3 out of 5

Director: Sam Raimi

So I’m horrible, because after re-watching this trilogy, it turns out I like 3 the best. Spider-Man 2 plays as sort of the opposite of the first Spider-Man. In the original, a slow, bumbling origin first half is buoyed by excellent action and emotion in the second half. Here we start out strong, with great characters and hero Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) firmly in his role as the always-behind hero. James Franco has been twisted greatly by the events of movie 1, Kirst Dunst finds her spot as the love that cannot be, and Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) is smartly introduced first as a brilliant scientist and then – in, my opinion, the movies most satisfying sequence – turned into Dr. Octopus. When Peter starts to lose his powers, and Mary Jane starts to hate Peter, and Otto goes more and more bonkers, it all gets a little too heavy and slow. Pathos is an important part of this series (comic and movie), but it doesnt find a proper equilibrium in the films. Especially contrasted to the ridiculous battles that clog up the latter half of this sequel. They are exciting, and fun to watch, but frustrating for New Yorkers (because where the hell is that train supposed to be?) and step over those dramatic lines that are attemptedly strung up into foolishness (massive building debris crushes citizens, maybe?). Perhaps Im being too hard on the film. S-Man 1 started so-so and ended strong, and S-Man 2 does the opposite, making it a little frustrating. Still tons of fun, and all of the primaries act their roles perfectly, its just an uneven story leading to uneven feelings after watching.