Definitively, one of the best in its genre.

Rating: 9/10 (31 October 2007)

The sequel to the Spider-Man movie is everything a fan of the first could ask for. Imagine the surprise to see such care, effort and appreciation put into every character within the movie, with excellent acting, direction, sound, computer animation... all of it seamlessly integrated into a film that is very aware of the history, the fandom, and the expectations associated with the Spider-Man franchise. Spider-Man 2 is the perfect film for the comic book genre, and the perfect sequel for Spider-Man fans. Aside from the flawless animation and choreography staged between the Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus fights, we get to the real core of Peter Parker, when he makes a real attempt back at normal life, after events allow him so. Seeing Peter Parker deal with day-to-day life honestly, in an environment unintentionally nudging against him in all areas, makes this film a real gem, and Tobey Maguire should give himself a pat on the back for what a good film he's put together.
While Peter Parker deals with him losing a job, failing school, missing rent and straining to meet Mary Jane at the cost of being Spider-Man, an idol of his, Dr. Otto Octavius, whom his very project is on, receives sponsorship from his friend, Harry, to work his experiment on fusion. After the experiment goes horribly wrong, Octavius loses control of his senses and plots to finish his job no matter the cost.
One of the best scenes has to be when Peter comes clean to Aunt May about what really happened to Uncle Ben. Here, the script and director could have done anything to make the scene anything else but what it was but they didn't. Those types of scenes, included along with relating to Mary Jane and saving whatever he kept holding onto with her, worked because of the exceptional acting and direction involved in knowing that they were creating a great film. Spider-Man 2 is one of the best sequels of all time, and if you loved the first movie, the second will not disappoint. Everyone involved in this film, should give themselves a hand because Spider-Man 2 lived up to its namesake as a film that you could enjoy over and over and never tire of. Every scene is never wasted, and I give the film two thumbs way up for ingenuity and imagination, for bringing the web-crawling hero a greater movie than one could think possible.