TALE OF THE TAPE
Title: Spider-Man 2 Title: Superman 2
Tomato Meter: 89% Tomato Meter: 88%
IMDB Rating: 7.6 IMDB Rating: 6.7
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst Starring: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder
Director: Sam Raimi Director: Richard Lester
Box Office: $783.7 million Box Office: $108.1 million
Academy: 2 nominations, 1 win Academy: n/a
Year: 2007 Year: 1980
* * * The Rematch * * *
The two superhero powerhouses step into the ring once again in Film VS Film Showdown's first rematch. Better than the Thrilla in Manila, Call it the "Top This in Metropolis."
Both films show no signs of wear and tear going into their second installment. Indeed it seems the cast and crew have lost no momentum or enthusiasm reprising their roles. Both films also delve deeper into principle characters and more complex themes.
Spider-Man 2 sees our hero swinging through the streets of New York. Spidey has been at it now for two years and is a far more seasoned crime fighter, yet even with his powers, he cannot get a pizza delivered in 29 minutes. To be fair, New York traffic is a formidable foe. Except for J.Jonah Jameson's relentless smear campaign, the general feeling is the citizens of New York love Spider-Man. Yet Peter Parker does not. His personal life spirals out of control. He's fired from his job, his grades are terrible, and the woman he loves is marrying another. Not to mention his best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco) makes it perfectly clear he hasn't given up pursuing Spider-Man, blaming him for the death of his Father. While Harry is unaware at this time that Peter and Spidey are one in the same, there is a rift in their friendship as Harry assumes Peter knows Spider-Man from all the exclusive photo's that he gets. Yet. this is how Peter makes his living. If that isn't enough, his beloved Aunt May faces foreclosure on her home. All this escalates to a point where Peter Parker loses his super powers, along with his will to be Spider-Man, and is content to just be himself. It is unclear how he exactly comes to lose his powers, but it is inferred it's due to psychological reasons. Director Sam Raimi makes two critical choices here, deciding on long time arch nemesis Dr. Octopus as the villain, and casting Alfred Molina to play him. Raimi allows for Molina's dramatic sensibilities to fully flesh out the character. He comes off as both relatable and sympathetic. Unlike the arch-typical mad scientist, Otto Octavius is a grounded, likable fellow, and even a bit of a romantic. His wife, also his assistant creates an on screen connection with the audience in the very short time she has on screen. His motivation is altruistic, and shares his outlook with Peter Parker, being a science major, who's a great admirer of his. Unfortunately, an accident in the lab causes the death of his wife, as well as the inhibitor chip that protects him from the artificial intelligence of his mechanical arms. Doc Oc is a tragic villain, but a villain none the less. With this new threat to the city, Peter desperately tries to regain his powers, but it isn't until a threat to Mary Jane's life that he breaks free of the psychological barrier. What follows is perhaps the best superhero action sequences to date. Raimi took what worked in the first film and amped it up to 10. The camera shots were amazing, allowing for more exploring of the three-dimensional world Spider-Man lives in. Yet for all the new techniques in CGI involved, it doesn't get so out of proportion that the audience can't follow the action. The fight sequence on the train is pure movie gold. It displays the latest in CGI, yet offset by classic dramatic moments from two well seasoned actors. In the end, Spider-Man's identity is known to both Mary Jane and Harry Osborn. This sets up for a third film.
Superman 2 sees the original cast return, and Superman faces the greatest challenges both internally and externally. In the opening sequence, Superman flies to Paris after getting word from his editor-in-chief Mr. White, that terrorists have a hydrogen bomb in the Eiffel Tower. Lois Lane, naturally, is up to her neck in trouble as she's underneath the tower's elevator. Superman shows up to save the day by rescuing her, and flinging the elevator, bomb and all, into outer space. In the meantime, Lex Luthor escapes prison and heads north to discover the Fortress of Solitude. Clark Kent and Lois Lane are assigned to go undercover at Niagara Falls, posing as newlyweds. While taking in the sites, a young boy slips off the railing and into the rapids. Again, Superman show up in the nick of time to save the day. This arouses Lois' suspicions that Clark and Superman may be one in the same. Superman does his best to hide this fact, but ends up revealing his identity to her. The two fly off to the Fortress of Solitude, Luthor now long gone, where he fully discloses everything to her, his identity, heritage, and the Fortress itself. After a night of physically expressing their love for each other, Superman uses the crystals to have a conversation with his Mother. She is happy that he has found love, but warns him that to be with a mortal, he must become one, and be stripped of all superpowers, forever. She warns that there is no going back, and once done, it cannot be changed.. Lois catches this moment but says nothing. Superman enters the chamber, effectively abdicating his throne as Earth's protector for love and happiness. The Fortress of Solitude seems to self destruct moments afterwards. As Lois and Clark return home, unbeknownst to them, a terrible menace is conquering the Earth. Seems the hydrogen bomb that exploded in space, freed three Kryptonian criminals from their Phantom Zone prison. General Zod (Terrance Stamp), Ursa (Sarah Douglas), and the mute brute Non (Jack O'Halloran), only seen briefly in the first films opening sequence, are now the main villains in the sequel. Since they are Kryptonian, they too have the abilities that Superman had. If that isn't bad enough, they form a loose alliance with Lex Luthor, who having spent time at the Fortress of Solitude, learns that Superman's Kryptonian identity is Jor-El's son. Jor-El, played by Marlon Brando in the first film, was the one who passed the sentence onto General Zod and crew, where Zod vowed revenge. Learning this from Luthor, Zod is obsessed at making good on his threat. When Lois and Superman return home, they're horrified at the turn of events. Zod has indeed conquered the world, and is calling out Superman from hiding. Luthor leads Zod to Lois, knowing that Superman won't allow her to be in danger. Superman returns to the now ruins of the Fortress of Solitude and repents, calling out to his Father for help. The single green crystal, responsible for the Fortresses creation, begins to glow again. As the three attempt to kidnap Lois from the Daily Planet, Superman returns, in full glory, and an epic battle ensues. This is the first time audiences get to see a super powered hero fight super powered villains. Terrance Stamp puts in an iconic performance as Zod. Cold, ruthless, and bent on world conquest, he embedded the line, "Come to me son of Jor-El, kneel before Zod" into the vernacular of comic book and sci-fi geeks for the next 30 years. Sarah gives Ursa a sexually menacing quality. Hackman, Reeve and Kidder put in equally fine performances on par with their first effort.
Both film push their own envelopes. They improve on themes and explore the principle characters more. However, Superman 2 does show some minor flaws. It is unclear exactly how he got his powers back. Why was Ursa impervious to mortar fire, yet felt pain from a snake-bite? Once Superman is dead, how was Lex going to deal with the other three? These tiny cracks in an otherwise superbly crafted film keep it from being flawless. While Spider-Man 2 has far fewer cracks, those that it has are noticeably larger. Drowning a sun is not scientifically sound. A constant renewable source of fusion can't simply be extinguished. Even for its size, Its heat and gravitational pull should have vaporized half the river. The nature of his power loss is not fully fleshed out. Take for example, when he's trying to get his powers back, he leaps off of a building. The fall would have killed any normal person, but he limps away from it, suggesting that his abilities are still there. Yet his eyesight reverts back to needing glasses, suggesting his abilities are completely gone
Both Superman and Spider-Man put in another epic battle as Superman hits hard in the early goings. Spider-Man endures and hits back. Both go to the canvas several times, but neither can score the 10 count. As these two go at it in the later rounds, Superman's flaws begin to show, allowing Spider-Man a TKO in round 13.
. Winner: Spider-Man
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