Spider-Man 2 (PG) Review

Overall Rating

More special effects and action than the first Spiderman. Good struggle within the Peter Parker/Spiderman storyline. Doc Oc was cool.

Totally ignored the potential hotness of Kirsten Dunst. They put her in ugly clothes almost the entire film. Storyline was not as good as Spiderman one.

Spider-Man 2 - There is a lot of hype that this movie is better than the first Spiderman. That isn't exactly true. There is more action in this film, but the storyline and the acting are not better.

We catch up with Peter Parker as he is struggling to maintain balance in his life. I still think that Tobey Maguire is too short to play Spiderman, but he is the franchise now. Between school, work, and being Spiderman - he is exhausted. He can't do it all. His job, and his college grades are suffering. He is also stressed as he wants to tell Mary Jane his true feelings for her, but he just can't.

All of a sudden, his web shooters aren't working 100%. He goes to the doctor, but he gives him a clean bill of health. The doc tells him it's got to be in his head. It's interesting that all of Peter's issues could also be linked to the problem of erectile dysfunction. Hmm?

My main issue with this film is the treatment of Mary Jane Watson, played by Kirsten Dunst (from the film, Bring it On). In the movie, she is an up and coming actress on Broadway; yet, she wears the ugliest, non-form-fitting dresses throughout the entire story. This girl has sex appeal, use it!!!! They don't even have her hair looking like it's washed for most of the film.

Peter's best friend runs Oscorp, now that his father is dead. He hires a brilliant scientist, Dr. Otto Octavius, to work on an experiment involving fusion. His idea is to create an energy source more powerful than the sun, so that the world won't have any energy worries.

To complete the experiment, the Dr. has invented 4 long, non-magnetic, heat-resistant arms that attach to his body. They have their own artificial intelligence, but can't take over his brain, as he has built-in a neuro chip to prevent that.

Well, his experiment goes very wrong. His neuro chip fries, and the arms take over his brain. Of course, they are EVIL arms...He has now become, Doctor Octopus, per the local paper.

Speaking of the paper, Mr. Jameson is on fire once again. Very funny character. His son is an astronaut who has recently returned from a moon landing. He gets engaged to Mary Jane Watson, and Peter Parker is not happy about that.

There is a scene where Spiderman and Doc Oc are fighting on, and in, a commuter train. Spidey ends up saving the train from crashing. This scene alone, is worth the price of admission.

The final scene involves Doctor Octopus kidnapping Mary Jane Watson, to get Spiderman's attention. Spiderman meets the Doctor at his secret river hideout. They battle it out, big time. Not as good as the final scene in the first movie, but still good. The end is a very good setup for Spiderman 3. I give this film an 8.5/10.