Originally written in 2004*
After the hype surrounding the decent Spiderman, I was looking forward to this because it introduced Doc Oc, one of my favourite comic book bad guys, but I wasn’t expecting it to be vastly better than the first. I was proved wrong. This improves over part 1 in every way, with the performances stronger, the effects better, it is more exciting and there is a less teeny feel about it. Not quite as good as the X-men movies, but better than most other recent comic book movies.
Peter Parker has been masquerading as Spiderman for some time, helping the city from crime, but he still has his critics. More importantly though he is trying to get on with a normal life, earning money and thinking about MJ. However, after the events of the first film, the three people Peter cares for most are becoming distant from him in different ways. MJ has fallen for someone else and Peter keeps letting her down, his best friend Harry, whose father (Green Goblin) was killed by Spiderman is closing in on his discovery and is becoming increasingly hate filled and paranoid. Aunt May is also getting older and becomes estranged from her nephew when she realises what Peter did in the first film. As well as this, Peter seems to be losing his powers. He decides that he must give up his alter-ego. Meanwhile, Doctor Octavius sees one of his experiments going disastrously wrong, simultaneously destroying the Osbourne company and turning the Doc into Doc Oc. Doc Oc goes on a crime spree, and puts New York in danger, particularly Peter’s closest friends. He must be stopped at all costs, so Spiderman is reborn.
Firstly the writers and Raimi deal with the many intertwining plot lines brilliantly, squeezing everything into the two hours, and leaving space for tonnes of action. Fans of the comic will enjoy seeing the appearance of later important characters such as John Jameson and Doc Connors. Each storyline is followed carefully and we feel sympathy towards Parker whose gift is becoming a curse. However, as this is primarily marketed as a summer blockbuster it is the stunts, action and effects which will matter to the masses. And they are excellent. The fights between Spiderman and Doc Oc are some of the most impressive action sequences to date, especially when the pair are flying through the city at break-neck speeds. Once the action starts, the excitement rarely fades, juxtaposed by the impending threat of peter being uncovered, and Harry finding out the truth. The film also sets itself wonderfully for sequels and spin-offs, as fans will know about the appearance of Venom, Doc Connors and the Hobgoblin. Maguire performs much better here than in the first, and his character’s depth certainly increases. Dunst is also much better, possibly her best performance since Interview with a Vampire, and Molina is perfect as Doc Oc. Franco as Harry also admirably shows range as he struggles between sanity and madness, and although he seems to be losing he still is capable of getting sympathy from us. Overall an excellent comic conversion, and a significant improvement over the original.
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