Spider-Man 2 (Spiderman 2) (2 Discs)

Spider-Man 2 Review

Fed up with the incessant rain? Miffed with the true awfulness of the British weather? Well, pack up your brolly and make a dash for your local cinema because with the return of Spidey and his web-slinging ways, this summer's hottest blockbuster has arrived. The second slice of the superhero franchise finds our adolescent and more than ever so slightly arachnoid hero Peter Parker in big trouble: the love of his life Mary Jane has finally given up waiting for him and is now engaged to an astronaut, he's flunking his exams at college and, to make matters worse, his superpowers are mysteriously giving him the big heave-ho. But even those problems are small fry when a powerful, multi-tentacled villain dubbed Doctor Octopus appears on the scene, a scientist whose ambitious experiment has transformed him from a mild-mannered genius into a murderous megalomaniac - with lots of spare hands.

And it's not just the jaw-dropping CGI action pieces, Alfred Molina's far more menacing, multi-appendaged baddie and a good helping of anguished romance that marks this out as a sequel to be reckoned with; it's actually really funny too. The sub-plot featuring Peter's best friend Harry Osborne may feel too superfluous for those not in the know about the comic books and the last showdown is slightly disappointing when compared with the preceding delirious spectacle, but with the lightest of touches - not to mention some great gags - director Sam Raimi has done the seemingly impossible and injected both heart and humour into the heftiest of Hollywood franchises. Long may he continue.