Are they kidding? It sucks major league

Rating: Null/10 (2 July 2004)

After reading three or four absolutely glowing reviews of this movie I was stunned when I left the theater. For this Spider-Man fan, S2 was nearly as disappointing as "Hulk" and suffered from the same problem--way too much character development, yet not enough emphasis on the right character.
For some reasons the people who made this movie think Peter Parker is more interesting than Spider-Man. Fair enough, but if you're then going to make a movie about Peter, MJ, Harry, Aunt May and all the rest, then at least make an interesting one. In S2, the relationships don't make any sense, the dialogue is witless and the character do exactly what the screenplay demands they do at that moment, even if it doesn't make any sense. And the whole thing is just dumb, dumb, dumb.
Also, fanboys beware--the web-slinger merits minor billing in this movie. He is off screen for very long stretches of time, and when he is around he spends most of his time getting his butt whipped. Where are the amazing super powers? The funny wisecracks when he's fighting? All the things that make the comics so much fun?
I think what we have here is a group of movie producers who, like those who made "Hulk," don't have enough confidence in their source material: comic books. I always thought that if you cut the many unnecessary scenes with Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte and Sam Elliott, "Hulk" could have been an absolutely kick-ass 90-minute flick instead of a 240-minute snorefest. Similarly, S2 probably could have been a terrific movie about Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus--both of whom get low billing in this flick. Instead, the screenplay focuses on the other characters, who have very common, everyday (i.e., boring) problems.
You buy a Spider-Man comic book and the story focuses on Spider-Man, with Peter Parker popping in from time to time to balance the story and add a little depth. You go to a Spider-Man movie and it's the other way around. I don't know why the producers don't think Spider-Man himself is worth focusing on. There are a million Peter Parkers but only one web-slinger. They more accurately could have titled this movie "Peter Parker 1" instead of "Spider-Man 2."
One of my favorite movies in the super-hero genre is "Batman Returns." Still too much character development, but at least the screenplay was witty and adult. I will say that J.K. Simmons was hilarious as J.Jonah Jameson; the writers were wise to expand his role. And the movie does come alive those few times when either Spider-Man or Dr. Ock take center stage. But overall S2 has been dumbed down to the third-grade level, and the ending seems very phony and hasn't earned the big emotional response it was obviously shooting for.
If you're a Spider-Man fan, I recommend picking up the DVD with all 13 first-season episodes of the new animated series with Neil Patrick Harris as the voice of Spidey. The animation is awesome, the writing is good, the stories are engaging, and the dialogue witty.
As for "Spider-Man 2," save your $9 and catch it on DVD or cable.