What Makes Spiderman 2 Directed by Sam Raimi a Good Movie?

What makes a good movie good? It is a simple question, but one that people seem to have a hard time understanding, or even getting to know the basic parts of.

What makes good movies good is usually very subjective, but an overall theme usually applies to the great ones many people can find very few flaws in: a mix of camera angles and cinematography, interesting characters, and a plot that can both intrigue the audience while keeping them wanting more.

You can see all of these elements present themselves and manifest in the movie Spiderman 2, directed by Sam Raimi, which I will be drawing examples from.

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Cinematography is a key element of a movie and necessary to keep the viewers interest in what is happening in a scene. If an entire movie is shot with the actors at eye level talking, the movie won't be nearly as interesting if we we're given dynamic lighting, tracking shots, etc.

Patrick Keating explains the importance in his piece "The Art of Cinematography" as "the cinematographer's job is to keep the audience's attention rapt on the unfolding narrative". This means that while the plot is expanding the camera shots should make the best use of the frame in order for the audience to be fully engaged.

Spiderman 2 puts this to use perfectly in the café scene of the movie. Mary Jane and Peter are in a café talking about getting back together, and at the most crucial moment when Peter is about to kiss her, a car smashes through the window of the café directly towards them, Peter using his Spidey-sense to move them out of the way just in time.

The cinematography focuses in on Mary Jane as she goes in to kiss, slows down, and pans around to show Peter's face as he senses the car, moving towards the window right behind his head. This use of cinematography allows the viewer to notice everything that is going on in the scene without being confused, and actually becoming more intrigued in the process.

A basic element found in all types of storytelling media is the character, and for a movie to specifically stand on its own in this area, the character require more than just a plot to thrust themselves upon. Characters require flaws with themselves and with others in order to have some kind of weakness; otherwise they seem like a kind of invincible superhero.

Spiderman, for instance, has a bunch of troubles all over the movie. Peter Parker can barely afford rent, he regularly gets fired from his jobs, Aunt May is having her house foreclosed, he begins failing at school, Mary Jane thinks Peter hates her, Harry begins hating him as well, and on top of all of it, he starts losing his Spidey powers intermittently.

As Mark O'Bannon puts it in his article "Character Flaws" He states that "Emotional storytelling is all about the NEED of the character. The need describes how the character is broken at the beginning of the story". Spiderman is broken in many ways at the beginning of the story, all of them eventually being resolved through him and his actions, or left alone as a build-up for Spiderman 3.

In films, a plot is usually the main focus of an entire film. The plot will usually be the main contender for whether or not the movie will be thought of as good or bad. A decent plot typically contains three parts, or a first, second, and third act.

These steps all have different plot points that need to be achieved in one way or another in order for the movie to be a cohesive story, such as how the first act sets up the characters, establishes some tension, and usually begins to have characters interact with each other for an initial encounter to establish their relationship to each other so that the audience knows what everyone is like to each other.

Spiderman 2 begins this amazingly well through Peter's birthday. Peter comes home immediately after being fired from work, and is greeted with a surprise birthday party that he forgot. Peter talks to Mary Jane about going to see her play downtown, to which Peter will ultimately be late for, and then switches to Harry, who, in private, asks him if he knew Spiderman, if he would tell him who he was, since Harry believes Spiderman killed his father.

Peter doesn't respond, which leads to some tension between the two that will be stirred by the plot later. In Jessica Morrel's article "How to Build Tension and Heighten the Stakes" she describes "The most interesting characters have secrets or some intrigue that they don't want people to know about".

Spiderman 2 continues to be hailed by people everywhere as one of the best superhero movies of all time, and for good reason, too. The cinematography constantly keeps the audience entertained and focused into the elements that the story is telling at the time.

Characters inside the film have their own ambitions and troubles, especially Spiderman, who has run into one of the most troubling times he has ever faced. Characters also react in interesting ways with other different characters, such as Harry and Peter's tension over the identity of Spiderman and how Harry is driven to find his father's killer.

In all, Spiderman 2 remains to be a prime example of how to create a good movie, and all the elements that separate it from the not-so-good ones.

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