Spider-Man 2
2004 · Directed by Sam Raimi
Original language: English
- action
- adventure
- science fiction
The story
Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can't act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he's loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well...
What it’s like
Warm, kinetic and unpretentious, with saturated New York streets, golden-tinted apartments and a cheerful, slightly cartoonish palette that gives way to moody blue-grey in the darker stretches. Sam Raimi's camera swoops and cranes through the city with a restless, comic-book energy: whip pans, low-angle sweeps between rooftops, and that hand-held, slightly wonky Raimi tilt during fights, all underscored by Danny Elfman's brassy, romantic score, which swells into full orchestral heart whenever Peter and Mary Jane share a frame. The rhythm is brisk, with sweet, awkward comedy in the apartment and a steady run of set-piece chases and a sustained elevated-train brawl that is exciting rather than grim. Its tone is earnest, playful and big-hearted, a lonely young man slowly learning that doing the right thing costs him something and that he can't have everything at once. Violence is cartoonish and mostly bloodless, with bruising blows, falling bodies and a few tense moments of peril, but no gore and nothing that lingers in a disturbing way. It suits a comfort rewatch, a lazy weekend afternoon, or an evening when you want a big, friendly spectacle, and it is for people who enjoy old-fashioned superhero romance and don't mind a sincere, sentimental heart.
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