Superbly made sequel

Rating: 9/10 (12 July 2004)

In my recent (and not so recent) memory, rarely do sequel's come out equal to the task, LOTR series is one that succeeded, Aliens another...add Spider-Man 2 to the list. The beauty of IMDb is it gives one a chance, almost in a blog type format, to empty their thoughts. As such, before I give my take on SM2, a moment to thank IMDb for the service, and more so Sam Raimi for a job well, well done...and to the writers, a simply great story.
Superhero movies have come and gone over the years. First, the superbly made Superman movie, followed up by the not so great sequels. Then came Batman, which the original was well done, then degraded fast with each subsequent film until we reached the abyss with Batman and Robin. X-men broke somewhat with tradition, as the second was a no doubt a good time in the theater. The Hulk is one we would all like to forget -- I seriously doubt there will be a sequel here. SM2, however, did something the other superhero movies could not in a sequel...they built upon already strong characters with even more, better character development. The critics saw this and they nailed the analysis on this one. It is the primary reason SM2 works as well as it does. Other super hero movies assume in their sequels that the characters are fully developed. Film makers assume there is no need, or desire, to grow them any further -- they leap right into action, pitting good vs evil. SM2, on the other hand, spends a deal of it's time on progressing the main characters, adding the human element to a young man with super human abilities, Parker struggles with who he is and his responsibilities as a result, he wrestles with his dual role, while MJ comes out caring, but perplexed with Parkers apparent shield of mystery. Harry Osborne grows in his hatred of SM, heck even Jameson progresses. Very fun to watch, engrossing, and better yet we (the audience) gets to learn more about already intriguing characters. This is not completely the good guy vs the bad guy, as in the end we can sympathize with the antagonist...any more would be spoiling the movie. No, this movie has many messages in terms of responsibility, doing the right thing, honesty and above all interpersonal struggles.
I will not publish any spoilers, there are plenty to be read....what I will say is see this movie! It is one of the diamonds in an otherwise very rough field of cruddy big-budget Hollywood tripe (aka Troy, Van Helsing, Chronicles of Riddick etc.).