Spider-Man 2 [M]

Swinging from web to web and doing the right thing is all well and good for Spider-Man, but for Peter Parker life has become one big confusing nightmare. Unable to show the same diligence and nobleness in his work, home, school, and social life, the power and responsibility has become too great for Peter and when his powers start to slip it becomes apparent that maybe it’s time to hang up the suit. However, even with Spider-Man gone, crime and insanity still continue to stalk the streets as a nuclear fusion scientist’s experiment goes wrong leaving him under the influence of four metal arms with artificial intelligence. 

It’s the truth universally acknowledged that the sequel isn’t going to be as good as the first movie, and this rings true when it comes to Spider-Man. The first film was great, a well-balanced romp of action, romance, suspense, and comedy, and then along came the sequel. I’m not saying this is a bad movie. Not in the slightest. It’s just very typical that the cinematic departments all try to cram more into it than running time can handle and as a result, everything just seems overdone with an extra layer of cheesiness. Spider-Man 2 is a particularly large onion of a movie with a great many layers that give it its shape. 

Swinging from web to web and doing the right thing is all well and good for Spider-Man, but for Peter Parker life has become one big confusing nightmare. Unable to show the same diligence and nobleness in his work, home, school, and social life, the power and responsibility has become too great for Peter and when his powers start to slip it becomes apparent that maybe it’s time to hang up the suit. However, even with Spider-Man gone, crime and insanity still continue to stalk the streets as a nuclear fusion scientist’s experiment goes wrong leaving him under the influence of four metal arms with artificial intelligence. 

What tarnishes the enjoyment of this movie for me is the fact that everything is complicated. The web of stories that make up the whole thing just became so intricate and, as such, there is so much that you’re trying to focus on and retain in your head. We have the story of the new villain, Doc Oc. The nonsensical science talk just made me lose interest right from the off. And then we end up with this villain who isn’t even really that much of a villain. His story started with gusto and potential and then sadly fizzled out like a sparkler. We have Peter’s own story of internal struggles: to be Spider-Man or not to be Spider-Man, that is the question. So that receives an extra layer of cheesiness and angst, which works but you can get sick of it quite quickly. Added to this we have the complicated romance between Peter and Mary Jane as well as Harry’s vendetta against Spider-Man. You see what I’m getting at; there is just so much stuff at work here. You’re bombarded with all these plots that your mind just says “screw that” and works at half speed. 

Added to the complex web of writing intricacies, we have the souped up action sequences that have increased in number dramatically. I know that the theory behind sequels is to make them better than the first by enhancing the bits of the first movie that audiences loved the most, but with action and special effects it does get to a point where you just go “oh come now.” So much more gets crammed in that it loses all its power and, again, your brain naturally numbs itself and allows you to just watch. 

Starring Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, Donna Murphy, Daniel Gillies, and J. K. Simmons, Spider-Man 2 is a rollicking film, but just not as good as its predecessor. Filled with action, romance, complications from all walks of life, secrets, struggles, and drama, the dosage is upped and you just feel knocked out from it. This is not to say that this movie is bad and you shouldn’t watch it, if you’re a Spider-Man fan go for it. I’m just saying that, as the first is possibly my favourite superhero movie, this one dragged the brilliance down a bit and it became just another superhero, action-packed romp.