Spider-man 2

            True confession … I'm a sucker for good comic book characters dramatized on the screen.  I grew up with the original Superman, Captain Marvel, Captain America and later, Spider-man and Plastic-man comics.  And this is a pretty good film, with caveats that I'll get to later.

            During the first film, Spider-man, alias Peter Parker swears to bring the menacing Green Goblin who caused the death of his uncle to justice.  Furthermore, Peter has made a commitment to his beloved uncle to 'do what's right'.  Once the Green Goblin, alias Norman Osborn is dispatched, his son, Harry swears to avenge his death, i.e. kill Spider-man.  So we have segue to another chapter.

            But this film is not that chapter.  Another menace rises to threaten the city and the world, challenging an ambivalent Peter Parker.  Parker's ambivalence contributes tension in the plot and emphasizes the storyline theme, which is responsibility.  The reason this theme is so engaging is the fact that the internal conflict between desire and responsibility is with us all of our lives; career vs. family, play vs. work, charity vs. selfishness, spending vs. saving, and so on.  It's an ageless ethical struggle, exemplified by Peter complaining in frustration, "Am I not supposed to have what I want?"

            I found it interesting that the pseudo-science in this film revolves around the energy in the substance Tritium, which is in fact an isotope of hydrogen that is created naturally in the atmosphere when incident cosmic particles hit molecules of air.  It contains two neutrons and one proton in its nucleus giving it an atomic weight of three.  What is geo-political about Tritium is its use in triggering fusion nuclear devices, i.e. hydrogen bombs.  So there is some justification for its use in this screenplay.

            At slightly more than two hours, I found this film too long, primarily because there was too much of Peter Parker the loser, bumbler in the initial part of the storyline.  It's important in the creation of a caricature superhero to provide the contrast with his normal citizen secret identity.  The meek and mild Clark Kent was probably the model for this dramatization.  But I felt that they hammered this one to death.  No one, could be such a klutz and still survive in the real world.  Besides it draws attention to be so inept and does not provide cover.  Furthermore, we have trouble identifying with this character and one has to wonder what MJ (Mary Jane) sees in him, (maybe sympathy?) since she doesn't know that he's a closet superhero.  However we have no trouble identifying with the Spider-man superhero because, as Peter's aunt May says, "There's a hero in all of us."

            Incidentally, if you are watching this for a second time (kids at home), listen to the symphony and choral audio track.  It's terrific.

            The main characters are back for this sequel: Toby Maguire plays Peter Parker, Kirsten Dunst plays MJ and James Franco is Harry Osborn. 

            Reviewed December 29, 2004

            MPAA: Rated PG-13 for stylized action violence.