Entertaining to the last frame

Rating: 9/10 (30 June 2004)

I won't put major spoilers here because they do, in fact, spoil the movie, and this is one that I don't think should be ruined for anyone.
Tobey Maguire delivers a believable angst-ridden and at the same time comically dorky Peter Parker. Kirsten Dunst was better in the first movie, probably because she had more opportunities to...oh, I don't know, have a facial expression. When she's not screaming her wig off, Kirsten has a completely blank face; she's more expressive acting in her off-Broadway play. James Franco and Rosemary Harris (though featured more prominently in the sequel) seem to take a backseat to everything else going on in the film. Alfred Molina as Doc Ock was more entertaining in his solo scenes than the Green Goblin, and Otto Octavius is much more sympathetic and three-dimensional than Norman Osborn. J.K. Simmons was brilliant (like we'd expect anything less).
The directing this time around felt slightly different, with a random New Yorker shrieking and running at the camera and a lot more close-up shots of the characters. Still good, though. Raimi can definitely pat himself on the back.
My biggest complaint would have to be MJ's wardrobe, which was consistently hideous, and since this really has no effect on the movie, I give it a 9/10.