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Spider-Man 2
Director: Sam Raimi
(2004)
Distributor: Columbia Tristar Films (UK) Certificate: PG
Spoiler notice: If you read on will become aware
of how the film ends.
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Main Characters:
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A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the last Spider-Man film. Two years have gone by, and Peter Parker is struggling. His commitment to being Spider-Man is taking its toll on him, both financially and emotionally, and it is seriously jeopardising his science studies. Added to this is the reappearance of Mary Jane in his life. Mary Jane makes it quite clear that she still has feelings for him. Peter feels the same, but he cannot let Mary Jane know this. If he starts having a relationship with her, the fact that he is Spider-Man will endanger her life, and he does not want to do that to her.
In the middle of all this emotional turmoil, a new menace appears in New York: Doctor Octopus (Doc Ock for short). He is a scientist gone mad, and he lives for just one purpose: to create a deadly new energy source that will surely wipe out the whole of New York. If anyone gets in his way, he efficiently despatches them with one of his four deadly robotic limbs.
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Meanwhile, Peter Parker has made a choice. Being Spider-Man is just too much hassle. He dumps his costume and becomes just plain old Peter Parker again. His relationship with Mary Jane improves, he gets good grades at college again … but has he made the right choice? And what should he do when Doc Ock kidnaps his beloved Mary Jane? As you can see, there is a lot of angst and turmoil in this second Spider-Man movie. There was a lot of it in the first film, but here the angst is turned up several notches. Which, to me, is the film’s main weakness. |
Don’t get me wrong. I love Spider-Man 2. I read the comics avidly when I was growing up, and a bound copy of the first 20 issues of the comic from the ‘60s takes pride of place on my bookshelf at home. Yes, those early issues of the comic dealt with Peter Parker’s angst, but there were also pages and pages of fun Spider-Man action.
This film should have been called “Peter Parker 2, With a Little Bit of Spider-Man Every Now and Then”. There was too much Peter Parker, and not enough Spider-Man. It’s sad that the most stirring, effective scene of Spider-Man in action is right at the end, just 30 seconds before the credits start rolling. If only the rest of the film had been like that.
Ah well. I’ll still buy the DVD. The acting is great. The effects are brilliant.
And the film remains true to the spirit of the original comics. Just give me
a bit more of Spider-Man when the third film comes out in 2007.
THROUGH THE LENS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH
Wouldn’t it be cool to be a superhero! To have super-strength, to leap tall buildings with a single bound (or at least hang from them by a spider-web), to fight baddies all the time, and to rid the world of evil.
Sounds glamorous and exciting, but for Peter Parker this is far from the truth. To him, his power has become a curse and he wants to be rid of it so that he can get on with leading an ordinary life.
When Peter Parker meets his hero, Dr. Otto Octavius (before he becomes the evil Doc Ock), Otto tells Peter: “Intelligence is not a privilege, it’s a gift, and you should use it for the good of mankind.”
Peter Parker has been given a gift – his Spidey-strength - but he wants to give it back and never see it again!
Watching this film, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the similar storyline in the controversial The Last Temptation of Christ (ironically, both Spider-Man 2 and The Last Temptation of Christ feature the acting talents of Willem Dafoe).
The gospels recount Jesus’ three temptations in the wilderness. He overcame these temptations and then began his remarkable ministry. But in The Last Temptation of Christ we see Jesus on the cross receiving his fourth temptation, from Satan standing in the crowd of onlookers. Satan tempts him to come down off the cross and lead an ordinary life, to get married, have children and to die as an old man.
In the last half-hour of the film we are taken through Satan’s last temptation as we see what it would have been like for Jesus if he had chosen to avoid the cross and live just as an “ordinary” person. But in the end, Jesus says, “No!” He avoids the temptation and insists that he has to die and then rise again for the sake of mankind. He resists this fourth and last temptation and fulfils what he was born to do.
It’s probably no secret that Peter Parker only gives in to his temptation for a short while before donning his Spider-Man outfit again. After all, Spider-Man 3 has already been announced for 2007, so there must still be a Spider-Man otherwise there wouldn’t be a film!
Peter Parker’s Uncle, Ben Parker – the father-figure in his life - said to
him: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Jesus faced up to his responsibility.
It cost him a lot, but in the end all that mattered was doing the will of his
Father. And in Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker ended up doing the will of his uncle…
Have your say on the discussion forum....
· What
gifts do you feel you have been given by God? Do you find them a blessing
or a curse? Would you rather you didn’t have them? Have you even misused
them at times?
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Everyone gets tempted. For me, one of the main temptations is chocolate! Do
you have any advice on how to deal with temptation?
·
If you were allowed to have one superpower, what would it be, and how would
you use it?
To discuss this further why not leave a message of the discussion forum.
