Spider-Man 2

Yep, folks, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is back in action. And this time, he fights the evil Dr. Octopus.
 
Now that we've covered the plot, let's move on.
 
I enjoyed this movie, for the most part--lots of action, humor, and good special effects sequences. No complaints, there. And Tobey Maguire pulls off the character very well.  Doc Ock made an interesting villain, too, being more complex than the Green Goblin. And his metal tentacles looked great. Best of all was the theme of sacrifice and putting the good of others above one's desires. I know the first movie explored this some, but the second film digs much deeper into this conflict of the soul. Throughout the movie, Spidey wars with himself: should he forget about being Spider-Man and live his own life, or should he put aside his wants and dreams for the greater good of humanity. We need more movies that explore such topics, so I loved this.
 
Unfortunately, this movie suffered from some lousy script-writing, near the end. I have no idea what the director was thinking, but Mary Jane (Spidey's supposed girlfriend) is one of the most annoying, ditzy, pea-brained women on celluloid. Remember what an idiot she was in the first film? The second continues this trend, only worse. About two-thirds of the way through the movie, she and Peter Parker have a nice little conversation in a diner, a back-and-forth of moronic proportions. And again at the film's end we see her perform an act of utter meanness with a blissful smile on her face harbored only by the truly self-absorbed. The most fascinating thing about this flick is: Why in the heck does Pete love this ding-dong, anyway? Other than her looks, she has absolutely nothing going for her. Her intellect would make a gnat blush in embarrassment on her behalf. Back in the old days, movie heroines were strong-willed, intelligent, no-nonsense people, self-reliant and respectable. Apparently, in this new era of film-making, women only make good characters if they are narcissists. Yep, women's lib has carried us far, eh? Right into the era of absurdity.
 
Though entertaining and worth watching, this movie did not hold up to its predecessor. In his review of the film, Roger Ebert said this was the best super- hero film since the original Superman, with Christopher Reeve.
 
All I can say is: Rog, put the bong down, and back away. No, run! 
  

TWO-AND-A-HALF STARS