Emulates success of original too closely to feel authentic

Rating: 6/10 (2 May 2007)

Using the successful template which guided part 1 to a tee, Sam Raimi again duplicated his blockbuster hit with even more box office bite, but in the process lost something along the way. There are no obvious downgrades from the previous installment, a fun, enduring origin piece that instantly sat well with so many outside the comic book norm. All key elements which became dependable in the franchise are present and multiplied: fluid action, romantic tension, and meaningful metaphors on the man behind the mask. Even though there is clearly an intended purpose to probe Parker's dualistic struggle, sermonizing his morality to an uncomfortable measure via a few extra corny interactions does not help a plot that parallels way too much from it's predecessor in the first place. This overdone approach will lend well to all intense sequencing but does somehow trample over the unique pleasure that was the first rather then totally compliment.
Essentially, Spider-Man 2 is a glorified teaser for the impending trilogy, using much of it's time to simply set up a bigger showdown that is yet to come. Whereas the original offered an exciting, fun, and fresh update to the comic book superhero in and of itself, one can definitely sense the stench of sequelitis begin crawling in this time around. The primary cast begins to settle into their respective roles, perhaps a little too comfortably, while Raimi struggled to fill the movie with an admirable foe. Alfred Molina is a fine actor who wears his four robotic arm well as rogue scientist Doc Ock, but too many similarities between Dafoe's Green Goblin render this conflict predictable. James Franco, who remains a pivotal character to the series, simply does not bring any humanity to the role of Harry Osborn either, replacing any ongoing tension the sequel wishes to set up with a sourly frown to drive his character instead.
The fans ate this one up, and it is easy to see why. All the action scenes are finely tuned and exhibit a sharper eye then the original could ever attempt. Spider-Man's webbing around New York City is still the selling point, and the CGI animators do everything in their power to justify a second indulgence with some fascinating fights, particularly when filmed at high speeds against an aesthetically adventurous Doc Ock. A certain dedication to examining Peter Parker as he struggles to reconcile with his alter-ego was also another reason fans held this one on a pedestal. But honestly, as much as the script may try to diverge into psychological subtext while offering insanely choreographed action, the impact still ended up feeling like an amped-up repeat of what made the first one so engaging.