Review of Spider-Man 2 (2004) by Whit W — 31 Aug 2013

This is the best of Sam Raimi's Spiderman flicks and is one of the best in all the Superhero genre. There's a variety of reasons for this, but it's mostly due to Alfred Molina's portrayal of Doctor Octopus. There's a lot of "Evil Dead" insanity in the operating room scene that features the arms of the Doctor and Spiderman sparring. It's trademark Raimi and it's the best sequence in any of the Spiderman films. Actually, the fights between Spidey and Doc Ock are all great including the terrific runaway train scene and also the final act.

Tobey Maguire is very good as Peter Parker, even though the relationship with Mary Jane in her Kirsten Dunst form just doesn't work well. She's dislikeable in the role and is written as being very needy and self-centered. It has the potential to spoil any rewatch if you're in a foul or less gracious mood.

The special effects are very good and the action scenes are all class. This is one sequel that tops the original.