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Two years is a pretty short completion time for a major effects-driven blockbuster these days, but Spider-Man 2 was released a mere 26 months after its predecessor (most franchises tend to have three-year gaps between films, unless they are filmed simultaneously like the Pirates sequels). It's quite a feat, then, that not only does Spider-Man's second filmic outing avoid the typical trappings of a fast-tracked production, it also surpasses the original in several respects.
Sam Raimi is given more leeway this time to stamp his directorial signature on the film and this is reflected in several areas. The birth of the villain, Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus, is pure Sam Raimi, and could come from one of his Evil Dead films if the production values weren't so obviously high. The director manages to make the scene scary and suspenseful while remaining relatively family-friendly; this is a PG-rated film, after all (the original was a 12). Even a chainsaw makes an appearance. The sequence is so perfectly filmed and precisely edited that it ranks as one of my favourite scenes out of all three series entries so far. There's also a surprisingly strong vein of comedy running throughout the film, evidently reflecting Raimi's playful sense of humour, which was allowed to run amok slightly in the third instalment. Tobey Maguire looks like he's having fun in the role and proves himself to be a gifted physical and improvisational comedian - one particular ad-libbed scene in a lift is a hoot.
The humour helps keep the scenes between the CGI-propelled action fireworks interesting and entertaining, which is a good thing because there's quite a lot of talking this time round. After an exciting opening which makes excellent use of not having to establish the hero's backstory, the middle act sags slightly with the continuous will-they-won't-they romance and Peter's repeatedly failing super powers. Disappointingly, when the film finally does decide to take the Superman II route and have Peter reject his superhero persona, no-one seems to particularly miss the masked vigilante, so his inevitable return is less dramatically satisfying than it could have been. Fortunately, the numerous action scenes are well worth the wait. The fight between Spidey and Doc Ock on the side of a building after the latter has committed a bank robbery is a personal highlight but the spectacularly-staged elevated train fight is also a wonder to behold.
With a better-implemented antagonist and superior visual effects, Spider-Man 2 definitely has a strong claim to be superior to the first film, but there are a couple of aspects that hold it slightly short of perfection. One is that the plot lacks much innovation - it again hinges on a scientific experiment going wrong, and in other respects it also resembles the original slightly too much, sharing such plot points as a building fire and the villain taking Mary-Jane hostage at the conclusion. It's certainly a worthy sequel, though, and I enjoyed it instantly upon first viewing, while I had to give the original time to grow on me. In a world of soulless and mindless cash-in sequels, Spider-Man 2 is a triumph.
The extras
This 2-disc set is pretty crammed. The first disc is very similar to disc 1 of the Spider-Man DVD, in that it includes two audio commentaries (cast/crew and effects), a text commentary and four short "Web-i-sodes". The second disc is mainly occupied by the superb, comprehensive two-hour documentary "Making the Amazing", which is accompanied by a few shorter featurettes focusing on Peter's inner turmoils ("Hero in Crisis"), Doc Ock ("Ock-umentary: Eight Arms to Hold You"), and the women in Peter's life ("The Women of Spider-Man"). The multi-angle "Enter the Web" lets you look at a short sequence being filmed. Finally, there's a gallery of the artwork used in the film's opening titles, and the theatrical trailer.
The extras lose out on the Filmverdict 5-star seal of approval because deleted scenes aren't included, which enabled Sony to double-dip recently. Helpfully, some enterprising people have put the added scenes up on YouTube.
The summary
Spider-Man 2 is a great sequel, and is simply a great film. I'm undecided as to whether it's better than the original but it's certainly close, and features some of the most spectacular action scenes ever. It appears Raimi set the bar too high for the third film!
