OK, first some quick backstory. Won 2 passes to see the SM2 flick last week on KROQ. Of course, my luck being what it is, when the wife and I arrive at the Sony lot, my name isn’t on the list and they can’t get ahold of anyone at the station to verify. After waiting for a few minutes, they decide to add me to the list then and there, and thus disaster was averted.

We get to the screening room, and it’s tiny. Couldn’t have seated more than 100-110 people. EXCELLENT. So, we settle in, I get myself a nice SM2 t-shirt, the wife gets a KROQ keychain - it’s all good. Then time begins to pass….and pass….and finally, it’s 30 minutes after the time the movie was supposed to start. One of the DJs - Jed the Fish for those that care - gets up to check things out. He comes back a few minutes later and tells everyone to call into the morning show next week and announce to the world that Ralph Garman (DJ guy and host on Joe Schmo) is a dick - they were holding up the screening for Ralph to show, and he never did. All in all, it was a pretty fun pre-show show, long wait and all.

So, now….onto the actual movie…

Spider-Man - the first movie - was a little Bendis/Bagley and quite a bit Lee/Ditko, and it made for a great live-action representation of the Spidey origin. With SPIDER-MAN 2, we jump forward first into the 70s era Spidey, then the 80s, and get a great Spider-Man story in the process.

The first movie is one that I still love, despite the passing of time making its flaws more glaring. The first half was the best part, and though there were moments of brilliance throughout the movie, the harsh reality is that Willem Dafoe’s over the top portrayal of Norman Osborne and the fairly bland Green Goblin outfit really seemed to try to undermine Tobey Maguire’s excellent turn as Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Luckily, nothing of the sort happens in SM2. If anything, the returning cast is stronger than in the first, with James Franco’s Harry Osborne showing the most marked improvement. Mary Jane is more sure of herself than in the first, and is more like the character has been written over the years, and Aunt May is actually far more believable and likable than her comic book counterpart was before JMS got his hands on her in recent years.

Best of all, in SM2 Spidey has a villain that actually enhances his character rather than one that seemingly fights him for screentime. Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus is equally sympathetic and frightening, and the arms….oh, the arms. Raimi and Co. managed to not only create some of the coolest SFX in Doc Ock’s arms, but also managed to imbue them with the near-sentience they’ve had in the comics for years. When they start moving around the screen, they’re almost creepy.

Ultimately, though, SM2 comes down to 2 things - the script and the special effects. Thankfully, both are even better than the first. The webslinging scenes are even more intricate and breathtaking than in the first movie, and the fight scenes have such gravity and weight to them that you forget that it’s a CGI body being grabbed by the head and whipped through the air and not a stunt person. When Spidey and Doc Ock square off to face each other, you get lost in the moment, not drawn out of the movie.

And the story is exactly that - it’s a story. The first movie’s biggest failing was that they tacked 2 stories together - Spidey’s origin and then everything else. This time (possibly due to the presence of Michael Chabon) the movie has a true beginning, middle and ending arc (while still leaving things open enough for the next sequel, natch), and the improvement is palpable. It’s everything you expect from Spider-Man. It’s got the dramatic highs, the emotional lows and, possibly most important of all, the comedic moments that the character is known for. And, as an added bonus, this time around we get Sam Raimi in full effect. Fans of his will especially want to keep their eyes peeled for the unmistakable and completely badass Evil Dead tribute. Seriously - it had the audience I saw the movie with literally cheering.

God, this review stuff is hard to write without spoilers…

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