The first Spider-Man movie, released in 2002, set a box office record for an opening weekend ($114.8-million) and became the fifth-highest ticket seller of all time with $403.7-million.
Imagine what kind of money Spider-Man might have made if it included a great villain and Spidey weren't so obviously drawn by computers in the film's more demanding action sequences.
Judging by a sneak peek viewed in March at the ShoWest convention of theater owners, director Sam Raimi straightened out those situations in Spider-Man 2, opening June 30.
The same advances in computer-generated imaging that made Shrek 2 look better than the original make the Marvel Comics superhero appear more organic and limber than Raimi's first version, and Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus looks head, shoulders and six arms above Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin misfire.
As the story continues, Spidey's alter ego, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), is so preoccupied with fighting crime that he's blowing his romantic chances with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). When she starts dating Harry Osborn (James Franco), Peter renounces his superhero status, throwing away his costume and pledging to spin webs no more.
Enter Dr. Otto Octavius (Molina), whose invention of flesh-fused metallic tentacles is driving him crazy, leading him to adopt the title Doctor Octopus (or Doc Ock, as Marvel fans know him). The bad doctor terrorizes New York, Peter is temporarily too broken-hearted to care, and Harry seeks revenge because, after all, the Green Goblin killed by Spider-Man in the first film was his father.
The 10-minute portion screened at ShoWest, a showdown on an elevated train, was more exciting than anything in the first film except Spidey's closing web-swing through skyscrapers. It also contained more of the comic books' emotional pull, as Peter/Spider-Man's loner personality finds a measure of acceptance and respect from New Yorkers, who believe he's a criminal freak. All we need is another 90 minutes of action and drama like that to make Spider-Man 2 an instant classic of the genre.
A full review of Spider-Man 2 will be published in Tuesday's Floridian section.
