Too Contrived To Create Any Sort Of High Drama

Rating: 5/10 (12 March 2017)

After being intrigued by my introduction to the Spiderman character (through the first film), I was very excited to see what the second installment would bring now that the whole duel-identity thing was established. Before the end credits had finished rolling, however, I knew that I wouldn't enjoy this film as much as its predecessor. I noticed that the screenplay was written by Al Gough and Miles Millar, the creators of TV's Smallville (a show I watch weekly). I should have been excited by that knowledge, as they created a very interesting show, but instead I felt my heart drop, as I knew EXACTLY the kind of contrived character relationships that would follow (think Clark/Lana on Smallville and you'll understand).
The basic plot of the film has Spidey hanging up his red and blue suit in order to spend more time as Peter Parker with crush Mary Jane Watson. Of course, just when things are looking up for that relationship, the evil Dr. Octopus begins to wreak havoc on New York City, essentially forcing the return of Spiderman and the break-up of Peter and MJ.
While that short synopsis may sound like it has great potential for high drama, it (sadly) fails to deliver. Millar and Gough just seemed to be rehashing the plot of Superman II, where Supes gives up his powers to be with Lois Lane only to see General Zod begin terrorizing Earth. Thus, the storyline of the movie was a bit predictable.
Also, again like Clark Kent and Lana Lang in Smallville, the Peter/MJ relationship is far too contrived and up-and-down to provide any real emotional scenes. I never felt as if I really cared whether or not Peter/Spidey would save/love Mary Jane. Adding to the lack of drama was a general lack of acting from Tobey Maguire, who seemed to react to every situation with that same wide-eyed expression. While that tact worked very well while first harnessing his abilities in the first film, in this movie it just gets old.
Finally, while the villain Doc Ock is visually pretty cool (what with all those tentacles flying around!), he again is a bit too much in common with the Green Goblin for my liking, as both were created in freak science experiments gone wrong. Nothing like the intriguing character development of The Joker by Christopher Nolan in The Dark Knight.
So, while the special effects of the film were excellent and the action scenes superb, I can't give it any better than an "average" rating due to all its contrived plots/relationships/characters. If you are easily sucked in to hokey romances, you won't find any fault in this film. If you prefer a more mature love story, though, then just watch it to set up your Spidey 3 viewing experience.