t's been two years since Peter Parker (Maguire) began his new double life as a college student by day and webslinging superhero by night. And the strain is showing: He's late for work, misses classes and can barely pay the rent.
Aunt May (Rosemary Harris), meanwhile, is having financial problems in the wake of the death of her beloved husband, Ben, and Peter feels the heavy burden of guilt for that death.
And Peter is still conflicted over his decision to walk away from his true love, Mary Jane Watson (Dunst). That decision is made the more difficult as Mary Jane's face appears on billboards around Manhattan: The aspiring actress has had some success as a cosmetics model and is appearing in a Broadway play.
But Harry Osborn (Franco) is on top of the world. One of Oscorp's scientists, the brilliant Otto Octavius (Molina), is close to perfecting a new cold-fusion energy source. That success will enable Harry finally to live up to the expectations of his dead father, Norman, for whom Harry still grieves. Harry still blames Spider-Man for Norman's untimely demise.
Peter is hoping to rekindle his relationship with Mary Jane, who has invited him to a production of The Importance of Being Earnest, in which she stars. But on his way to the theater, Peter finds himself caught up in yet another New York crime, and Spider-Man must again save the day. Arriving late to the play, Peter spies Mary Jane in the embrace of her new boyfriend, astronaut John Jameson (Daniel Gillies), son of J. Jonah Jameson, the editor of the Daily Bugle.
Later, as a favor to his best friend, Harry introduces Peter to Dr. Octavius. But as Peter watches in horror, Dr. Octavius' experiment goes horribly wrong. Springing into action, Spider-Man tries to avert disaster. But not before Octavius finds himself transformed into a hideous monster: Doctor Octopus.
A sequel as good as the original
Spider-Man 2 reunites the creative forces behind 2002's megahit movie based on the beloved comic-book series and proves that the first film's artistic and financial success was no accident. Raimi and company have wallcrawled to the next level, in character development, action and visual effects, offering up a sequel that's every bit as good as the first film, if not better.
Raimi's sure hand with the Spidey mythos is evident. He's based the sequel in part on the Doctor Octopus comics and on the famous 1967 "Spider-Man No More!" arc by Stan Lee, in which Peter Parker abandons his superhero alter ego. There's even a visual quote of the well-known image by John Romita Sr., the one with the Spidey suit in the alley trash can.
But Raimi, Sargent et al. spin their own web of complex relationships and muddled motivations in a story about Peter Parker's struggle to find balance in his complicated life. The team has wisely chosen not only to up the action ante, but also to go deeper into the characters' inner lives, something that big popcorn summer movies rarely do. The script is finely nuanced in its depiction of Peter's conflicted emotions, and Maguire's scenes with both Dunst and Harris resonate deeply. As before, the fine actors show that they are more than up to the task of making these people live and breathe.
The same can be said of the new character of Dr. Octavius/Doc Ock, who is much more than simply a formidable adversary for Spider-Man. Ock, as portrayed with great empathy by veteran British thespian Molina, is the dark side of Peter, and their conflict is more than physical.
Some viewers may find that this emphasis on character slows the film down in parts, but there's plenty of knockout action and eye candy to satisfy the most hardcore fan. One complaint about the first Spider-Man concerned the less-than-perfect computer animation; that's no longer an issue, as the sequel's CG meshes seamlessly with elaborate wire and stunt work and skillful practical effects. And Raimi pulls off the feat of showing audiences a few tricks that haven't been seen before.
