It’s not easy being a super hero, especially when you’re in love. As Peter Parker learned in the first “Spider-Man” movie, ‘with great power, comes great responsibility’. Sam Raimi returns to the director’s chair and manages a rare feat, especially with these comic book movies. “Spider-Man 2” is, in many ways, a far superior film to its predecessor.
In “Spider-Man 2”, Tobey Maguire returns as the wall-crawling arachnid powered hero and his life hasn’t gotten any easier. He’s having a hard time juggling his dual life as New York’s crime fighting web-slinger and trying to be a regular guy and woo his true love, Mary Jane Watson (Kristen Dunst). To make things worse, his best buddy, Harry Osborn (James Franco) has sworn revenge against Spider-Man because he blames the hero for the death of his father, Norman, not realizing daddy was the city menacing Green Goblin. And you thought growing up was tough?
Joining the cast this time around is Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius, who, after an accident during a science experiment to create an unlimited power source, has robotic arms permanently fused to his spine, hence creating Doc Ock. Molina acts as a bit of a mentor to Parker before the accident and the film’s villain after. He carries himself well and adds weight as a scientific impact in the movie as well as a menacing villain. Doc Ock, however, becomes more of a villain created by a unfortunate circumstance as opposed to being a truly evil character as he is the comics.
The relationship between Peter and Mary Jane continues to fuel this movie series. Spidey’s powers begin to suffer as Parker dwells on how to be both Spider-Man for the city and be able to pursue the things he wants the most, which really is just to win MJ’s heart. Adding to the drama is Harry’s hatred for Spider-Man and he is beginning to lose faith in his friend for protecting the masked bandit he blames for his father’s death.
“Spider-Man 2” is one of the best comic book and super hero movies to date because it never tries to be anything more than a heartfelt comic book adaptation, remaining a fun ride even while dipping into the dark side of some characters. Director Sam Raimi combines spectacular action with the true to the heart performance by Tobey Maguire to create a vibrant world that is set to pave the way for an expansion into the Marvel universe.
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The trailer for Spider-Man 2: