Finest Marvel Film Yet

Rating: 9/10 (22 July 2004)

SPOILERS
Personally, I'm not an enormous fan of the original "Spiderman" movie. Whilst some friends are huge superhero buffs, the limitation of aspects of Spiderman's life is enough for me. Anyway, the first time the web slinger featured felt irritating and dull and a film to be watched once and ignored. The sequel, by comparison, has been reviewed by others (in particular Jonathan Ross) as the finest superhero film ever, and this is probably a fair description.
In this second chapter in the life of Peter Parker, we are placed twelve months after the original. Beautifully explained by a quality animated beginning which explains all, we are shown straight away the problems our hero faces. Simply put, Parker's life is s**t. Unable to hold down a job, he also finds it impossible to focus on his education and his love Mary Jane is engaged to an astronaut. With a fellow scientist, the brilliant Doctor Octavious, turning evil, Peter is forced to choose between his own life and the life of his alternative being.
In "Spiderman 2" we have perhaps the finest superhero film ever created. With an emotional Peter Parker questioning his calling, we are faced with a far from perfect hero. Aside from the physical problems Superman might have regarding Lois Lane (see Jason Lee's theory in "Mallrats" 1995), Spiderman is arguably the one superhero to suffer the most. Parker is caught choosing between his "gift" and his love for those around him. As a result of this choice, he chooses what most of us would probably choose, he chooses a life of freedom. As Peter Parker, Tobey Maguire sums up this mood perfectly. At times, Maguire shows genuine affection for this desire to help others, whilst simultaneously he shows a deep rooted passion for Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane (to be fair, I think ANYONE would show passion for Dunst's beautiful portrayal, whether mentally or physically. Beautiful!).
Even Parker's latest two rivals, the magnificent James Franco as Harry Osbourne and Alfred Molina as Doctor Octavius are superb. Franco as Harry demonstrates a boy who's mind is slowly deteriorating as he becomes more and more bitter. In comparison, Molina steals the entire film as "Doc Oc", a genius who is turned to evil by some robotic arms. Whilst the first film featured Willem Dafoe as an extreme Norman Osbourne, this second installment has a badguy we can truly feel for and associate with. Molina's Doctor is a genius with a perfect lifestyle who simply wants to sacrifice as many lives as possible to achieve his goal. This is something many have dreamed of for centuries, and this unusual badguy is no different.
Ultimately, as with most films nowadays, it is the special effects that win through. It is impossible in personally opinion to be able to differentiate between the real Spiderman and the CGI Spiderman. Both look and act identically and both are exactly as the fan would imagine. The same is true of Doctor Octopus and his arms.
All in all, "Spiderman 2" is the ultimate superhero film. Whilst VERY biased due to being aware of potential story lines, I find it difficult to condemn this film. Whilst the original film felt like a huge disappointment, the Green Goblin being useless for one, this film has reaffirmed my faith in the series. My one worry is that we are shown a potential Harry Osbourne becoming the second Green Goblin, and I fear the third film reviving the hideous Green Goblin costume of the first. Personally I'd convert Doctor Connors into the Lizard or I'd introduce Spawn. Ultimately however, with this film, Sam Raimi has demonstrated a beautiful understanding for the Spiderman series and I'd willingly trust him with any Marvel creation he saw fit. This film is not the best film of all time, but by far and away it is the best Superhero film ever. 10/10. See this film!