I'm back, ladies! I have been wanting to write this for... quite some time now. A few weeks ago, I watched Spider-Man 2...and now that I've gathered up all my bravery, I'm going to list down reasons why Spider-Man 2 is a disappoint to me.
FIRSTLY:
THIS IS NOT, BY ANY MEANS, IN RESPONSE TO Fenix122's RECENT ARTICLE COMPARING THIS MOVIE TO THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. CHEERS TO Fenix122 FOR EXPRESSING HIS OPINIONS. AGAIN, THIS IS NOT IN RESPONSE TO HIS ARTICLE. I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO WRITE THIS VERY LONG BEFORE HE MADE HIS.
THESE ARE NOT BIASED OPINIONS. I'm sure everyone knows I prefer The Amazing Spider-Man over the original trilogy, but, please note...I COME IN PEACE. This article's intentions are NOT to hate/bash/dump on Spider-Man 2 or any movie of the original trilogy. These are honest opinions ONLY. Really, I'm just here to voice my reasons as to why I don't understand the large amount of praise Spider-Man 2 gets. This is NOT a article to hate OR make fun of the original trilogy. Are we clear? I hope so. Plus, you should know I love the originals...I just don't understand some of the strange decisions they made.
Now, onward we go.
To kick this off, I want to start with Peter Parker and the things going on in his life.
Okay...wow. Why does this movie CONSTANTLY want to kick Peter while he already has his face in the dirt? I know Spider-Man is suppose to have an EXTREMELY difficult life, but this movie is so focused on irony that it gets me really irritated.
Here are some examples:
Peter struggles to keep pizza-delivery-boy job. Gets fired.
Now, this I can understand, with the whole 'Saving children from getting hit by a giant truck,' which puts him behind on schedule. It's clear a similar situation has happened before. So, I can accept this one...until...
Then we move onto the Daily Bugle. The first two words we hear outta J.J's mouth is, "You're fired." This, I don't mind either, because that's classic J.J and JK Simions is brilliant, of course. So then we go to the scene between Peter and Betty Brant. She's not allowed to pay him as much as he needs for some reason that I can't remember at the moment (didn't it have something to do with him taking extra money out last week, or something to that effect?), but, moving on. That there is already three punches in the face...in one day.
Next, Peter visits Aunt May and we find out it's his birthday. Let's skip to the scene with Peter and MJ outside. It's obvious Peter is crazy about her and is as in love with her as much as he was in Spider-Man 1. So they're talking and stuff... and BAM: "I'm seeing someone..." Another punch in the face. Why this irritates me is because, before she breaks the news, it's like their going to confess they love each other and want to be together...but then MJ just completely cuts it off with a bitter "I'm seeing someone," giving Peter a painful kick in the balls.
Here I'm just a little annoyed, but am trying not to pay too much attention to it.
Okay, Aunt May hands Peter a 20 dollar bill as her gift to him for his birthday, but as Peter returns to his apartment, the 'Rent People' (as I like to call them) swipe that money (right out his hand without ANY permission, at that) because he is behind on the rent.
Now I'm getting irritated.
Let's skip to the scene where Peter is going to MJ's play. Okay, he only has one suit and his costume in his closet... that doesn't even seem realistic.......? He goes to buy MJ flowers, but after he hands the guy the money and grabs a bunch, the guy takes back most of them and Peter is left with only two measly flowers. This probably sounds like a random nit-pick but, honestly, for me I'm left wondering: WHY IS THIS MOVIE SO STUCK ON IRONY? I mean REALLY! Okay, THEN we find out that Peter can't get in because he is too late. THHHEN we see Peter watch in horror as 'I'm-Seeing-Someone-Guy' greets MJ with a yummy kiss. Uhm...ouch. Again, this makes me go: WHY DOES THIS MOVIE CONSTANTLY WANT TO KICK PETER WHILE HE'S ALREADY DOWN?!
Next up, the Party scene:
J.J forces Peter to come and take pictures of his son at some kind of party about him (something to do about him being a successful astronaut?). Fine and dandy, but then we find out MJ is marrying J.J's son. What a coincidence! And here we have...yet ANOTHER irony moment. And then Harry starts slapping him around because Peter is paid to take pictures of Spider-Man...? Does Harry expect Peter to quit his job?!?! I mean, it's obvious Peter needs the money! This is me: NOT EVERYONE IS RICH LIKE YOU, HARRY. But let's remember, dude was drunk. BUT STILL.
By now, I'm extremely annoyed, and let's face it...EVEN PETER HIMSELF IS FED UP. He loses his powers, MJ's dating his boss's son, Harry is being a complete jerk, and he's struggling to keep up with his rent.
Sigh...
I believe that's enough.
I would say 79 % of this movie is about punching Peter Parker in the gut, and after a while, the irony gets old...fast. But that's just me.
Next, moving onto probably the biggest aspects of this film, Spider-Man quits.
This may be my biggest issue with this movie.
OKAY. First of all, getting on to what probably bugs me the most: MJ is Peter's big kick in the butt to continue being Spider-Man. I mean...uhm...WTH?! What if Doc Ock hadn't kidnapped MJ? Would Peter have EVER manned up if not for her capture? This aspect of the movie was obviously based off the comic "Spider-Man: No More." I don't know how many of you are familiar with this, but Peter's motivation was not, by any means, MJ's peril. His motivation to picking himself back up and going forward was...well, I'll let you read this (a short summary of the comic "Spider-Man: No More."):
"Peter Parker quits being Spider-Man because he gets no respect no matter how many people he saves. When he throws his costume away in the garbage, some kid finds it and brings it to Jameson, chief of the Daily Bugle. While Parker is enjoying life not being Spider-Man, a new crime lord called Kingpin rises. When Peter is walking around, he finds a guy being robed and decides to save him. After this, the guy reminded him of Uncle Ben and why he became Spider-Man. Then he decides to get his costume from Jameson, and becomes Spider-Man once more."
I know everything is about originality, but why screw with probably one of the most popular Spider-Man stories ever? Come on! Am I the only one who sees this? AND, not only that, they added more crap along with it. In this movie, Peter not only quits because he isn't appreciated by the public (which is totally comic based, and that part doesn't bother me), but THEN they throw in 'he loses his powers!' WTH? FACE, MEET MY PALM. AGAIN, why mess with one of the most popular Spider-Man stories in history? It was a stupid move, in my honest opinion. Am I the only one who feels this way?
My next complaint:
Doctor Octopus.
Firstly, by our good friend, wikipedia, here is a summary for the beloved super villain...Doctor Octopus.
"Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius) is a fictional character, a super villain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics since 1963. A highly intelligent mad scientist, Doctor Octopus is one of Spider-Man's greatest foes. He is typically portrayed as a stocky, myopic man who utilizes four powerful, mechanical appendages, and is obsessed with proving his own genius and destroying Spider-Man."
We all know good ole' Doc Ock and the many stories starring him from the comics. Never once do I recall him being controlled by his mechanical arms. Doc Ock was always about proving his genius and wanting to kill/outwit Spider-Man! In the comics, the arms had no influenced with that! It's just a stupid way to make us 'care' about him. Alfred Molina is a great actor and he did wonderful, but the writers really screwed up his character. Also, why would Ock want to rebuild what got his wife KILLED?! It's messed up.
Next up: Harry Osborn.
If he's so convinced that Spider-Man killed his father, then why doesn't he go to the police?! I mean, he witnessed Spider-Man laying Norman's dead body onto the bed.
Acting:
Other than Alfred Molina and Rosemary Harris, this movie has a lot of flat acting (for my taste).
POINTLESS, ANNOYING MOMENT:
How hard would it have been to remove (or even re-shoot) the moment where that woman literally runs into the camera screaming? REALLY?
There are some great action sequences, but honestly they don't age well.
Overall, I will never be able to understand why this movie gets so much praise. The countless irony moments, classic plot and character changes, really make me look at this film differently than others.
<>