In this, the second instalment of my favourite Superhero’s film, Peter is a troubled young man. He has sacrificed his relationships to take the responsibility he feels comes with having his Spider powers. He has lost touch with Mary Jane and Harry Osborne, he is struggling to make rent on his crappy apartment, falling behind in his studies and is perpetually in danger of loosing his job. Yes indeed he is having a seriously bad time. This film is all about how the young Peter Parker deals with balancing his life between his Superhero alter ego and his wants and desires as a normal young man. Sam Raimi has said that he really loves the Spiderman/Peter Parker character but as he heaps misery after misery on our friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, you have to wonder, does Sam secretly hate Spidey?

For me the first Spiderman was something of a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong it was still a great comic book film and a good introduction to the world of Spiderman. It’s just that whilst the script, both dialogue wise and storyline wise was good, I felt both the CGI and the performance of Defoe as the Green Goblin (not too mention that horrendous rework of the costume, bleurgh) seriously hampered the film. Like my favourite doll, I was left a little deflated! So it was with some trepidation (and a pump.  In case I felt deflated… ah forget it!) that I settled down to watch Spiderman 2.

Right from the off I knew it had been a mistake to doubt that Sam was the man for the job. This film is far more vibrant, the CGI much more polished and the characters, all of them, far more pleasing than the first film. The introduction of Doc Ock is a welcome one for me, and I think Alfred Molina portrays him fabulously. A great villain, whom I remember fondly from the cartoon of my youth, Doc Ock was always one of my favourite bad guys and here he is played with a nice balance between pathos and comic book villain OTT-ness! A real challenge for Spidey and yet another father figure/mentor turned archenemy for him to contend. How the boy ever trusts anyone, again I will never know.

For those of you out here who are looking for a little less relationship nonsense and a bit more ass-kicking, fear ye not. I found the set pieces in this sequel more breathtaking and more violent than in the previous film. There is more of a feeling of physical danger and a greater sense of real “super-powers” being used this time round, and, regardless of the multiple de-maskings of Spidey,  basically I guess you could say this film just felt more “right” to me.