A solid sequel

Rating: 8/10 (8 January 2007)

No one would ever argue that Sam Raimi doesn't know how make a great film and even a great sequel or two. The director of the EVIL DEAD trilogy and 2002's SPIDER-MAN comes through with a worthy sequel to that last title, as Spidey takes on Doctor Octopus aka Doc Ock while wondering if he should continue on as the world's most misunderstood wall-crawler. His powers are beginning to fail him, the love of his life, Mary Jane Watson, is preparing to marry another, and his best buddy, Harry Osborn, is not feeling real good about him since Spider-Man "killed" his father, the Green Goblin, at the end of the first film. Talk about a conundrum. The best parts of this mega-budgeted action flick are taken up with the lonely youth's personal concerns. As with the first movie, the least effective parts come whenever he dons costume and cowl. These scenes are almost 100 percent computer-generated cartoonery and hard to swallow. They're also hard to follow, as everything rushes by in a virtual blur. Toby Maguire again plays the titular character, and reminds us why the first movie worked so well. His internal conflict can be readily seen in every twitch of his face and those highly expressive eyes of his. He's Elijah Wood with acting chops. The chameleonic Alfred Molina is absolutely wonderful as Doc Ock, and puts Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin from the first movie to shame. Unfortunately, Kirsten Dunst remains a supporting player, little more than eye candy, although she tries hard in her few scenes. In the end, is SPIDER-MAN 2 worth seeing? Unless you are a die-hard comic book fan, probably not. It doesn't really advance the youthful angst and romance and action sequences seen in the first movie. It also lacks the grandeur and mythic components of the first two X-MEN movies. But it is a decent time killer, a pleasant diversion for a super-slow evening.