This is that rare case of an almost perfect film.

Rating: Null/10 (29 June 2004)

"Spiderman 2" is that rare case of an almost perfect film.
It's funny, emotional, romantic and exciting, in that order. It's
Marvel-ously entertaining for young and old alike (we grew up with
this stuff, after all). And it's got the little touches that make an
entertainment-movie worth watching twice  at least
But above all, it's a film that's solidly grounded on its characters,
and the actors behind them. Unlike action-revue-flicks like
"Batman' or, more recently, "Van Helsing', "Spiderman 2' does not
rely on the CGI-stuff alone to thrill its viewers. Instead, the tricks
and gimmicks actually serve to enhance the story and underline
the character-development. This, of course, revolves around
Spidey's identity issue, about his coming to terms with his destiny
of being a super-hero in spite of the havoc thereby wreaked on his
private life. He's a comic-book super-hero, and at the same time
"he's just a kid'  that's the formula that makes this movie work.
FROM HERE ON THERE BE MINOR SPOILERS: A perfect example
comes in one of the first scenes, when Peter Parker, who works
part-time in a Pizza-delivery-service, is late and has to resort to his
spidery powers in order to try and make the delivery deadline. It is
quite significant and sets the tone of the film that in spite of his
effort, Peter fails to arrive in time, thus losing his employee the
payment for the pizza and himself the job. The fact that he has
netted a few more criminals on the way does not quite make up for
that defeat
This film being a true sequel and not just another installment of
the same story, the plot of course picks up where the first film left
off  after an amazing, colorfully animated title-sequence that
recapitulates what has happened before. Peter Parker alias
Spiderman (Tobey Maguire, who in "The Ice-Storm' wasn't casted
as Elijah Woods brother for nothing: they're both able to portray
that blue-eyed mix of vulnerability and hidden strength) has
decided to sacrifice his private life because "with great power
comes great responsibility'. He has abandoned the love-of-his-life
Mary Jane Watson (played once more beautifully by Kirsten Dunst),
telling her that he feels nothing for her (he will do so several more
times in this movie). His studies go from bad to worse and his rich
buddy Harry (James Franco) keeps questioning him increasingly
roughly about Spiderman, whom he holds responsible for his
fathers death. Peter bears all this and more patiently  until his
powers start to fail him This is the perfect moment for the villain
to enter the scene, the classical brilliant scientist overpowered by
his powerful invention, played adequately by Alfred Molina. (I know
others were more impressed by Molinas performance, but hey,
what can you expect of a guy who had to do most of his acting for
the role suspended in front of a blue-screen, supposedly being
carried around by virtual tentacles... though I'll admit the heads of
the tentacles are nice enough  snakelike, "Matrix'-like living
machines.)
Talking about "Matrix': Later on in the film, Spiderman falls off a
building in a jumping-scene that is once more strangely
reminiscent of "The Matrix'. Still later, when he has passed out, he
is being carried overhead by several people, stretched out in a
crucified position, just like the one adapted by Laurence Olivier
and Kenneth Branagh in their "Hamlet'-films. Coincidence? I think
not. Or is it really just another chance that we are given a ghost
urging his son to take revenge? But then, what has "Hamlet' got to
do with "Spiderman'? Go see the film and puzzle it out for
yourselves!