Awe-inspiring.

Rating: Null/10 (1 September 2004)

Before beginning, I have to inform you that going into this film I 1.)  am not a fan of comic books; I've picked up a handful in my entire lifetime. 2.)  never thought the idea of Spiderman was interesting enough for me to read one of his comic books. 3.)  always felt Doc Oc was one of the stupidest villains ever conceived. And 4.)  am irritated by the trend of overusing and abusing CG effects.
Spiderman 2 is a comic-book based movie about Spiderman (obviously) with Doc Oc as the villain and it has lots and lots of computer generated imagery. And I'm still telling you that SpiderMan 2 is arguably the best movie of 2004.
Sam Raimi has painted a wonderfully colorful, comic-bookish world in which outrageous CG fights fit nicely and seamlessly into the live action elements. Note  I'm not saying the CG is unnoticeable (it's very noticeable), I am saying that it feels natural here as though it belongs. It plays into what Raimi was trying to achieve--a world that's *like* reality in a blurred surrealistic way, but at the same time we know that it is not reality. Not unlike a fairy tale . . . or the pages of a comic book.
If CG will forever stand out, then make the film match the CG. Rock on Raimi!
Next up: the villain. I've never been more happy to eat my words and be so wrong. Dr. Octopus came across much cooler, far more convincingly, and way more interestingly than I could have imagined. I never thought Jack Nicholson as the Joker would ever be dethroned as my favorite Hollywood super villain. Move over Jack, Alfred's taken the reigns. I was blown away by Molina's performance, by the artificial life given to each of his extra limbs so that they're practically a character themselves, and by intense over-the-top CG-infused hyper fight scenes. Were this another genre of film, I'd gear up into complaint mode regarding those fights, but as described above . . . these ridiculous exchanges feel right at home on Raimi's superhero canvas.
With the first film out of the way along with the obligatory explanation of Spiderman's origins, an introduction to his powers, as well as introduction to most of the main players in Spidey's world, now this film has space to breath and explore the characters. Fortunately for us, we get a returning cast so we don't have to suspend our disbelief that Michael Keaton has magically morphed to Val Kilmer or George Clooney. Spiderman 2 explorers its character elements and subplots with surprising attention to detail and sincerity, giving the film a few more layers than I've come to expect from a 'silly superhero movie.'
Throw in Raimi's trademarks mixed in with Elfman's taste for scoring, and SpiderMan 2 exceeded my expectations in every way. Will the die hard fans of SpiderMan like it? Keep searching for that review . ..