If Shrek 2 is the summers animated blockbuster, then Spiderman 2 gets the award for the summers best action movie!

Rating: 8/10 (30 June 2004)

I went in expecting the same drab love story, the same lame CGI and the awful acting from Toby McGuire, with of course some decent action thrown in to save the film. I was proven wrong ten-fold.
It is hard to comment on the movie because so many of the best parts would be considered plot spoilers. I won't do that to you. I will tell you that whatever money the Spiderman franchise has made, it really appears that most of it was put back into the 2nd part of the movie. The script to begin with is very good. Since we took care of all the character development in the first movie, we don't need to waste anytime there. Instead we get thrown right into the Peter Parkers life, two years since the last movie. He is a college student, living in a 1 room apartment, failing as a pizza delivery boy, still hiding his true feelings for Mary Jane, and of course, fighting the bad guys day and night.
What this movie gives us that the previous didn't was an in depth look into the heart and soul of Peter Parker. His struggles with his emotions towards Mary Jane and his constant fight with Harry send him packing up his Spidey suit and he tries to become a normal guy. If you remember previously, his normal guy routine was that of a bumbling loser who could barely see without his glasses. That is where he ends up again.
In all of this "finding identity" hoopla, another villain emerges. Doctor Octopus. This villain has heart, but is controlled by a set of mechanical arms that have fused themselves to his body. They have a mind of their own and in time possess the good doctor. The CGI and even live action scenes with Doc Oct and Spiderman are incredible. In fact, every action sequence in the movie is filmed with such dizzying angles, you may find yourself shifting in your seat with each turn of the camera.
This is a movie that has to be seen on the big screen. Unlike the first movie, where there were parts that you started to fall asleep at, this one keeps you riveted to the screen. Yes, the Mary Jane love thing is still going on, but at least this time you find yourself interested enough to yell at the screen, "Just kiss her, man!" The least interesting character, again was Harry. He carrys around the grudge that Spiderman killed his father and he wants revenge. I wondered how a guy that couldn't even pass high school without Peter's help can now be running OsCorp. Of course, you'll see that in part 3, Harry will return, so I guess get used to the guy.
The audience clapped at the end of the movie and cheered during many scenes. A few people shed a tear or two (warrented) and Mary Jane has a line that will just tug on your heartstrings. Not going to say what the line was, as it would give away something wonderful that you just have to go see the film to experience.