Product: Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Rating: 5.0
Great follow-up
I thought this was a great sequel to the original Spiderman. Here Spidey fights an implaccable foe (aren't all comic-book foes implaccable?) who himself has spiderlike, bionic arms, and sometimes he's more than a match for Spidey himself. As if that weren't bad enough, Spidey develops a confidence problem when his web-making ability inexplicably fails him on several occasions. Now he doesn't know if it'll fail him at a critical moment, and yet he must still stop the obsessed Dr. Octavius and get Mary Jane back.The action sequences are great with terrific special effects, and the romantic relationship between Spiderman and Mary Jane also gets developed much more than in the previous movie. I think the strong characterization and more "intimate" story line, in its concentrating on a few appealing characters, was an important part of the success of the first three Star Wars movies. Lucas got away from that approach in the two recent prequels, concentrating more on the big, epic battle scenes and special effects, and so the two prequels just didn't grab me as much as the earlier movies, or these two Spiderman movies. (And I say that as an old Star Wars fan from way back). So don't miss this great sequel, and let Spidey snare you in another fun-filled and action-packed web of suspense and adventure.