Product: Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Rating: 5.0
Simply a "Marvel"
Rarely has a comic-book superhero movie dealt with the hero's emotional pang more then their death defying feats. Films have exploited these superheroes as a means to put CGI into good use. "Spider-Man" felt like one of those. It was bland and dry and the characters skimmed on the surface of shallow. Now comes "Spider-Man 2," where director Sam Raimi has focused on the internal labor and strain of Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) that makes superheroes like Spiderman more complicated and in-depth. Torn between this gift and curse of having supernatural abilities with his personal agendas of wants and needs, Peter Parker is the epitome of what it takes to be a superhero, and "Spider-Man 2" is what comic-book movie should be.Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco are the key to the emotional success of these stories. Maguire has become so good in this role that is more than just an action-movie role. We get a full scope of Maguire's ability to make Spider-Man a well-rounded character instead of a two-dimensional cartoon character. Dunst, although still in her teens, is a veteran actress that has added layers to Mary Jane. Particularly the one where she has her fiancé lie back on the couch so she can recreate that famous kiss with Spider-Man convinced me that Dunst has done a lot with her character. Franco is just as productive and even chilling because we begin to notice the menacing attributes that will eventually make him Spider-Man's next nemesis.(...)