The movie opens with Spider-Man's alter ego, Peter Parker, suffering the consequences
of leading a double life. On one hand, he is New York's crime-fighting hero.
On the other, Peter is getting failing grades as a science student at Columbia
University and loses his job delivering pizzas - both because of constant interruptions
to chase down bad guys. Even more troubling, his love for M.J. has grown along with his determination that a superhero cannot have a soulmate since that woman will always be threatened by enemies. (Given the number of times M.J. is in jeopardy in the two movies without being Spider-Man's girlfriend, one wonders what the difference would be.) So M.J. has moved on to establish an acting career and new boyfriend in astronaut John Jameson (Daniel Gillies), son of the blustering, Spider-Man-phobic newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons). Peter also suffers lingering guilt over the death of his uncle in the first movie, for which he feels at least partially responsible - a fact he has yet to disclose to his debt-ridden aunt (Rosemary Harris). Then his old pal Harry Osborn (James Franco) still broods over his father's death at Spider-Man's hands and vows revenge. Peter's struggles with his identity result in diminished powers. That super-strength cobwebby thing he does as he swings and spins through the urban jungle occasionally fails him. He even wrenches his back in one fall - though, given that it's a 60-odd-story plunge, this still is a testament to pretty good genes. All this is bad timing because New York is terrorized by a new supervillain. Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), a mild-mannered though brilliant scientist, is experimenting with "fusion" as an alternate energy source. He also has developed a mechanical suit that when fitted into his spinal cord gives him four monstrous tentacles that respond to his brain's command and become an integral part of his body. The trouble is, for reasons that remain vague, the contraption transforms his personality into a diabolically evil scientist, mad with power and determined to harness energy from his other experiment so that the "power of the sun is in the palm of my hand." Despite this emergency, Peter decides to get out of the Spider-Man business. Crime skyrockets 75 percent, but at least he can reveal his love to M.J. with a clear conscience. Unfortunately, she is already engaged to John. Who knew a superhero's life could get so complicated? No, Spider-Man 2 doesn't really dive into a deep-dish psychological drama. There is plenty of action here. Spider-Man and Dr. Ock -- as Jameson's newspaper dubs him -- battle on the side of a skyscraper with Peter's aunt held hostage and later on top and inside an out-of-control elevated train. Dr. Ock robs a bank in flamboyant style, and the two enjoy a climatic duel at the scientist's lab, built for no reason other than metaphoric geography on a dark and decaying pier. |