Simply put, superhero movies don't get any better than this. This sequel is even better than the first, which usually doesn't happen in movies. Videogames tend to get better with sequels but not so in movies.

Spiderman 2 has more of everything the original movie had: more action, better special effects, more character development, drama, romance, and humor. The first movie seemed tame in comparison to the second.

This was a total visual rollercoaster ride. But, it had more than just great action and eye-candy computer generated effects. This movie had much more heart to it than other movies in its comic book hero action sub-genre. I liked it even more than Batman Begins, which is a much darker movie. The biggest difference between Batty and Spidey is their net worth. Bruce Wayne is a billionaire's kid. Peter Parker can't even afford to pay his rent.

The story takes place, appropriately, 2 years after the end of the first film. Peter Parker is still a very likeable nerd who is a reluctant hero. He struggles with leading a double life. He's a superhero crime fighter, a college student, and works as a free-lance photographer and a pizza delivery boy. He is totally burned out. He always looks tired. He can't keep up with his homework and his grades suffer. He's always late for work and meetings with friends. He has reached the lowest point in his life. He decides to quit being Spiderman.

Unfortunately, a danger emerges that only Spiderman can handle. A brilliant scientist, Dr. Otto Octavius, who is hired by Peter's friend, Harry (son of the billionaire scientist and founder of Oscorp who was the Green Goblin in the first film) tries to invent a machine capable of harnessing fusion energy. He miscalculates and the fusion energy starts sucking in anything metallic. Dr. Octavius' wife gets killed. The tentacles he attached to his spine which he used to place Trillium, an element used to create fusion energy, gains control of him. The tentacles had its own A.I. and the inhibitor chip used to control it was destroyed in the accident. He becomes Doc Ock (Doctor Octupus). Those tentacles of his were super powerful. I don't know how Doc Ock himself developed super powers. When he fell to the ground from a building, he should have died. Apparently, having super tentacles makes him strong all around.

The fight scenes between Spiderman and Doc Ock are one of the best CG special effects I've ever seen. Doc Ock's super tentacles are more than a match for Spidey. He gets beat up pretty badly.

Between the action sequences, Peter goes through a lot of angst and faces tough choices. He remembers what Uncle Ben told him about how sometimes when you have to do what is right, you have to give up your dreams. Even though he loves Mary Jane, he can't be with her because he doesn't want his enemies to attack her. There's a lot of emotional sequences between MJ and Peter.

These types of movies won't win any Oscars for acting, but I thought the acting was great given the context of the movie. The acting is as good as it will get in these types of movies. How else were they supposed to act given fictional superheroes? The movie shows that it doesn't take itself to seriously with a lot of one-liners during the action scenes. There's also a lot of character development in the main characters and the characters are complex. They're not one dimensional like in other comic book films. Doc Ock was struggling with doing what was right. He said that the intelligent had a responsibility to do good for the benefit of society. Supervillains all seem to be cheesy. Doc Ock was less cheesy though because he didn't have as much over-the-top monologues between his schizophrenic personalities and had a less goofy costume than Goblin. In the end, he snaps out of the tentacles' mind control and sacrifices himself to save New York.

Mary Jane also becomes a runaway bride and decides to risk being with the one she loves even though it poses an extreme danger to her. She's probably going to get kidnapped again in the next film.

Also, Harry discovers his father's secret chamber full of bombs and his Green Goblin outfit.

This is one of the best popcorn movies you'll ever see. It's an amazing blockbuster. I hope Spiderman keeps improving in the sequels to come.

A, 92.