Balanced almost as perfectly as an egg on the back of a spoon

Rating: 9/10 (14 August 2008)

Having enjoyed the first Spider-Man movie, I was looking forward eagerly to this movie, and to bluntly ruin the surprise, I was impressed beyond expectations. In a superhero movie, good action is usually a given, but a good story is hard to manage, and Spider-Man 2 honorably handles both these elements with a grace that equals Spidey's when he's web-swinging across the skyscrapers of New York City.
Spider-Man 2's story, which is themed on internal strife, is one of the mature and realistic I've ever seen in a superhero movie, and it portrays the duality of the protagonist and antagonist's lives very effectively. Spider-Man 2 is also one of the few superhero movies that manage to be serious without getting dragged or seeming self-obsessed.
But even with its seriousness, Spider-Man 2 proudly embraces the lightness of its origins with J.K. Simmons' hilarious stints as the brash Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson, Doc Ock's dark sarcasm, a side-splitting scene with Spidey taking an elevator and a cameo by Bruce Campbell as an annoying doorkeeper at a theater, along with more subtle humorous moments with Peter Parker. Amazingly, none of the humor feels out of place, cheesy or overdone.
However, Spider-Man 2's story is not without its flaws, almost all of which had to do with prematurely revealing Spidey's secret identity, something that should have been delayed as late as possible in the series. The first time Harry does the unmasking (thanks to some good help from Doc Ock), which should've been avoided but wasn't as paining as the second time, when Spidey deliberately takes off his half-damaged mask during the climax, revealing his identity to a train full of passengers.
Perhaps sensibly, the movie makes no effort at explaining the knock-on effects of the revelation of a superhero's identity in a place like NYC (especially with people like J. Jonah Jameson around), but then why unmask Spidey in front of an entire crowd in the first place? But since this is just one inconsistency in an otherwise superb plot, it's somewhat forgivable.
The action sequences are much, much better than the first movie, and probably the best I've ever seen in a superhero movie. While the first Spider-Man featured a good deal of almost kung fu like action, this time around Spidey grapples and smashes objects on a far bigger scale  the best of which occur on the façade of a skyscraper and on top of an elevated train (the climax). But what makes it all so exciting is that Spidey does all this against four mechanical tentacles that are essentially the arms of his nemesis, Doc Ock.
Talking of Doc Ock, I feel that it's necessary to mention that his tentacles feel so organic and natural in their movements that it feels like they're actually his arms, controlled by his own muscles; in fact, they're even capable of emoting when needed, such as during the more dramatic scenes when Doc Ock questions his conscience, which is a big feat in itself. Spidey's costume has also undergone some subtle changes this time; the colors are richer, the lenses are whiter and maybe a little more opaque, and the costume generally looks more imposing on-screen.
The acting is miles better than the first movie from the ENTIRE cast, with Tobey Maguire and Alfred Molina taking the top spots in the major roles. However, Kirsten Dunst still had more room for expression. There is also something unique about the way the web-swinging scenes are filmed that I didn't feel in the first movie; it feels like you're swinging with Spidey. I later found out that this was the result of a new camera-work technique called the Spyder-Cam; anyways, great stuff. The cinematography is also top-notch throughout the movie, and especially so during the action sequences.
Overall, Spider-Man 2 is a tremendous leap forward in every aspect from its already-impressive predecessor, and in my honest opinion, quite simply the best superhero movie made so far (since this review is pretty late, I include the extremely overrated Dark Knight in that too). RATING: 9/10.