Spiderman II: Great Family Film

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I wholly recommend Spiderman II. It is vastly superior to the first film, more complex and sentimental. Even my 9-year old has his heart tugged by the tragic love of Peter and Mary Jane Watson. The writing is very clever and the action is very exciting and almost seamless. Best of all, it contains zero fornication or implied fornication and only one very mild vulgar word. I happily took my three older boys 7, 9, and 11 to this excellent picture. Some would say that the violence is intense, but, true to form (or topic, really), it has a cartoon quality to it that makes it not frightening at all. The villain, Doctor Octavius is excellent. If it weren’t preposterous to give a film of this subject matter four stars, I would give it four stars, and if I knew how to get a hold of the director, I would write him a personal thank-you note for making a family-friendly film that is also an excellent piece of filmaking. I haven’t had this much fun at the movies since the first LOTR picture. Go see it! Support high quality family-friendly films!

In Domino,

Chris C.
 
Chris C.:
I wholly recommend Spiderman II. It is vastly superior to the first film, more complex and sentimental. Even my 9-year old has his heart tugged by the tragic love of Peter and Mary Jane Watson. The writing is very clever and the action is very exciting and almost seamless. Best of all, it contains zero fornication or implied fornication and only one very mild vulgar word. I happily took my three older boys 7, 9, and 11 to this excellent picture. Some would say that the violence is intense, but, true to form (or topic, really), it has a cartoon quality to it that makes it not frightening at all. The villain, Doctor Octavius is excellent. If it weren’t preposterous to give a film of this subject matter four stars, I would give it four stars, and if I knew how to get a hold of the director, I would write him a personal thank-you note for making a family-friendly film that is also an excellent piece of filmaking. I haven’t had this much fun at the movies since the first LOTR picture. Go see it! Support high quality family-friendly films!

In Domino,

Chris C.
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just curious… at what age is it “too young” to see the violence in this movie… and at what age “is too young” to see people swabbing out each other palets with their tongue? I think it is a great adult movie… from about age 16 up, to stop by age 65, my mother wouldn’t like the violence or “LOVE” if you can call it that… 👍

And, i am a spiderman fan from many, many, moons ago… :cool:
 
I don’t know the right age; because kids are different.

There is no real brutality in this picture–nothing to make you wince, and no gratuitous blood or gore. (Unlike Mel Gibson’s Braveheart or the Patriot, which are packed with gratuitous brutality.)

I am much more interested in keeping my sons from viewing cleavage, et al, which is one reason this film is an improvement over the first: The Kirsten Dunst (sp?) shots suggest a beauty that is not sensual, and the one “French” kiss is not in a sexual context at all.

The Passion, an excellent film, is extremely brutal and I think I might let my 11 year old see it, but I have not decided yet.

Chris C.
 
My ten-year-old son grabs his throat and gags whenever there is a kissing scene in any movie (I’m sure this will change in a few years!:bigyikes: )

I thought MJ’s wardrobe was vastly improved over the first Spider-Man movie. 👍

Other than that, I believe it all depends on the viewer’s maturity. For instance, after we left the theatre, my son said, “Mom, didn’t Doc Ock’s arms remind you of the snake in the Garden of Eden?” (I had to refrain from saying, “I wouldn’t know, son, I wasn’t there… I’m not THAT old!”:rolleyes: ) And then later, he said, “You know how Doc Ock said he didn’t want to die a monster? Well, Harry’s dad DID die a monster in the first movie… and I KNOW there’s going to be a ‘Spider-Man 3’, 'cause I think Harry is going to bring back the Green Goblin… I just hope Harry decides HE doesn’t want to die a monster, either!”

BlueRose
 
Bluerose raises the real matter of this film, which I did not in my initial post, and that is that the picture is moral, not simply in content, but also in theme and message: responding to God’s gifts, good people suffer, sacrifice, our tragedies are never wholly resovled in this vale of tears, etc. I could go on, but I am sure there are some amateur moral theologians on this forum who can better distill the positive moral messages of this beautiful and thrilling picture. Go see it!

Chris C.
 
Chris C.:
I don’t know the right age; because kids are different.

There is no real brutality in this picture–nothing to make you wince, and no gratuitous blood or gore. (Unlike Mel Gibson’s Braveheart or the Patriot, which are packed with gratuitous brutality.)

I am much more interested in keeping my sons from viewing cleavage, et al, which is one reason this film is an improvement over the first: The Kirsten Dunst (sp?) shots suggest a beauty that is not sensual, and the one “French” kiss is not in a sexual context at all.

The Passion, an excellent film, is extremely brutal and I think I might let my 11 year old see it, but I have not decided yet.

Chris C.
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i have no problem with your intrepretation… ultimately it’s up to the individual parent anyway… it’s just that the french kiss could have been a closed mouth kiss (i will have to think about the french kiss not being a sexual type of kiss later) and a very minor change to a few violence clips and you could of had a G rating, and i just don’t understand why Hollywood is so afraid of the G rating… If the story is credible (human spider right) it will carry the movie financially… then the whole family, grandparents too can sit without squirming in their seat sitting next to the child when his spider tongue or hers goes a wandering… 👍

Parents, it’s your call, i can just think of several great movies that kids grew up with (Gone With The Wind) and how lousy it would be to put Rhett and Scarlet in a bed together and ruin it for so many children… ah, i guess no one gives a da… nevermind 👍
 
I think Gone With the Wind (a film I don’t like much, btw) is vastly more sexually charged than Spiderman II. The Quiet Man (a truly four-star film) is also more sexually charged. So is the Searchers (also four-stars). Are these kids films? They would probalby get G-ratings.

The French kiss in the film is in the context of a romantic test more than a passionate embrace. There are no bed scenes at all.

Agreed re: the G-rating stigma. It is too bad. But the last good G-rated picture I saw that was truly a good piece of film-making was The Rookie.

Chris C.
 
For parents who aren’t familiar with the site, www.screenit.com, I find it an invaluable help in determing what is in a movie before I take my 8, 9, and 10 year-olds.

Their detailed reviews cover things from a parental perspective, not a film critic’s one. Each movie review covers standard categories in a standard format:* Alcohol/Drugs
  • Blood/Gore
  • Disrespectful/Bad Attitude
  • Frightening/Tense Scenes
  • Guns/Weapons
  • Imitative Behavior
  • Jump Scenes
  • Music (Scary/Tense)
  • Music (Inappropriate)
  • Profanity
  • Sex/Nudity
  • Smoking
  • Tense Family Scenes
  • Topics To Talk About
  • Violence
    For example, the SPIDER-MAN 2 review has the following points listed under the Sex/Nudity topic:* During the opening credits, we see a drawing of Peter who’s shirtless and the shot goes down a little below his waist (but doesn’t show his crotch).
  • We briefly see Peter’s landlord in his boxers when he comes out of the bathroom with his pants around his ankles.
  • Mary Jane shows a little cleavage.
  • Mary Jane and her fiancé do some brief passionate kissing (but she’s really doing so just to see if it has the same spark as when she kissed Spider-Man in the first film).
  • Mary Jane shows a little cleavage.
  • Peter and Mary Jane briefly but passionately kiss.
    In other words, the reviews are very detailed. I appreciate being able to have complete information when deciding if my child can go see a movie without having to first go see it myself.
The movie ratings PG and PG-13 are completely useless to me when exercising my role as a parent. There are PG-13 movies that I’ve let my 8 year-old see, and there are PG movies I am not letting any of my children watch.

Check out Screen It! Parental Review. One route into the site lets you become a subscriber. Or, you can click the “No Thanks” button and access the reviews for free.

I literally do not let my children go to a single movie without checking it here first.
 
I like www.decentfilms.com. The guy who writes most of the review is an RC with kids. Jimmy Akin sometimes guests. Screenit.com has a philistine/puritan quality (smoking???), but the detail is helpful, I suppose.

Chris C.
 
Chris C.:
I think Gone With the Wind (a film I don’t like much, btw) is vastly more sexually charged than Spiderman II. The Quiet Man (a truly four-star film) is also more sexually charged. So is the Searchers (also four-stars). Are these kids films? They would probalby get G-ratings.

The French kiss in the film is in the context of a romantic test more than a passionate embrace. There are no bed scenes at all.

Agreed re: the G-rating stigma. It is too bad. But the last good G-rated picture I saw that was truly a good piece of film-making was The Rookie.

Chris C.
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well you and i disagree… que sera, sera… alright now don’t dump on Doris Day… 😃
 
I enjoyed Spiderman 2 even though I had never been a fan of the comic or seen the first movie.

The only warning I would give parents taking their children is the scene in the operating room. The visuals were not alarming or too violent, but the screaming was too long and intense for my taste. I would think that some children would be upset by that.

Did anyone else get bothered by that scene?
 
Chris C.:
I like www.decentfilms.com. The guy who writes most of the review is an RC with kids. Jimmy Akin sometimes guests.
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Thank you for the link. I will definitely check it out.
Chris C.:
Screenit.com has a philistine/puritan quality (smoking???), but the detail is helpful, I suppose.
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I agree that they are extraordinarily nit-picky in that they will mention details that I could care less about. But if they are going to serve a broad market, they need to address everything a parent could conceivably be concerned with.

For example, some parents are real smoking nazis, and a reference to smoking may be reason enough to keep their child away. They have the right to believe that.

Other parents are real anti-gun. Cartoon-style, slap-stick violence might be fine, but show a single firearm and little Johnny is banned from the film. They also have the right to parent that way.

I am more concerned about sexual issues and obscenities for my children. Firearms and a cigar don’t worry me, within reasonable limits.

All three kinds of parents mentioned above will find the information that matters to them at screenit.com.
 
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Townsend:
I enjoyed Spiderman 2 even though I had never been a fan of the comic or seen the first movie.

The only warning I would give parents taking their children is the scene in the operating room. The visuals were not alarming or too violent, but the screaming was too long and intense for my taste. I would think that some children would be upset by that.

Did anyone else get bothered by that scene?
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Nice to know i am not by myself… i like the movie, i was a Spiderman fan from his inception, and still am… I just wish they would trust in the storyline, and it’s ability to sell the movie, and not fall into the trap of we need some tongue and gore to draw a crowd… i promise you, if the storyline is poor, i don’t care how many sex and gore sceens you put in the movie, once the word gets out the movie is lousy, it will die on the vine… Have some courage Hollywood… and Yeah for Spiderman and future films… 👍
 
We plan to view it on DVD first without the children and then with the children if we don’t find anything offending. We liked the first one and our kids did to but they don’t beg to rent it over and over again, they enjoyed it once and really never brought it up again and they would like to see the second one but they don’t make a big deal over it, they would rather see disney movies and cartoons. Spider man is a good movie for parents to watch with their kids as the parents can enjoy it too where as alot of the diney movies I can hardly stand they are so annoying and sappy.
 
The scene in the operating room is a little scary, but my 7 year old who was really spooked by some old Twilight Zones and the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers (great movie, btw) was not frightened by the scene in the operating room. I think it’s over the top, which is why it’s not too scary.

One thing I should mention is that when you take your kids to a PG-13 movie, you run a risk of seeing objectionable previews, eg, Catwoman: Halle Berry spilling out of her black bra, as Catwoman was objectionable. A solution would be to show up a little later as the previews are wrapping up (a nuisance, I admit if the theater is crowded; less of a problem at a matinee.)

RFK’s points are well taken.

Chris C.
 
Chris C.:
One thing I should mention is that when you take your kids to a PG-13 movie, you run a risk of seeing objectionable previews, eg, Catwoman: Halle Berry spilling out of her black bra, as Catwoman was objectionable.
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I know, it drives me nuts!
Chris C.:
A solution would be to show up a little later as the previews are wrapping up
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Terrific idea.
 
Wow!

Justin expresses the truths about this great picture much more eloquently than I did. Sorry for creating a new thread. I haven’t looked at the forums in a while (they can take you over!). Anyway–take your boys to this great film!

Chris C.
 
The only drawback I could see to Spiderman-2 as a “family movie” is that the fighting scenes are pretty intense. While not being really gory, they still might frighten some young kids. The fights are cartoonish in scope but they are pretty savage. I’m not sure how he did it but Raimi managed to make the largely unbelievable action sequences appear very real. I think it has to do with the speed…there’s not much (if any) slow-motion stuff we often see in action films.

Since this thread is already here I thought I’d share some other thoughts on Spidey-2 that I recently wrote on another forum. It would be interesting to see what other Catholics think of this:
Maybe this has already been discussed but I only recently saw the movie Spiderman-2. I was wondering if anyone else noticed the use of Christological symbolism/imagery in the movie. In at least one scene it seemed a little too obvious not to have been intentional.

I’m thinking of the scene where Spidey is trying to stop the runaway train. Just a few observations on that scene…
  1. Spidey’s mask is off just as Christ was stripped naked. Having his face revealed is a very “naked” situation for Spidey.
  2. Spidey is visually “crucified” on the front of the train with his arms stretched out like Christ on the cross.
  3. The event on the train is basically Spidey sacrificing himself for others who at first mock him and hold him in disdain.
  4. After he stops the train, the passengers carry him to the back of the car, all the while his arms are still spread out cruciform style and the camera angle seems to emphasize an obvious wound in Spidey’s side. (This scene sort of brings to mind the Pietà.)
  5. The seemingly dead Spidey wakes up and the people then are willing to stand up to the villain in his defense. In a sense they have become “believers.”
It was the visuals that really did it but when you connect them with character and plot this all seemed a little too coincidental. I’m not saying it’s a “Christian” film per se; just that I think Raimi may have been using this sort of symbolic imagery to visually emphasize Spidey’s role as the city’s “savior.” Any thoughts?
 
I loved the movie, saw it twice. The only thing that bothered me was that, once again, we saw someone get left at the alter for someone else.

Other than that, there was no gory violence–the presence of violence doesn’t bother me, since it is often necessary to use violence to fight evil, and it is often the result of evil (the Passion, for example). What I don’t like is when violence is the entertainment (Friday the 13th, for example). There is also a valuable message of sacrificing your wants and dreams for the greater good. (when peter said “Sometimes, to do what is right, you have to give up your dreams.”)

Overall, great movie.
 
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