THE trouble with making a big-screen version of a comic book is that there are just so many people to please.

Add to that that the film you're making is the sequel to a big hit and you've got a lot of potential pitfalls to fall into.

Luckily, Spider-Man 2 director Sam Raimi has avoided falling into any of them and has managed to produce a film that has enough in jokes to please fans of the comics but plenty for the average multiplex viewer, in terms of strong plot and exciting visuals.

To get the gripes out of the way, the biggest problem with the film, as with Spider-Man, is that the special effects aren't very special.

The CGI Spider-Man is OK but sadly the filmmakers never mastered making his nemesis, Doc Ock, look real. Strangely, they also struggle with making helicopters, some buildings and other things that must be added as special effects all the time look real. As with so many other films, perhaps catering to a generation raised on Play-Stations, the effects look as if they came straight out of a middle-of-the-range computer game.

Although this clearly puts a dampener on the big fight scenes with Spidey and Doc Ock, the film is good enough not to be dragged down too much by this.

One of the reasons for this is that the most compelling story within the film isn't about Spiderman/Peter Parker battling with external baddies but about him coming to terms with his own inner demons.

Dr Octopus is really just a device to tell the story of the reluctant superhero coming to terms with who he is and accepting that sometimes you have to make sacrifices to do the right thing.

The idea of Spider-Man losing his powers because he isn't sure that he wants them works really well and obviously can also be taken as a metaphor for real life.

Tobey Maguire is, once again, great in the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, managing to be both incredibly nerdy and super cool at the same time. He manages to show a great deal of emotion through the slightest movement of his face and plays the hero as someone you can relate to and aspire to be like at the same time. He is supported by a strong cast whose characters are fleshed out (although Mary Jane is a bit on the girly side) rather than just being presented as a background to Peter/Spider-Man's story. The most satisfying thing about this film isn't the exciting action sequences or the bright colours that fill the screen but the human drama that unfolds between Peter, his aunt, the woman he loves and his best friend.

Unlike with many superhero films, Sam Raimi isn't afraid of moving his characters on and allowing them to change. Spider-Man 2 is in no way a remake of Spider-Man and it's clear that the planned third Spidey film will take the characters in whole new directions.

Rating: 8/10