Review of Spider-Man 2 (2004) by Alan Z — 12 Nov 2013

"Spider-Man was a hero. I just couldn't see it. He was a, a thief! A criminal! He stole my suit! He's a menace to the entire city! I want that wall-crawling arachnid prosecuted! I want him strung up by his web! I want Spider-Man!!!".

Sam Raimi's 2002 record-breaking superhero blockbuster Spider-Man was such an acclaimed hit that a sequel was instantly planned. When Spider-Man 2 was released in 2004, many critics loved this sequel even more, with the late, great Roger Ebert famously describing the film as "the greatest superhero film ever made". No I don't think it's the greatest superhero film ever made, but as a sequel, it easily outdoes the first (which I also gave the same rating) and currently this is my favorite Spider-Man film.

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) has tons of problems here in this sequel. While he's trying to save the world as Spider-Man, he's struggling to hide his secret life while trying to maintain his job at The Daily Bugle, college, his relationship with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), who also has a crush with the son of Parker's Bugle boss (JK Simmons), and friend Harry (James Franco), who's convinced that he's allies with Spidey, eho he blames for the death of his father. When all this stress causes his powers to weaken, Parker eventually decides to give up being Spider-Man for good. But things get extremely complicated when Dr. Octavius (Alfred Molina), an insane scientist who has placed mechanical arms in his body, threatens the safety of the city with his fusion scientific experiment, Parker has to figure out if Spider-Man was really worth it or if it was a great idea giving up his power, causing the crime rate to go up.

The film also stars Rosemary Harris as Aunt May, Dylan Baker as Dr. Connors, Parker's college professor, Cliff Robertson making a flashback appearance as the late Uncle Ben, and Stan Lee makes a similar cameo from the first one in a fight sequence saving people from falling debris.

Why is Spider-Man 2 an improvement over the already incredible predecessor? Well, the visual effects and action sequences are more realistic and epic, such as Spidey's first encounter with Octavius at a bank and the epic fight sequence on a subway. While the action has indeed improved, instead of the traditional sequel idea that bigger is always better, Raimi chose the brilliant decision to focus the sequel on more emotional and compelling story arcs, such as Parker figuring out whether he should give up his powers and his struggling relationship with Mary Jane. And I say that Raimi's decision really works. Spider-Man 2 has more heart in any superhero action vehicle than anything made by Michael Bay, and that's a proven fact by many, including me.

If you're wondering why I strongly believe that Tobey Maguire is a much, much better Parker/Spider-Man than Andrew Garfield, this is truly the film. Maguire still shows his nerdy geeky side as Parker, but is more emotionally complex and compelling. Kirsten Dunst remains phenomenal as Mary Jane, and the romantic arc is so moving that it comes out as stellar and not a melodramatic, cheesy soap opera. I still don't care that much on James Franco as an actor, but as Harry Osborne, Franco really delivers in his intense, tragic emotions. Alfred Molina is an awesome villain, and is purely evil and menacing. Rosemary Harris continues to be sweet and incredible as Aunt May, and Cliff Robertson's cameo role as Uncle Ben is emotionally strong. Willem Dafoe's small cameo role as Norman/Green Goblin makes a memorable scene as well. And last, JK Simmons continues to be the scene-stealer as Jameson the Bugle chief. He's funny, rude, and awesome while creating a truly obnoxious character, though not obnoxious to where you truly hate this character.

Danny Elfman returns to do the score, and like his awesome score in the first, Elfman's themes are awesome and memorable, and the emotional levels, like the film itself, is really intense and moving.

Spider-Man 2 is a superhero sequel that proves that going smaller can make it an even more incredible experience (though that's not always true). The action sequences, while there's not as much as in the first, have stepped up and are more epic, the acting performances are phenomenal, particularly Tobey Maguire as Parker and Alfred Molina as a truly compelling villain, plus the emotional stakes are raised and the character development is excellent. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has a lot of shoes to fill if it wants to outdo what I believe to be the best of all the Spider-Man films.