Spider-Man 2 Movie Review

By Alex Demattia

After the lacklustre first film, "Spider-Man 2" proves to be a breath of fresh air and finally establishes Spiderman for the hero he really is. This film trounces every aspect that was lacking in the first film by having a solid, unique story, a great journey for the hero, a superb villain and of course, spectacular set pieces and much improved effects.

In many ways the first film was limited in its appeal to male adolescents. This film however puts Peter Parker in a position where he asks himself is it worth doing what he's doing? Has he lost himself to the hero he has made? Who is he away from being Spiderman? It's an age-old journey that's easily identifiable, with the concept of "being Spiderman" substituted for any number of things in our lives; careers, personal lives, etc. The theme running through this film is that it's not worth being something if you lose touch with who you are inside because eventually you'll not only lose yourself, but you'll ultimately won't be able to be who you want to be. In this case, Peter Parker loses touch with himself and his friends because he is so focused on being Spiderman, and in the process starts losing his ability to effectively be Spiderman, losing the strength of his powers. Halfway through the film he gives up being Spiderman so he can just be Peter Parker. An identity crisis is a strong foundation for any story, but especially for this one, which is executed with precision and care by director Sam Raimi, making for a solidly entertaining film with heart and finally establishes Spiderman as a distinctly separate superhero to the rest (side note: sure Superman gave up his powers in "Superman II" but that was for love).

One of the huge improvements in this instalment is the villain. "Doc Ock" just kicks ass, and is played with empathy by Alfred Molina. This time, the villain's face is not hidden behind a big green ugly mask so we get to see his menace (and soft side), making for more effective and powerful scenes. He's also just plain tougher and meaner; watching him use his robot controlled tentacles to climb up buildings, grab people and toss them around, and rip through bank vaults is just plain cool, something that the Green Goblin just didn't do in the first film.

Tobey Maguire actually steps up to the plate in this film and delivers a performance with range as Peter Parker. You really feel for his plight as he goes about trying to work out who he really is and wants to be. Kirsten Dunst is great again as Peter's love interest, as is James Franco (Harry) who this time has a lot more to play with in establishing a growing rift between himself and Peter.

The set pieces are also magnificent; Spiderman fighting Doc Ock on the side of a building is marvellous, and another fight scene between the two on a subway train is nothing short of spectacular. But for all its technical wizardy and whiz-bang stunts, the best parts of "Spider-Man 2" reside in the quieter moments as Peter tries to grapple with his identity. A touching dream-style sequence in which Peter discusses his love for Mary Jane contrasted with his responsibilities of being Spiderman with his dead uncle Ben is quite moving, and ultimately leads to the film's strongest scene where Peter drops his Spiderman costume in the rubbish bin and walks away in to the darkness.

This is an excellent film. Entertaining, well acted, brilliantly directed with strong themes we can all relate to.

For the original DVD review, click this link: http://www.allaboutmovies.net/dvdreviewspiderman2.htm

Alex DeMattia is the lead DVD reviewer at the film/DVD review web site All About Movies.net - He is also an administrator of the web site http://www.approachingsexywomen.com

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Event Horizon Movie Review

I feel that "Event Horizon" is severely underrated. The film wasn't successful at the box office, and I was actually lucky enough to catch it at the cinema when it was in it's first run before it disappeared quickly thereafter. Aside from a dreadful ending, this film contains some of the most deeply atmospheric and terrifying moments put in to a sci-fi/thriller for quite some time. Production design is first rate - all the ships feel and look very real and capture a very strong science-fiction feel (kind of the way the early Alien films did - but obviously not as good as those). It's actually a decent directing job by Paul Anderson (the director of such 'classics' as "Mortal Kombat" and "Soldier"... enough said). It's a shame this film didn't get the recognition it deserved, but at least on DVD format, it can still be enjoyed for what it is - a chilling, terrifying haunted house film set on a spaceship with some superb sci-fi images and production design.

There are some high quality actors in this film and they mostly do a decent job but nothing remarkable. This film is more about the terror and the production design. Laurence Fishburne is particularly good, as are most of the crew. Sam Neill is a bit of a let down - he just doesn't ever seem comfortable or natural, especially as he becomes the personification of evil on the ship by film's end. Maybe the material just didn't work him. The music is chilling and well composed... except for the opening and end credits which has a bizarre techno dance beat which is completely out of whack with the rest of the film (what was going on there?!). There's an attempt to go into Exorcist territory in some moments, particularly towards the end, and there's a bit of blood spilt. I'm not a fan of the latter but it should please the horror buffs.

I've already said it but I'll say it again; this film has a dreadful ending. After a fabulous build-up of tension and anxiety (combined with some very atmospheric space scenes), it turns out that the terror comes from the spaceship having gone to hell and back. That's it. The ship could have gone anywhere in the universe and it goes to hell. How original. Maybe some people will go for it but I felt it wasn't interesting enough (and definitely not original), and when the big reveal is made, it's so overblown, over-acted and over the top that it's kind of silly. A good, solid ending is a must for a film and it's amazing that this unimaginative, overblown ending still doesn't manage to kill the film. The rest of the film is of high quality and absolutely worth the ride.

A very solid, quality film that delivers on almost every aspect of the sci-fi, thriller and horror genres.

For the original DVD review, click this link: http://www.allaboutmovies.net/dvdrevieweventhorizon.htm

Alex DeMattia is the lead DVD reviewer at the film/DVD review web site All About Movies.net - He is also an administrator of the web site http://www.approachingsexywomen.com

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