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Spider-Man 2 (DVD)Super-hero strugglingSPIDER-MAN 2 (DVD) This film was one of the big pictures of last summer, but has recently been released on DVD. I had seen the first Spider-man offering and thought that once you had seen one super-hero movie you had seen them all. However, friends told me that the sequel moved on from the first. Indeed it does. First, with true postmodern angst, the villain of this film is a scientist, whose well-meaning experiment to create infinite cheap energy goes wrong and he is taken over by malevolent forces. Science produces more problems than it solves? But, second, in particular the character of Peter Parker / Spider-man is filled out. He has doubts. He begins to lose his powers. He backs off from the girl he loves. Perhaps being involved with a super-hero will expose her to too many dangers? Is it fair to expect her to cope with all that is expected of him? (It all seemed quite reminiscent of ministry marriages really!) Some film critics have seen a political dimension in this movie (and in The Incredibles as well). It is interpreted as a discussion of America's role in the world. The world needs the super-power / super-hero to sort out the mess - but resents its interventions. And taking on sorting out the world can lead to neglect of home concerns. Isolationism might be best? In Spider-man 2 the tension is resolved to everyone's satisfaction. I'm not so sure the geo-political problems will resolve so easily. JEBJohn Benton© Evangelicals Now - February 2005 |