In an era in which action movies more and more seem to consist of endless amounts of CGI and over-the-top action sequences without any kind of story, logic or character development, it's good to see that occasionally a movie comes along that recognizes what makes action movies great: not the action itself, but the combination of action with other elements like story, character development and humor.

I'm not a big fan of the first Spiderman, finding it way too predictable, a bit shallow, and not very convincing. "Spiderman 2", however, fixes most of these things. This time around, the story and the characters are fleshed out a lot more, and while the story is still a bit predictable and a tad sentimental at times, it's a vast improvement over the first movie, and the story is great compared to nearly every other action movie of the last decade. Also, in "Spiderman 2", the heroes and bad guys are real persons that you can relate to, not one-dimensional (and thus dull) cardboard cut-outs.

The action sequences in Spiderman are also a lot better than in most movies. While there are still a couple of obviously fake CGI shots, for the most part the action looks very convincing. A special mention goes to Dr Octopus' tentacles, which really seem to lead a life of their own. Very well done! The action is spectacular and exciting, and remains largely believable (within the context of people with superhero powers and guys with four huge mechanical arms welded to their back, of course).

I also like the fact that the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. There are plenty of in-jokes, self-deprecating humor, and of course there's the comic relief in the form of J. Jonah Jameson.

"Spiderman 2" offers just about everything you want from an action movie: decent story, characters you can identify with, good action that doesn't go over the top, and a tongue-in-cheek tone. It's not Oscar material of course, but it does what it is supposed to do (entertain) in a superb manner.

*** out of **** stars