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When I saw
Spider-Man (see Tony’s review), I left the
theater wishing I could get those two hours of my life back. Needless to say, I had no
intention of seeing the sequel. But I was out of the room when the group I was with on
Friday night chose the evening’s entertainment—and I reluctantly went to see
Spider-Man 2.
And I was pleasantly
surprised…
Spider-Man 2 takes place two years after the first
movie. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is struggling to hold a job, go to class, do his
homework, keep his friends, and fight the world’s bad guys as the superhero Spider-Man.
The love of his life, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), is working on an acting/modeling career.
And Peter’s friend Harry (James Franco) has taken over the family business, Oscorp, and
is determined to make it greater than his father ever dreamed it could be. But when an
experiment at Oscorp goes horribly wrong, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) is left with
four robotic arms fused to his back. He secretly continues with his experiments—only on
a much larger scale.
Meanwhile, Peter continues to suppress his feelings
for MJ because he doesn’t want his enemies to use her to get to him (though they do
anyway…). But when MJ announces her engagement to someone else, Peter decides to toss
out his Spidey suit and live his own life for once.
So it looks like no
one’s going to stand between Octavius and an experiment that could destroy the entire
city…
Spider-Man 2 is definitely better than the first
Spider-Man. Director Sam Raimi has learned a lesson or two since the first movie,
and he’s created a timely yet timeless film that has more style and class than its
predecessor. Instead of being campy, it’s more comic-book-y. The humor isn’t forced,
and the lines aren’t as painfully corny as they were in the first movie. And though I
was still disappointed by MJ—who does nothing but pout and/or scream through the entire
movie—I actually liked most of the characters (even Parker as played by Maguire, who made
me cringe in the first film).
So I’m actually going to say something
that I didn’t expect to say about this movie: it’s not bad. It’s not bad at all. In
fact, it’s pretty good. It’s even worthy of the title “Summer Blockbuster.” So head out
to the air-conditioned comfort of your local theater and check it out.
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