Spiderman 2 is, without a doubt, the best Spiderman film that has come out so far. That is not to say that the movie does not have its problems because it does. However, despite its issues, this is the Spiderman film that, has the best effects, has the best action, has the most heart, and most importantly stays true to the spirit of the character the most.

This film almost embodies Spiderman almost perfectly. This is definitely Tobey McGuire's best performance as Peter Parker/Spiderman. I cannot say it is his best performance period because I haven't seen all of his films, but it is definitely his best performance as this character. This film really captures Spiderman and people love him even now. Everyone hates Spiderman and regard him as a criminal despite all the good he does, him trying to balance his life as Spiderman and his personal life, and no matter what he does things just never seem to go his way. That's Spiderman and that's what made him so relatable in the comics and why so many people gravitated towards him even to this day.

They also handle Harry and his ark perfectly. In this film he is still trying to get revenge on Spiderman for "killing" his father in the last film. This has become an obsession it virtually consumes his life where he does nothing else. At the end of the film you see where that ultimately leads him. Rosemary Harries gives an amazing performance as Aunt May like in the last, except she is even better here. The scenes where Peter is talking to her about Uncle Ben's death and when she gives her speech about heroes they are amazing and the best scenes in the movie. I do not care what anybody says, Rosemary Harris is Aunt May not the one from Amazing Spiderman.

Doc Oc, I think, they actually improved upon from the comics. In the comics he is just a stereotypical mad scientist with four robotic arms. In the film they make him for of a three-dimensional character. You can feel sympathy for him and see where he is coming from which are almost always the best villains.

The action is also top notch in this. This film has the best action scenes of all the Spiderman films to date. Spiderman 3 had some great action as well but this, in my opinion, still takes the cake. The fight between Spiderman and Doc Oc on the clock tower and the train are phenomenal. It is the best fight in the entire franchise. The effects are amazing and really help make the action amazing. Some of the effects in the original were a bit off which hurt the action a little. The effects in Spiderman 2 beat the crap out of almost all the other films including the new ones, which is sad. Spiderman 3 had slightly better effects but is still quite close.

The film, however, is not without its faults. The film, while coming close, does not capture Spiderman perfectly. Spiderman still does not use his wit enough. He does use it but not often enough. Mary Jane is still a very poorly written character. I still think Kirsten Dunst, while a good actress, is miscast. This Mary Jane is still not like the Mary Jane from the comics, is still annoying, and is still just there to be Peter's token love interest and the person he saves. She also comes off as a bit selfish in this film as well. It is not as bad as the third film but is still annoying.

There is also the plot point of her and Jameson's son. That goes nowhere. I am not too familiar with the Spiderman comics but I think he had a bigger role there. Here he is simply a throw-away character. Weak!

The plot-point of Spiderman losing his powers, while not, seems a little weird to me. Not-to-mention it is taken almost beat for beat from another film. I swear Sam Raimi ripped off Hayao Miyazaki. The same plot point was used in the 1989 Miyazaki animated film Kiki's Delivery Service which is an awesome movie by the way. It does not bother me too much since I saw Spiderman 2 before Kiki, but I still find that quite amusing. I wonder if it was because of Kirsten Dunst. Dunst who plays Mary Jane in these movies also voiced Kiki in the dub of Kiki's Delivery Service, which is her best performance in my opinion. Did she have some creative input she was not credited for?

Overall, Spiderman 2 is the best Spiderman film easily. If you are a fan of Spiderman then definitely see this film. It has great action, great effects, great story, and it comes closest to the characters in the comics than any of the other films. You really do not even need to watch the first movie before this. I would recommend you do, but it is not required to understand this. This film is pretty self-contained.