Good movie, no more, no less

Rating: 7/10 (23 May 2007)

When I walked out of Spider-Man 2, I thought to myself "well that was pretty good. It dragged a little in the middle but it all came together in the end." A few weeks later, I heard people saying it's the greatest superhero movie ever, and Roger Ebert said it deserves a best picture nomination. I thought "did I see the same movie?" I've visited Spider-Man 2 a few times since its DVD release and I've never really been floored by it. That doesn't mean it's a bad movie, but I just don't get what makes it so good to most people.
The main advantage Spider-Man 2 has over Spider-Man is its more focused story. Spider-Man was rushed in the beginning and it kind of ran out of steam at the end. In Spider-Man 2, all the drama slowly builds up to the final showdown with Doctor Octopus, whereas the final confrontation in Spider-Man sort of came out of nowhere. Spider-Man 2 picks up where Spider-Man left off, with Harry out on a quest to kill Spider-Man and Peter intentionally distancing himself from MJ, because he fears he could only put her in harm's way. Parker really has some bad luck in this movie. In addition to keeping him away from Mary Jane, his superhero work keeps him from doing his homework and ultimately gets him fired. All this built-up stress gives him some sort of psychosomatic illness that makes him lose his powers. He gives up the Spider-Man mantle in a scene similar to Superman giving up his powers in Superman II. Of course, a confrontation with Dr. Octopus and some really preachy conversations with Aunt May inspire Peter Parker to become Spider-Man again in a scene that still manages to be inspiring, even though I couldn't help but think "Finally!".
An accident in Doctor Otto Octavius' lab fuses his robotic arms to his back, and they control his mind to a certain extent. In a sense, Dr. Octopus really isn't a villain, the arms are. I used to think I didn't like the take on the character because he wasn't utilized well enough, but after watching it again I realized the problem was much simpler: I just don't like the character. A lot of people find this more sympathetic take on the character to be more complex, but I don't think a villain whose mind is being controlled is very original or interesting. His quick conversion to the good side at the end is not particularly convincing either. I like conflicted villains but usually when its due to some psychosis, like Two-Face. I have nothing against Alfred Molina, he did the best with what he was given. In defense of the writers, there was nothing much they could have done with Dr. Octopus, since he's just a generic mad scientist in the comics. The arms do make for some fantastic action scenes, and a creepy horror film sequence in a hospital. But Doc Ock's story never really feels like it's part of the same movie as Peter and MJ's story; it sort of intersects with the rest of the movie once in a while.
The other main problem I have with Spider-Man 2 is the style. Raimi does not understand the meaning of the word subtlety. He hammers you over the head with the "Peter's life sucks" theme, to the point where Peter can't even get a drink at a party. I lost count of how many times the camera slowly zoomed in on Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst's sad faces. Peter's indecisiveness is understandable but it gets really frustrating by the end of the movie. At first he doesn't want to be with MJ, then he changes his mind and asks her not to marry her fiancÃ©e, and ten minutes later he takes it back, saying "I don't love you." The last time I saw the movie I yelled "You're a moron! Make a decision and stick with it!" It's a good thing Dr. Octopus threw a car through the Cafe window, or else I would have turned it off. The melodrama is just too heavy handed for me. I can watch the same stuff on Dawson's Creek.
Spider-Man 2 also has the same theme as the first, "with great power comes great responsibility," which gives it a deja vu feel. I know that it's Spider-Man's central theme, but the least they could have done was make it a little different. In both movies, Peter Parker has great power, shuns his responsibility, screws up a bit, realizes his mistake, and basically says "I have to listen to Uncle Ben's advice and be more responsible."
Other pet peeves: This has been mentioned a lot, but Spider-Man takes off his mask too much. For a man who is so paranoid about containing his secret identity for the safety of his loved ones, it seems out of character. Also, the scene where he stopped the train was terrible. Everything up to it was fantastic, but Spider-Man is simply not that strong. If he could do that, he should have been able to knock out Doctor Octopus in one punch.
So despite a middle section that's a little too heavy on the melodrama, Spider-Man 2 is still an uplifting movie. Since the ending of Spider-Man was such a downer they had to give us the ending we all wanted to see (I won't give it away, but I bet you can guess). It also features an excellent Willem Dafoe cameo at the end, and a good cliffhanger ending.