Spider-Man 2 A Movie Review	MPAA Rated - PG-13 It's 2:05 Long A Review by The Dude on the Right

Our core cast of characters are back for part two, and that probably made all of the difference in being able to fully develop the characters, and set up the easy third installment. You’ve still got Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, still a nerd, still trying to come to terms with his destiny, and still in love with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), who you still wonder if she has been able to figure out who Spidey really is, but even so, she’s now set her sights on J. Jonah Jameson’s (J.K. Simmons) astronaut son. Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) is back, always giving motherly advice to Peter, and Harry "I want Spider-Man dead" Osborn (James Franco) returns, this time running the company, setting his big goal on Dr. Octavius’ (Alfred Molina) work being able to transport his company into the stratosphere.

I’m sure from the trailers you’ve been able to figure out the main story line, namely a freak scientific accident transforms the nice Dr. Octavius into a crazy man named Doc Ock with tentacles attached to his spine. He’s out to find Spider-Man, namely because Harry promises a butt-load of radioactive material to carry out his science fair project if Doc can bring Spidey to his doorstep. Harry clues the bad Doctor on to the fact that Peter has been able to take pictures of our hero, so Doc takes the one thing from Peter that would make him find Spider-Man, namely Mary Jane. And so the fights are on, the chases are on, and you can tell the advancements in technology just from the scenes of Spider-Man jumping from building to building.

The other good thing about this version versus the original is that since we’ve already got the characters simply established, the director and writers are able to give a little more time into further character development. They use an interview Peter has with Dr. Octavius to let us into the Doc’s psyche, but further develop Peter’s love/hate relationship with his destiny, further develop Mary Jane really being in love with Peter, and how Harry will eventually follow in his father’s footsteps as the bad guy, straight out of the comic book.

And I think those last six words in the previous sentence sum up why certain comic book franchises are monsters, and why others fail – those that succeed are based on story lines that have already been written in the original comic books.

Pretty much if you liked the original Spider-Man, you’ll probably love this follow-up. And if you didn’t see the first one, this one’s not all "Oh my God, I’m Spider-Man, I’m in love with Mary Jane, I have to save the world" and fight scene, chase scene, sentimental scene, fight scene, chase scene. Nope, this one has a little more of a story, a little more character insight, and still some fun action and good lines.

I gave "Spider-Man" 4 ½, but this one kicks it up a notch, so it’s an easy 5 stars out of 5 for "Spider-Man 2". Kirsten still looks great with water cascading down her body, Tobey has really filled into the role, and it’s a great set-up for what should be a great "Spider-Man 3."

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!