Along came a spider
Having spent more than two hours sitting only inches away from the gigantic silver screen (the press doesn't always get the best seats in the house), there were only two thoughts in my mind: first, I wanted to puke; second, Spider-Man 2 is a genuinely brilliant commercial film.
The sequel to the successful screen adaptation of Stan Lee's comic series in 2002 is a highly entertaining flick with depth.
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) struggles between his normal life as a college student and secret identity as costumed superhero Spider-Man.
With the emergence of Spider-Man to help combat crimes in New York, Parker falls behind in class and gets sacked from his part-time job.
On top of that, his long-time sweetheart Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), who has become a famous theatre actress, leaves him because he conceals his true feelings.
Finally Parker decides to throw the costume away, but new villain Dr Otto Octavius - aka the evil Doctor Octopus - is about to tear down the city.
The creative partnership between director Sam Raimi and screenwriter Michael Chabon has broken the curse of a sequel doomed to be a failure.
Compared with Spider-Man, this sequel offers much more. Besides the breathtaking action sequences, there's a lot more depth in terms of the characters.
The film spends a great deal of time crafting Parker's character. He has the power to save humans, but once he takes off his mask he is also a human being who has to deal with his emotions and sort his life out. His life tells us that if we want to achieve something, we always have to make sacrifices.
The moving human drama intertwines with the magnificent action. The remarkable scenes include Spider-Man's first encounter with Dr Octopus at the bank, and their fight on a fast-moving train.
It looks like Spider-Man 2 is going to rule this summer. Maybe the only one who can beat Spider-Man this time is ... Harry Potter.
Verdict: We love it
