Spider, Spider on the wall

Spider-Man 2

Director: Sam Raimi

Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, Alfred Molina

Cert: 12.

Love can make you do all sorts of daft things, as our web-swinging hero finds out in this excellent return of one of our most popular good guys.

We pick up the story of Peter Parker, bitten by a spider and turned into an all-action saviour of the world, fighter of evil and all-round good egg, several years after the events of the original, though he now comes with a lot of baggage.

For one thing, Parker is no longer sure he's suitable for the role of hero and he longs to just settle down with a nice girl. They don't come any nicer than the beautiful Mary-Jane Watson (played by the beautiful Dunst). His romantic feelings are, indeed, affecting his super powers, which is bad news since an evil scientist (Molina) is set to take over the world.

Where the film scores top marks is in Raimi's excellent directing, allowing his actors to find a depth and roundness to their characters (now when does that happen in films like this?)

Maguire is particularly good at finding a heart for Spider-Man and of showing us the awfulness of love unreturned.

And none of this diminishes the rip-roaring action in what deserves to be one of the summer's top hits.

Star Rating: 5/5