A money spinner - again

Rating: Null/10 (24 July 2004)

Why are superheroes so angst-ridden and reluctant to embrace their persona of power? It might be because they know that, in any sequel, they'll have to face an even stronger villain or that the costume will make a relationship difficult or that there will be pressure for the follow-up movie to be as financially successful as the first. Well, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) needn't have worried. Once he conquers his self-doubt and ejaculation difficulties, he's certainly a match for Doctor Octavius (Alfred Molina); like Clark Kent in "Superman 2", he comes to a new understanding with his girlfriend; and, as far as the box office is concerned, he's proved to be a money spider.
Although it drags at times, there is plenty of bone-crunching action here, leavened with some neat touches of humour, and the runaway train sequence is especially thrilling. When S-M is swinging through the streets between the towering skyscrapers of New York, it is very obviously CGI-generated imagery, but still exciting. What is so brilliant is the realisation of 'Doc Ock', a really good bad guy that is one of the very best translations from comic strip to celluloid. Kirsten Dunst, as Sarah Jane Watson, still doesn't do anything for me, looking most of the time like the girl next door who's lost her glasses, but Peter is keen to net her and he's pretty doe-eyed himself.
Director Sam Raimi has come well into the mainstream since making gore feist "The Evil Dead", but there's still enough violence here to push at the boundaries of the PG certificate and the scene is well set up for "Spider-Man 3".