Product: Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Rating: 4.0
The dark webs we weave
The producer's choice to create a Spider-Man sequel that was darker than the original was an inspired move. Spiderman 2, if filmed with twice as many special effects as the first movie, would have been a bore and a disaster.Toby McGuire believably portrays Peter Parker as a boy-hero guilt-ridden over his Uncle Ben's death. His after-hours life as a masked crime-fighter doesn't assuage the guilt and barely pays the bills. Peter has no life. Yet his inner decency won't let him abandon those who need him. Or will it?Spiderman II is best when it shows the choice a hero makes between normalcy (as defined by we non-heroes) and being true to his inner gifts. The only weakness of the movie is that some of this turmoil is resolved a bit too neatly and quickly.Alfred Molina as terrific as bad guy Doc Ock. The special effects, showing the good doctor walking and climbing on his robotic arms, are completely believable, as is Ock's sinister, machine-enhanced megalomania. Entertaining and interesting!