'Spider-Man 2' a swinging sequel

Spider-Man 2" is a rare cinematic treat. It joins the illustrious likes of "Aliens," "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and "X2" in being a sequel that exceeds the quality of its predecessor. Moreover, it's amongst the best comic book flicks ever made. Yes, this includes "Superman," "Batman," "The Crow" and the aforementioned "X-Men" offering. Director Sam Raimi and co. have made one hell of a summer movie thrill ride -- a film that's equal parts spectacle and sincerity.\nWhen last we left Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire, back and better than before), he'd jilted his unrequited love, Mary Jane Watson (the luminous Kirsten Dunst), after the funeral of their friend Harry's (a suitably sullen James Franco) father, Norman Osborn/ Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). The reasoning: fear of his superhero status endangering the young lovely. \nLife's improved very little since. Peter's been canned from his pizza delivery boy job; a secondary gig shooting snapshots for the Daily Bugle is in constant jeopardy; his grades are in the crapper; he's constantly being harangued by his loutish landlord; Aunt May (the sublimely grandmotherly Rosemary Harris) faces foreclosure on her mortgage and Mary Jane, hurt in the wake of constant rejection, shacks up with an astronaut (Daniel Gillies). Worse yet, this flyboy's the son of Peter's priggish Daily Bugle publisher, J. Jonah Jameson (an inspired J.K. Simmons). \nThis myriad of misfortune ultimately results in Peter having a series of Tony Soprano-esque panic attacks, which place his powers on the fritz, i.e. no web slinging or wall climbing. The malfunction couldn't come at a worse time, as there's a new baddie on the block, tentacled terror Doc Ock (a nuanced Alfred Molina).\nTop to bottom, "Spider-Man 2" beats the pants off its respectable forebear. Raimi's direction has grown more assured. As the founding flick marked his first full-blown foray into franchise filmmaking, Raimi produced an adequate, if not entirely adventurous, entertainment. Here, he harnesses the manic energy of "Evil Dead II" (look no further than Doc Ock's operating room rampage for evidence) and bridges it with the pathos of "A Simple Plan." The screenplay is better too. By bringing Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon ("The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay") and Oscar-winner Alvin Sargent ("Ordinary People") aboard to script, characterization reigns over chaos. Humor is abound (see the "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" montage), not horror. The special effects (supervised by "Star Wars" phenom John Dykstra) and cinematography (courtesy of "Matrix" lenser Bill Pope) astound, nowhere more so than during the film's action centerpiece -- a badass train-bound brawl. The cast has improved as well. Maguire admirably fills Spidey's tights, Dunst finally has the charisma to sell her cheesy dialogue ("Go get 'em, tiger!") and Molina proves a sympathetic antagonist, something Dafoe, great actor though he is, couldn't pull off. \nFresher, funnier and funkier than its forerunner, "Spider-Man 2" leaves itself a huge out for a sequel. I, for one, am elated.