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Spider-Man 2 Can Do
Summer sequel delivers action and heart
by Paige M. Travis
Peter Parker is a college student who lives in a tiny apartment and has a couple of jobs as a pizza delivery boy and a wanna-be freelance newspaper photographer. He’s a smart and sweet guy, but he’s constantly distracted, running late, flaking out on his friends, bosses and teachers. And he’s always broke. If Peter Parker weren’t living a double life as Spider-Man, you’d think he was kind of a loser.
Spider-Man 2 picks up two years after the first film, after Peter’s uncle died, he killed the Green Goblin and he rejected the love of his life, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). Now M.J. is pursuing her acting career and dating an astronaut, his aunt May (Rosemary Harris) is in financial straits, and his best friend Harry (James Franco), son of the Green Goblin, is growing ever more power-hungry at the head of his father’s company. Also, Harry’s hatred of Spider-Man remains, revealing itself most intensely when he’s in his cups.
As he tries to fulfill all his responsibilities, Peter fails at everything. Even his powers of web-slinging and wall-scaling falter at inopportune times. Like any young man growing up, Peter realizes he must make choices, in his case, between the life of a crime-fighter or a normal college kid. Before the weight of responsibility crushes him completely, Peter tosses his red and blue outfit into an alley garbage can. “I am Spider-Man no more,” he says.
And he sticks with his promise until an experiment goes horribly wrong and a new supervillain is born.
Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) is a brilliant scientist who’s discovered a renewable source of energy created through fusion. Happily married and successful, Dr. Octavius is a role model for Peter, who is writing a paper on the scientist.
While Spider-Man 2 tries to pack in a lot of plot, its science logic is somewhat fuzzy. In order to transform tritium into the energy source, the doc invents six giant robotic arms that attach directly into his central nervous system and can operate the machine. When the invention’s first demonstration goes wrong, resulting in the death of his wife, the arms fuse into Dr. Octavius’ spine and override his higher brain functions. Spider-Man destroys the machine, earning Doc Ock’s wrath and vengeance.
Righteousness seems to be the factor that determines whether a person, when given superhuman powers, will be a hero or villain. Dr. Octavius is a respectable man, but his desire to be successful, matched by his grief and guilt over his wife’s death, overrides his compassion and turns him into a monster bent on rebuilding his machine and destroying Spider-Man.
Many viewers are praising Spider-Man 2 for improving on the original. It certainly delivers incredible special effects, mixed with solid characterization, sharp acting and real emotion. Scenes of Spidey soaring between buildings are viscerally thrilling, almost IMAX-like in their realism. And the filmmakers continue to delve into the real-life concerns of a superhero, from worrying about his identity being discovered to being asked about his “suit” during a mundane elevator ride. These moments are sweet, funny and surprisingly touching, particularly in a scene where Spider-Man stops a speeding subway train. This rare—and inevitable—interaction with the very public he works to protect is remarkably moving, especially in the middle of an action-packed summer blockbuster based on a comic book.
What’s refreshing about Spider-Man is how earnest he is, how intent on doing the right thing. He’s miserable when he can’t figure out what that right thing is. Much like the young Superman of television’s Smallville, young Spider-Man is still fresh. He hasn’t been overwhelmed by his sense of responsibility, hasn’t yet been burned out by the endless cycle of evil and crime. Even in moments of frustration, he has hope and faith.
Tobey Maguire remains the perfect embodiment of this young superhero. He’s adorable and as hapless as Walter Mitty or Ziggy, a constant rain cloud over his head. But when he takes action to foil a criminal or protect an innocent bystander, he’s our hero too.
Molina delivers a complex villain in Doc Ock. Like any good bad guy, he’s simultaneously terrifying and sympathetic, single-mindedly driven to devious deeds. And despite his moniker, those mechanical arms are more like four evil snakes with individual creepy personalities.
As a budding villain, Harry is still one-dimensional—mad at Spider-Man but seemingly powerless to do anything about him. A plot twist—and a neat allusion to Hamlet—in one of the film’s final scenes sets up the third installment that might give Franco more to work with.
The unrequited love story between Peter and M.J., which is still the heart of the story, doesn’t conclude as much as turn a corner. And isn’t that just like life? Perhaps that’s what’s so fulfilling about Spider-Man 2: like a dream about flying, it taps into a fantasy we can all understand.
July 8, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 28
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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