I liked the first Spider-Man movie. I enjoyed watching the events surrounding Spider-Man’s genesis and the creation of the Green Goblin unfold in front of my eyes. Despite the various problems when comparing the movie to the comic book (most notibly the fact that, in the book, Peter Parker creates a web shooter, it’s not part of his powers to shoot web out of his wrists), seeing those events take place on the big screen was a thrill for me. Watching something other than the cheesy 70s version of Spider-Man “live” on screen, I thought it might be something worthwhile. Add that to the fact that I enjoy Sam Rami’s style and always thought he was comic book-y and I was pleasantly surprised when the first film came out.
Now we have this new film, Spider-Man: 2. What a waste of celluloid.
The plot was fairly uninteresting and formulaic (yeah, I know it’s a comic book and prone to being formulaic, but even by comic book standards it was formulaic). “Doc Ock” could have been an intreguing character to watch as his ambitions got in the way of his life while he had to see it all go down the drain, but instead he was turned into a typical megalomaniac. Sure, that’s what he was in the comic book, but I thought a modern treatment of him would be more considered and introspective.
Finally, the big thing that hurt the film in my eyes, is this:
Peter Parker is one of the most careful superheroes in the Marvel Universe about his identity. The people who know that Parker is Spider-Man can be counted (Mary Jane, Daredevil, Green Goblin, a few other assorted villans). Yet, in this movie, half of the city ends up knowing who he is. He even parades around with the costume on and mask off, something I never recall him doing in the book, not even once!
Spider-Man: 2 is a disappointing film, even as low as my expectations were for a sequel to a comic book movie. And even Sam Rami can’t save this. He tries, though, and there are a few memorable scenes (like the scenes of Peter right after he makes his big decision to no longer be Spidey, with people walking past him and hitting him on the head to disco pop tunes). But overall, this film looks even more fake than part one, is less engaging than part one, and even more inconguous to the book than part one. Spider-Man waltzing around without his mask? C’mon!