Spiderman 2: Best Comic Book Movie?

Things That Don't Suck is doing Raimifest this week.Here is my contribution.  Make sure you go over to Bryce's site to check out all of the Raimicentric content. 

Spiderman 2 is, in my opinion, the best comic book movie there is. The now defunct Wizard Magazine actually called it the best Batman Movie (this was before Nolan took on the Dark Knight). This movie set the standard and surpassed the original Spiderman movie, which was a game changer in its own right.

What sets Raimi's Spiderman 2 apart is characterization. Peter Parker is a separate person and separate personality than Spiderman. Peter Parker's life completely sucks because of Spiderman. Pete has hopes, dreams, and ambitions that don't include putting on spandex. This appeals to the rational mind. In the back of our minds, in every superhero movie, we are thinking, "why doesn't this interfere with his personal life more." Spiderman 2 shows us that it isn't just being late, but that it can take much more of a toll.

In Superman II, Superman hangs it all up to become mortal. Mythology is full of these kinds of stories. In Superman II, Supes stays human for all of a day or two, until he has to defeat Zod. In other words, it was a whim and we don't get to see the results. Spiderman 2 is different. Peter Parker's life improves after giving it all up and he is gone long enough that people notice. He still can't help but be heroic even without powers, but it is Peter Parker and not Spiderman. Parker much like Kent is forced back into the costume. Yes there is a part of him that enjoys it, but the audience understands what Peter is giving up by going back behind the mask.

Driving it all home is the train scene. The crucifixion imagery comes to mind. Arms outstretched, head turned to the side, stood a man willing to pay for the lives of strangers with that of his own. I saw this movie in theaters and I have to tell you that while Spidey is trying to stop the train my hands started hurting. I looked down to realize that I was gripping the arm rests with everything I had. Then as Spidey is passed mask-less through the train and they comment about him being just a kid, it hits you. He is just a kid, or he is supposed to be, but fate has gifted/cursed him with powers that allow him to be so much more. The catch is that he has to sacrifice himself. Not vital life force, but personality and dreams. The audience is shown that Peter Parker doesn't really have a choice. He has to be Spiderman. Rami turns this action scene into something emotional and makes Spiderman real.

With great power comes great responsibility. What old Ben Parker forgot to mention was the cost that comes with fulfilling that responsibility. Sam Raimi shows us that cost.

Superhero Sequels

This past weekend, Spiderman 2 was on and I stopped in to watch it.  This is my all time favorite superhero movie.  It got me to thinking that a lot of other franchises seem to falter in the sequel.  I looked at Spiderman 2 and found where it was different than most superhero movies.

The first movie of any franchise is dedicated to the character's origin.  Spiderman was bitten by a spider, batman was scared by a bat, and superman was super.  Through the revelation of the origin, the character develops depth as we see what events in that characters life helped shape them. 

In contrast, the sequel generally ignores the hero for a large part of the movie and focuses on the creation of a villian.   I don't think anyone would argue that The Dark Knight was actually a joker movie.  This is obviously not the death knell for a movie in and of itself.  Spiderman 2 has a villian introced and works fine.  Why Spiderman 2 is better than The Dark Knight in my book is that the Spiderman movie is still about Spiderman.  The character is still developing and growing.  Batman emerges full Batman and is giving a cursory love story, but does not develop.

A second issue is the multiple villian angle.  Screen writers are under the illusion that the arch nemesis is the only villian that can carry a movie on their own.  Their solution is to put multiple villians in the same story.  Now, the hero is giving up screen time to two villian's origin stories.  The story feels rushed as you bring all these characters together.  The 1990's Batman films are a shining example.  Heck, Batman and Robin was focusing on two villians and their origins, while focusing on the origin of a new hero and incorporating in the two existing heroes.  This is done in 125min.

Superhero movies are as much about the secret identities as they are bout the hero personas.  As much as you love what the mask does, it is the person behind it that pulls the audience in.  Spiderman 2 realizes that and actually has Spidey remove his mask several times.  It hammers it home on the train as someone says, "He is only a kid."  The movie never lets you forget that Spiderman is Peter Parker. 

It is amazing that a movie that did everything right, would ultimately get everything wrong the next time around.  I think Iron Man 2 was able to learn these lessons and does a pretty good job implementing them.  Fantastic Four fails partly because the characters are the mask, it is hard to identify with them. 

Waht is your favorite comic book movie?  Why