Living up to those damn muties
Spider-Man 2 has plenty to live up to. Not only does it follow one of the best-crafted super-hero movies to date, but it also has to match the super-hero sequel expectations set by X2. Does it come through?

Absolutely.

Don't mistake me; the film has its weakness. Actually, it has a lot of weaknesses.

The first 40 minutes has some serious, serious plot/storytelling/pacing/editing issues. The movie is difficult to follow and even sometimes boring during a number of scenes with Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson that all seem to be permutations of the same scene.

Dorktacular complaints
Other dorktacular complaints: for Spider-Man 2, director Sam Raimi chooses to make Doctor Octopus "an alright guy at heart", and that's a source material sin. The Lizard is "an alright guy at heart", not Doc Ock. Mary Jane's character deviations earn Raimi another strike. Her character changes for the first movie were acceptable to me because it was assumed she'd get more sass and confidence as she got older. Not so. Kirsten Dunst lacks the confidence that more or less defines Mary Jane and there's almost zero presence of comic-book MJ in this movie.

Also irksome are the film's indications that Raimi is setting up John Jameson, not Eddie Brock, to be Venom should Raimi choose to go that route in a future movie. (God forbid) Sam Raimi has almost spent all of his "not like the comics" allowance and he should be careful not to deviate much further in future installments.

Third best EV-er.
All that being said... Spider-Man 2 is a phenomenal comic book movie, third only to the original Batman and X2. The action is comic-book-ish, but the drama is realistic. The special effects are not indiscernible, but rather stylistic like a Romita illustration. The performances are wonderful, the plot twists are terrific and the film carries an energy that harkens back to summer blockbusters of yesterdecade. Let's be clear: Spider-Man 2 is the reason God made the Summer of 2004.

The action in Spider-Man 2 is kickass. Give this film the SFX Oscar now; the animators did amazing things. One particular battle with Spider-Man, Doc Ock and a train is one of the most exciting sequences ever committed to celluloid. I mean, it is fucking cool as hell. You can go ahead and rank it with Helm's Deep, the Duel of Fates and the Crazy 88's massacre. It is definitive post-modern movie action.

Mad props to the actors
Alfred Molina is great as Doctor Octopus, despite how the character is written in the movie. His "mean" faces are right off the pages of the Lee/Ditko era of comics. Doc Ock's tentacles are also noteworthy; they move as though Molina himself was controlling them with the same instinct he uses to breathe. Raimi's choice to go with puppets whenever possible really paid off.

The Peter Parker character is more faithful to the comics in this film than in the first. Spider-Man cracks wise with greater frequency, while on the opposite end of the spider-spectrum we get a much better idea of how brainy and awkward Peter Parker really is.

Tobey Maguire carries the movie and takes ownership of the role. I'd like to think that, even after the hype and Pepsi-product marketing fades away, Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man will replace Christopher Reeve's Superman as the iconic American film hero. When Peter smiles, we feel joy. When he fails, we're disappointed in him. When he gets the shit kicked out of him, it looks like it really hurt. Tobey Maguire/Peter Parker is not only populism at its best, but populism for the palette of a generation of dorks accustomed to having Tyler Durden and Vincent Vega as its heroes. That is an accomplishment of no small measure.

Sam Raimi has come to the rescue of the super-hero genre just when it looked as though movies like "Daredevil" and the soon-to-be released "Catwoman" had killed it. It succeeds both because of its mass appeal and its niche-market savvy. "Casablanca" it ain't, but it doesn't have to be. Do your summer a favor and make sure you check it out.