Too much hokey soap opera--too little amazing Spidey action

Rating: 6/10 (19 August 2004)

Spider-man was my favorite comics character. I did not care for the first movie--which missed many opportunities by not staying more faithful to the spirit of the comics from the early 60s, instead trying to meld with the post-Mary Jane marriage era comics from the late 80s--and adding a soap opera 'forever love" aspect that was far hokier than anything I had ever read in the comics. Unfortunately, Spider-man 2 continues to display the same problems.
Maguire and Dunst are still ill-suited for their roles. It was more obvious this time around. Parker should not be so whiney--and Spider-man should be more witty--taunting villains at every turn. Where's the fun? Yes, Parker has a bad personal life--but that should at least have been balanced by the joy he has being Spider-man, swinging through the city and catching bad guys. All this is still absent in chapter 2. Maybe if Maguire had better dialogue to work with--but I am not so sure. He has this buggy eyed look that makes it difficult to buy into his plight. I fear its a charisma issue--and he--but especially Dunst, don't have it--especially for this type of story.
Perhaps the filmmakers were concerned that they needed to make the film appeal to every demographic--every generation of spider-fan, but focusing so much on Mary Jane--her career, her love life, was, I thought, a great misuse of time. Perhaps they should have called the movie Mary-Jane.
And for the middle section of the movie he wasn't Spider-man at all--and when he dons the costume again--he keeps taking his mask off(this was a particularly bad decision during the train sequence).
Mild spoiler***
The idea of him having second thoughts about being Spider-man wasn't bad--I could even tolerate the "Raindrops" song though I had to keep from thinking I was watching a 1970s coming of age movie--but it was sloppily handled. A similar thing occurred in the early comics--where Parker, out of illness, frustration and worry loses his powers--but when he comes back--the excitment and energy is palpable. In a movie--it should have been even more so. Alas no.

**end of spoiler

Molina's Doc Ock. Never a favorite Spider-man villain for me. I imagined a European-accented voice, menacing and stern. The scene where he advises Parker to use poetry to woo...Mary Jane--really dulled the edge. The whole energy weapon subplot was lost amid the soap opera, and rather boring to begin with.
X-men 2 was a far better sequel and blending of drama and action within a comic book framework.