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August 4, 2004 INTRODUCTION In this sequel to the 2002 blockbuster Spider-Man, Peter Parker is tired of being the masked superhero. His crush, Mary Jane Watson, has become a star and is engaged; his best friend Harry Osborn is mad at him; and due to always saving people, Peter is late for his jobs and gets fired by every employer he meets, causing him and his Aunt May suffering financial problems. He decides to quit being Spider-Man anymore. Unexpectedly, brilliant scientist Dr. Otto Octavius is accidentally transformed into the evil Dr. Octopus in a public experiment, and threatens the entire city. Peter has no choice but to become Spider-Man once again to save the day... REVIEW Few sequels are better than the first. Some rare examples areThe Godfather Part II, The Empire Strikes Back and Toy Story 2. And now the latest example we have is Spider-Man 2. It makes a very good improvement from its 2002 predecessor in story, acting and special effects. We meet our average-student-turned-superhero Peter Parker again, but only this time he is simultaneuously suffering love problems, friendship problems, family problems and even financial problems. Director Sam Raimi deals with these complex problems very well, without giving us a slight of confusion; but amazingly at the same time, he adds suitable humor into the film, something not present in the original. Overall, besides of the fact that the villain is again a brilliant scientist turned mad by an experiment, everything is newer and more creative than the first film. Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco have all improved their acting skills since the first film, but I must note that Alfred Molina stands out being Dr. Octopus. The character's personalities change dramatically at a certain point of the film, and Molina does it well. He delivers a very convincing performance. A superhero film is not a superhero film without action. And the action scenes are terrifically done thanks to improved CGI effects. One major highlight is the scene where Spider-Man and Doc Ock battle on the train. The visuals and cinematography of that sequence is absolutely brilliant, making the climax battle between Spidey and Green Goblin pale in comparison. Suffice to say, Spider-Man 2 is by far the best film of 2004. It surpasses its predecessor greatly and gives an exciting and entertaining experience. If there's one movie you have to watch in the summer, it's this one.
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