The summer of 2003 was the summer of the crappy sequel. Stuff like Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and Legally Blonde came out, did marginal box office to dismal reviews, and then left. 2004 seems to be the summer of the huge sequels. They're universally acclaimed, like Shrek 2 (except by me), and do huge box office. Spider-Man 2 seems to belong to the latter group. Not just because it was released in 2004, but it is a worthy sequel to 2002's Spider-Man. It seems more cinematic, and knows where it's going more than the first one did.

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), after being bitten by a genetically altered spider in the first, has powers of a spider and uses them to stop crime in New York. But Peter's grades are falling, he loses his job, and ultimately has to choose between being Peter Parker and Spider-Man. He chooses the former, but at about the same time, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) performs an experiment that goes wrong, causing four tentacles to be fused onto his back, hence the name Dr. Octopus. He and Spider-Man fight.

The special effects, supposedly improved from the first, seemed hit-or-miss. Much of the CGI looked more obvious, whether it be Spider-Man's webslinging (he often looked fake) and the green screen. However, Doc Ock's tentacles were much better than the other CGI effect, and made the character a whole lot more interesting than the Green Goblin. I was one of the few who didn't complain about the Green Goblin in the first, but Doc Ock was just more developed and seemed more like a menacing villain here. Plus, Molina did a better job as the villain than Willem Dafoe did in the first (although I did like his "comeback" here).

However, it seemed like Doc Ock was all but forgotten for much of the movie. The plot, instead of centering around Spider-Man, centers around Peter and his conflicts. Sure, he has to decide between which he wants to be, but mostly it's about Peter's relationships. I'm cool with that, except there was barely any action in the movie. A couple fight scenes, but those mainly consisted of Spider-Man and Doc Ock punching each other. Why not use your powers to save yourself? I must admit, when they did use their powers, it was a lot better than the first, mainly because the villain was better. I also appreciated the more mature style of the whole movie. After re-watching the first, it seemed pandered for children, while this one seemed more mature.

The script takes its time, allowing the relationships to deepen between the characters. There's some great scenes that don't really involve Spider-Man at all (such as Peter and Aunt May at the table), but at times, you're just waiting for something action related to come up. I'm not even sure if this could be considered an action movie, with the scarcity of the action scenes. But it definitely is a super-hero movie, and a worthy one at that. Sam Raimi knows his stuff, and creates a conglomeration of everything-some action, mainly drama, but homages to his Evil Dead series, King Kong, and even Maguire back injury that almost caused him to not star in this movie. Although Bryan Singer's X-Men may have started the whole comic book craze, Raimi's direction of the Spider-Man movies made the good ones what they are today. To that, I think he deserves a lot of credit.

Maguire, again, is pretty good, but I can't stop thinking about what Jake Gyllenhaal (his replacement while Maguire's back was injured) would have been like in the role. Probably better, since he did play a superhero in Donnie Darko. Kirsten Dunst, as love interest Mary Jane, is almost universally panned, but I find no fault with her acting. But, as I said before, Molina shines here. It's obvious he's having the most fun with his role, along with whatever acting chops are necessary, and the combination's staggering. He's come a long way from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Is Spider-Man 2 the best comic book movie? No, I think that goes to The Hulk. Is it the best comic book movie sequel? It is so far, until (hopefully) The Hulk 2 is made.

My rating: 8/10

Rated PG-13 for stylized action violence.