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Spider-Man 2

Review By: Dan Deevy
DanDeevy@TheCinemaSource.com

I’m not sure if it’s an overflow at the box office of high stakes action adventure movies, or something else that I can’t quite put my finger on, but the power that this move packs didn’t hit me nearly as hard as I had been anticipating. It’s an extremely well made movie that delivers on every level, but for some reason it didn’t have me cheering in the aisles as I thought it would.

In Spider Man 2, Tobey Maguire is back as the masked Manhattanitte protecting city dwellers from both the common and uncommon evils of the world. Kirsten Dunst returns as the unattainable love interest Mary Jane Watson and James Franco appears as a more tortured Harry Osborn still seeking revenge for the death of his father at the hands of Spider Man.

Joining the ensemble this time around is Alfred Molina who is perfectly cast as yet another scientist whose experiment goes horribly wrong and transforms him into the evil Dr. Octopus.

The first film ended with Peter Parker facing the realization that his life would never again be that of a care free youth; but in fact the harsh existence of a hero who is forced to place his own happiness and fulfillment secondary to his obligation to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. This film picks up from that all too common story line and shows that the man, in fact, cannot sacrifice his own happiness to be the legend. As Peter feels the sorrow of loneliness more and more, as he becomes more isolated and depressed, there is an actual physical response in him that starts to drain his powers.

This is where the story takes on a different spin from what typical audience members, myself included, were expecting. I was positive that I had mapped out the pace and overall plot of the movie in my mind before walking into the theater, but I was happily surprised when I found myself wondering what was going to happen next.

The special effects in the film are nothing short of outstanding. Doc Ock is visually one of the most interesting comic book villains we have seen so far, which is saying quite a lot considering how many there have been in recent years. The production team wisely used a combination of actual physical tentacles as well as computer generated versions so there definitely isn’t an overabundance of C.G.I. in this film.

Some moments leave you questioning certain choices, for example, Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) goes