A second, exhilarating spin

Rating: 10/10 (1 July 2004)

"Spider-Man 2" is a perfectly realized and personal vision of the Marvel Comics superhero played by Tobey Maguire, who is given his extraordinary powers by a bite from a genetically-modified spider.
The sequel to 2002's mega-blockbuster is heavy on wall-to-wall special effects and action sequences, but surprisingly there's a strong human element within all of the chaos.
Peter's life is more harried and frustrating this time around: he's in college (but is late for his classes), is fired from a job as a pizza delivery boy, is on shaky grounds with his friend Harry (James Franco), Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) is about to be evicted, and he still burns with unrequited love for Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), who's about to be married.
These might all seem to be a terrible burden on Peter's life, however, that is until a new villain arises to challenge Spider-Man, the once brilliant and benevolent Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina, perfectly cast; equal times pitiable and loathsome), who becomes "Dr. Octopus" ("Doc Ock" to the press) when an accident fuses four mechanical tentacles to his body.
Director Sam Raimi knew what he was going for when he decided to take on the task of bringing "Spider-Man 2" to the big screen. He's come a long way from his days as "that guy" who made the "Evil Dead" to become a well-respected filmmaker. His direction is much more focused and has polished the faults of the first film (I don't think there were as many as some have claimed).
As Roger Ebert states in his review, "Spider-Man 2" is more like a "film" as opposed to a "blockbuster" or a "superhero" or "comic book" movie. It has the qualities of a dramatic action flick, a rarity in Hollywood these days.
As for the story and characters, it's well-balanced and less hectic than the first film. Also, the ending is a lot more satisfactory, especially for hopeless romantics like myself. The performances are great, especially from Maguire, who reacts with the right amount of grief, frustration, and anger over dawning the suit of Spider-Man. The most truly great performance, I think, comes from Alfred Molina.
Molina, who is pretty familiar to most audiences, comes off as quite understanding as Dr. Octopus. When we first meet him, which is when he first meets our hero Peter, we can only wonder how does this nice man become one of the most popular and brilliant Spidey villains ever envisioned? Octopus is sadistic and quite terrifying, not menacing and psychopathic like Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin from the first film.
I don't believe that "Spider-Man 2" is better than the first film, but is better-made, more streamlined and fluid, with a big touch of realism. This film is more human than most superhero flicks as of late and for that reason it gets a "10," just as I rated "Spider-Man" a "10" two years ago when I saw that film.
Can't wait for "3" in a few years.