He's back, and he is still amazing.... - Spider-Man 2 Reviews

Why is it that Sam Raimi (Director of Spiderman 1 & 2) seems to be the only one who ?gets it? when it comes to making superhero films? Raimi hit a homerun with the first Spiderman film and aside from one bad scene, Spiderman 2 is every bit as good. The second film picks up about a year after the 1st film ended. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is living in the city where he struggles to make ends meet with delivery jobs and freelance photography. His crime fighting lifestyle has taken a toll on his personal life and his relationships with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and Harry Osbourne (James Franco) have suffered. Mary Jane views Peter as a disappointment and Harry has been consumed by thoughts of revenge against Spiderman due to his father?s death. Parker also must take on a new foe named Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) who has multiple tentacle-like arms fused to his body and a passion for madness. The film follows Parker as he struggles to renew his relationship with Mary Jane and save his friendship with Harry all while living up to the expectations that come with being a superhero. This film, more than any other, brings a superhero to life. Parker is placed in everyday situations which are complicated for normal people, much less those who are superheroes. The storyline is fantastic and the pace is perfect with a nice blend of action and a surprising amount of effective scenes with nothing but dialog. The acting is very strong in this film with one exception. Rosemary Harris, who plays the character of Aunt May, is just flat out awful. Every time she began delivering lines I began to cringe. There is one scene in particular which is so bad that I can't believe Raimi left it in. It involves an exchange between her and Parker after a birthday party for him. She sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the other fantastic performances by the rest of the cast. Maguire, Dunst, and Franco all continue to be great as their odd triangle continues to unfold, and Molina is very interesting as the villain, Doc Ock. J.K. Simmons also reprises his role as J. Jonah Jameson and is brilliant; just as he was in part one. This franchise is on a roll and I have seen nothing this year to derail it as the hands down best superhero franchise so far in cinema history. Perhaps the new Batman film in production now will challenge it, but right now, the Spiderman franchise is the absolute best thing going when it comes to superheroes. This is a must-see!!