Rarely does a sequel surpass the scope and significance of the original.
"Spiderman 2" accomplishes this task, but does so barely. In fact, a part of me
wants to say I enjoyed the original better, but the whole of me cannot. I
enjoyed the way in which the action took a backseat to the story. "Spiderman 2"
is much more of a love story and I think it helps the film stabilize in a way
the first film could not. Alfred Molina is one of the greatest actors around
today and he is so brilliant as Dr. Octopus that we actually forget about Willem
Dafoe from the first film, that is until he pops up towards the end of the film.
Sam Raimi is so great at casting his villains, and Molina has surpassed an
almost flawless Dafoe. This comic book franchise is going down a fine road and
I thoroughly expect the third in the series to literally blow everyone away. As
long as they keep focusing on the story before the action, I think "Spiderman"
could continue on for a very, very long time.

THREE AND A HALF POPS

Billy Ray