‘Spider-Man’ sequel spins a perfect balance

Comic book movies need a fantastic villain. It’s just a rule. Without

one, the movie will flounder. “Spider-Man 2” boasts a great one in

Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock, a brilliant scientist whose mind is

corrupted by the computer intelligence of four tentacle arms that

have tapped directly into his brain.

Like the Green Goblin in the first “Spider-Man,” Peter

Parker/Spiderman (Tobey Maguire) meets Dr. Octavius before his tragic

transformation into Doc Ock. We discover that he’s an intelligent,

kind-hearted man who brims with enthusiasm as he explains to Peter

his plans for harnessing a mammoth amount of energy that will soon

power the world.

When Peter questions the science behind his quest, Octavius

displays a flash of arrogance that says in essence: Of course it’ll

work perfectly! I don’t make mistakes! I’ve been working on this my

entire life! Peter immediately backs down, but we have seen, in that

brief flash of anger, the part of his personality that will beget

this movie’s villain, the same part the computer will exploit once it

gains access to his brain.

Ultimately, “Spider-Man 2” revolves around Peter Parker’s

spiritual dilemma -- should he continue to selflessly serve mankind

in an anonymous mask, or should he leave it all behind to pursue love

with his beloved Mary Jane, who has grown impatient with him and

accepted a marriage proposal from a high-profile astronaut? Because,

as Peter discovers, living a dual life isn’t an easy task, and it

becomes messy when one life begins to seep into the next. Anyone who

has ever seen “Superman II” knows this superhero crisis isn’t

anything new, but director Sam Raimi has made it over in a completely

fresh way.

The universal reaction to the first film was that it got the love

story just right, but Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin left something to

be desired. Peter Parker’s unrequited love for girl next door

(literally), Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), rang true and elicited the

right note of sympathy from the audience. Another advantage of the

first installment was it had the luxury of telling the “origin story”

-- which means the audience gets to see the superhero discover his

powers and learn to use them -- and those sequences were among the

finest in the film.

But the Green Goblin, with his plastic green mask, never posed a

credible threat to the hero. His evil laugh and split personality

often felt nothing short of silly. This is a problem in an action

film because the third act will be completely built around the final

confrontation between the protagonist and the antagonist -- which

means the last half-hour of “Spider-Man” was yawn-worthy.

Raimi has also made all the right decisions regarding sequels: He

has reunited the entire original cast, which is crucial in preserving

the tone of the world created in the first. He has even brought back

smaller but still pivotal characters like Peter’s Aunt May (Rosemary

Harris), who gives him his conscience, and Harry Osborn (James

Franco), the son of the Green Goblin who wants Spider-Man dead and

pressures Peter to give up his true identity -- a real pickle of a

dilemma since Peter is Spider-Man. Raimi has even made room for dead

characters, giving them high-impact scenes at just the right moment

in the movie.

Raimi learned from the mistakes of the first movie and has crafted

a far superior sequel, which, in the land of superhero movies, is not

easily done. He got the balance right between the action and romance.

His love of the material shines through in every shot. He knows how

to make everything in a shot count, and, as such, you could freeze

any frame of this movie and be able to appreciate the deep texture

and fastidious detail that it’s made of. Raimi’s talent lies in his

ability to use special effects, story, cinematography, acting and

editing and mix them all up in a way that maximizes the impact and

pace of the overall film.

A rollercoaster analogy would be appropriate here, because when

the opening credits roll you feel like fastening your seat belt.

* ALLEN MacDONALD, 30, recently earned a master’s in screenwriting

from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.