A great sequel

Rating: 8/10 (16 July 2006)

Spider-Man 2 is the continuing adventures of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, only now he's beginning to lose control over his life. Peter Parker is attempting to hold down two jobs, college, and some form of social life. All this while swinging around New York saving lives. Harry Osborn is bitter over his father's death, and wants Spider-Man dead. Mary Jane can't trust Peter anymore. Eventually, Peter decides to give up being Spider-Man...Until an idol of his, Doctor Otto Octavius is in a freak accident and transformed into the villainous Doctor Octopus. Now Peter has no choice but to stop Octavius before he destroys the city. This is a great sequel that holds up to the standards of the first film.
Usually, sequels are lacking in quality compared to the first film. Well, not this time. Once again, Sam Raimi manages to use the perfect formula for a superhero film to create this comic book masterpiece. He is able to have realistic conflict among the characters as well as plenty of Spidey action scenes without the movie being overloaded. This movie features a lot more comic relief, which I like in an action movie, as long as it's done right, and trust me it's done right here. Raimi also is able to nail down exactly how stressful it would be to have a low paying job, school, and no social life. So, plot and style wise, this movie is top notch. As for CGI, it has vastly improved from the first film. Is it perfect, no. But it's better. The only small problem I had with the movie was some of the dialogue. There are a couple of lines here and there that make you cringe, such as Doc Ock's line, "Nothing will stand in our way. NOTHING!", and upon discovering the mechanical arms fused to his body, "NOOOOOO!", and especially Peter Parker's line to Mary Jane, "Punch me, I bleed!".
The acting in this movie is a little different from the first film. Tobey Maguire I thought did better in the first movie, the same with Kirsten Dunst. They seem to have chosen a different way to portray their characters, and it's not as good. James Franco is supposed to be more greedy and bitter in this film, so his changed portrayal makes sense. Alfred Molina is very good as Doctor Octopus. He is able to be playfully evil and dead serious very convincingly.
Overall, this movie is slightly better than the first film. Spider-Man 2 is a spot on sequel, and it leaves me very excited as to what Sam Raimi will do with the third film.
8.5/10