Tormented by his secrets, Peter finds that his close, personal relationships are all in danger of unravelling. His life-long yearning for M.J. (Kirsten Dunst) becomes even stronger as he fights the impulse to reveal his secret life and declare his love. His friendship with Harry Osborn (James Franco) is complicated by Harry's bitterness over his father's death and his growing vendetta against Spider-Man. Even Peter's aunt, May (Rosemary Harris), has fallen on hard times and is beginning to have doubts about her nephew.

As if all that wasn't enough, Peter's life is about to become even more complicated as he encounters Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), a brilliant scientist who becomes the villainous Doctor Octopus after his career-making experiment backfires on him. With the city under the threat of mass destruction thanks to Doc Ock's plans to complete his experiment, Peter must use all the powers at his disposal to try to stop this diabolical madman.

Two years ago, the original Spider-Man hit movie screens worldwide and turned out to be a complete surprise. It was a fun, imaginative popcorn movie that had a lot of heart and soul courtesy of a director, Sam Raimi, respectful of the film's much-beloved comic book origins and a great ensemble cast who brought dimension to their roles. Much like Bryan Singer's excellent X-Men films, Spider-Man emphasis was more on character and less on set pieces and visual effects, although there were plenty of those as well.

Spider-Man 2, which could have been subtitled Being a Superhero Often Sucks, continues the first film's winning traits and even improves on a few things along the way, in particular the visual effects and action sequences (the climatic fight on and around a speeding subway car is worth the price of admission alone).

Director Raimi and screenwriter Alvin Sargent do a fine job examining how being a superhero is both a pro and a con for Parker and those closest to him. The levels of genuine emotion, honesty and perfectly-timed comedy are a bit deeper in Spider-Man 2, and while the personal dramas get a bit long in the tooth and slow the film down a little bit in the middle section, the characters and their situations feel realistic and believable. Okay, as realistic and believable as a film about a teenager bitten by a radioactive spider fighting a guy with metal tentacles can be. But still, I guarantee that you'll connect and care more for these people than you would in something like Troy.

Raimi's directing and Sargent's screenplay are given further enhancement by a fine ensemble cast, most of who were in the first film. Maguire, who almost didn't return for this instalment, shows once again that he is probably the best young actor in Hollywood to play the conflicted superhero. He has that perfect balance of awkwardness and confidence that the split personality of Parker/Spidey needs to properly connect with the audience.

He's supported by solid turns from Dunst, Franco and Harris and matched by a great performance by Molina as Doctor Octopus. Doc Ock shares a lot of traits with the Green Goblin. They're both driven by ego, are victims of their own ill-fated experiments and develop schizophrenic personalities which pose a threat the city.

However Molina gives a performance that is less over-the-top than Willem Dafoe's was in the first film, and that gives his character more likeability and convincing menace. It's a controlled turn that is a lot of fun to watch.

The best of the lot, at least for me, would be JK Simmons, who once again steals every scene he is in as Daily Bugle editor J Johan Jameson. His acerbic, rapid-fire wit and comic timing is nothing short of priceless and, hopefully, his role will be expanded even further in the next film.

A lot of people have said that Spider-Man 2 may be the best superhero movie ever made. I disagree. For me, I think Superman-the Movie and the two X-Men films are still better. This is, however, a rock-solid sequel that won't make you feel like you're experiencing déjà vu or that you're wasting your time and money. How many films can you say that about these days?

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