Spider-Man 2

When a science experiement goes awry, the magnetism in a room is so intense, glass shatters and the shards shoot into a room where the wife of one of the main characters is killed. Comic book violence: Superheroes and supervillains do battle on skyscrapers, on the street, throwing each other to and fro. A taxi is thrown inside a coffee shop. An old woman is taken hostage by a supervillain and left to hang by her umbrella on the edge of a skyscraper. Peter Parker, trying not to be Spider-Man anymore, observes two thugs mugging a defenseless man in an alley. A supervillain with long metal tentacles comes out of a coma in a hospital and uses the tentacles to attack the doctors and nurses in the room.

Romantic kissing.

"Hell."

A character, frustrated that his business investments have gone horribly wrong, has taken to drink. He is shown drunk at a bar, and is shown with a bottle of whiskey at his desk at home as he drinks and acts despondent.

Parents need to know that Spider-Man 2, the second in the Tobey Maguire-era Spider-Man trilogy, has lots of comic book-style violence. Cars (taxis, most often) are thrown into buildings, heroes and villains throw each other from high buildings, and, perhaps most disturbingly, the wife of a character is killed when glass in a building shatters and the shards fly straight for her face. There is some drinking -- a character is shown drinking whiskey at a bar and at home. Beyond this, the film raises important metaphorical questions about the importance of using your talents and gifts to their peak potential instead of casting them aside in order to be "normal."

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