto Octavius, also known as Doctor Octopus. In the comics he's a purely evil character. "Spider-Man 2" portrays him as a complicated character who has noble motives, despite the crimes that he carries out to get what he wants. This makes for a more interesting film, I admit. In Stan Lee's early super-hero comics there was a sharp distinction between good and evil.

In the comics Aunt May disliked Spider-Man, but she praises his nobility as a hero in this film. That's unfortunate. It added to the poignancy of her relationship to her nephew that she thought Spider-Man was a villain. She even preferred Doctor Octopus to Spider-Man, as we see in Amazing Spider-Man #115.

And it almost comes as far as marriage in Amazing Spider-Man #131.

That's something that Sam Raimi let slip through his fingers. He couldn't have gone as far as a wedding in a two-hour film, but he could have spiced up the story with a budding romance between Aunt May and Doctor Octopus. Instead of this he shows Doctor Octopus already being married.

Despite all of this, it's still an excellent film. Maybe it should be a few places higher in my list, even if it's not as good as "Spider-Man".

Success Rate:  + 1.9

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