Arts & Entertainment
 

Along came a Spider-Man ... again

Action takes a back seat to storytelling

By Barrett Goldsmith
The Daily Cougar

The first time you see Spider-Man 2, you might want to bring a notepad. The movie feels at times like a mixture between a lecture on Greek tragedy and a visit with a motivational speaker. 

But Aristophanes and Tony Robbins were never this much fun. 

Spider-Man 2 can back up all of its messages, partly because it puts them into context, but mainly because it presents them in such a well-wrapped package. The film employs a real-life plot in a comic-book world, rather than the other way around. 

All the elements of a good superhero movie are in place -- justice is served, crime is punished and lots of things get blown up. The action sequences are top-notch, though they are smaller in scale and occur less frequently than those in the first film. Their effectiveness comes from the audience's attachment to the characters; there is more at stake now. 

The story is focused less on plot than on the relationships between the protagonist and those he cares about. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) begins the film looking tired and out-of-sorts, struggling to hold onto his job and falling behind in college. 

More importantly, Parker's relationships are fraying at the edges. His best friend Harry (James Franco), who has taken control of his late father's research company, is upset with Parker for his refusal to find Spider-Man, who Harry is determined to kill to avenge his father's death. 

Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), while not romantically involved with Parker, still clearly has feelings for him, and Parker is still struggling to bury his feelings for her. Their relationship becomes more complicated when "MJ," who is now headlining a Broadway play, becomes involved with a pretty boy from high society. 

In steps Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), whose experiment with solar fusion goes awry, endowing him with a set of mechanical arms that begin to control his brain. "Doc Ock" is one of the better cinematic villains to come along in a while, and is certainly more menacing than Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin from the first film.

But Doc Ock is more of a catalyst than a true villain. His emergence as a threat to the public welfare lends urgency to Parker's internal debate about who he really is. Is he Peter Parker, or is he Spider-Man? His decision is at the heart of Spider-Man 2. 

No review of a sequel is complete without an answer to one question: How does this movie compare to the first one? Spider-Man earned more than $800 million in worldwide box-office receipts and was well-received by critics.

Spider-Man 2 may be a better film, but some viewers might find it less entertaining. The action is more subdued and the pace is slower. The film's attempts at humor are less successful than those in the first, but that may have something to do with the more serious tone of the film. 

Just like its protagonist, Spider-Man 2 must make a choice about what kind of movie it is, and what it can realistically achieve. In the end, it makes the right choice. After the success of the first film, the seams are beginning to show. But those seams just make the film more appealing. 

Spider-Man 2MP

Rated: PG-13

Sony Pictures

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst

Verdict: Spider-Man 2 is on par with the first film but may not appeal to such a wide audience.

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