“Spider-Man 2” (Columbia Pictures)
In 2002 the world got its first glimpse of “Spider-Man” the motion picture. It was an amazingly successful film and started a franchise that should go on indefinitely. Now “Spider-Man 2” is in theaters and it is more of the same fun and entertainment the first film delivered. Tobey Maguire returns as the title character and brings the entire supporting cast from the first film back with him.
As this film opens Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Maguire) is having trouble making ends meet. He is working as a pizza delivery guy as well as a photographer for “The Daily Bugle.” He is also taking college classes. And of course he also has those “special” duties as Spider-Man.
All of this is bad enough, but what is really frustrating him is his inability to commit to Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). He is afraid if he tells her how he feels about her and they get involved, then he will be subjecting her to danger from Spider-Man’s enemies. So he keeps quiet even when she tells him she is seeing someone else.
During Spider-Man’s emotional meltdown, Doctor Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) suffers a meltdown of his own. When he is testing a fusion machine something goes awry and he ends up with four metallic tentacles soldered to his back. His mind is also affected and he becomes evil. The media dubs him “Doc Ock” when he goes on a robbing rampage.
These events kick off the film and then it bogs down a little in the middle. Spider-Man’s mid twenty crises gets a little old and the audience is ready for all the action to start up again. It does, and the movie soars once more.
Maguire is the perfect Peter Parker/Spider-Man because he can play both nerd and hero convincingly. He even seems to shrink a bit in body weight and structure when he is Parker, and becomes totally robust as Spider-Man.
Opposite him Dunst is a lovely love interest. Her acting skills aren’t tested by her role as Mary Jane but her sweetness quotient is. She and Rosemary Harris as Aunt May have the market cornered on really good people.
James Dean look-alike James Franco is back as Harry, Peter’s best friend. His is a fairly minor role in the film but he plays it with vulnerability and pathos. J K Simmons is effective as the acerbic J Jonah Jameson, Peter’s boss at the paper.
Molina is a menacing villain, but his acting is overshadowed by the amazing special effects that give him those metallic tentacles. Smaller kids will find this whole effect scary, which is why the movie is rated PG-13.
“Spider-Man 2” is solid entertainment, but it does lose a little something in being the second installment. We are now used to seeing Spider-Man spin webs and fly through the city. It is still awesome but we have seen it before. But the new villain, even better special effects, and growth on the part of Maguire as an actor more than make up for the “lack of newness.”
You aren’t going to want to miss seeing this BIG movie of the summer. It has it all – love, action, excitement, and even humor. Audiences have been waiting anxiously for this one to arrive. They won’t be disappointed.
I scored “Spider-Man 2” a silky 7 out of 10.
