Spiderman 2 (2004)

OK, so this movie is a little older. I'm on a superhero movie kick right now.

Spiderman 2 takes a good movie franchise start and runs with it, adding another layer of excellence to the pile. Sam Raimi is on a roll, capturing the characters in the Spiderman saga and their emotional states, particularly as Spiderman grapples with the conflicting responsibilities he feels: to being a hero, being a student, being a friend, being a son-nephew, and being a possible boy friend. And Alfred Molina is absolutely fantastic as the villain of the piece, Doctor Octopus. The menace he projects is more passionate than that posed by the Green Goblin, which was primarily creepy (and also well done).
Tobey Maquire turns in another excellent performance as the wallcrawler, capturing that hint of geekiness that Spiderman has always retained despite being an ass kicking superhero, and even James Franco strengthens his character as Peter's friend/Spiderman's enemy Harry Osborne. And JK Simmons is always a hoot as J. Jonah Jameson.
We'll have to see if Spiderman 3 comes close to this one. Early reviews suggest it won't be, but even if it isn't as good, we've still got the first 2 of the three.
Grade: A-