High hopes

Remember “The Matrix.”

That’s the cautionary mantra of the team behind “Spider-Man 2,” the most anticipated action sequel since Keanu Reeves donned black shades and returned as Neo last year — ultimately, to the profound disappointment of critics and fans.

“Which one was the best movie?” Tobey Maguire asks of the “Matrix” trilogy. “It’s an easy question. No. 1 was the best.”

Leading man Maguire, director Sam Raimi and the other stars of “Spider-Man 2” hope to avoid a similar reaction when their movie hits theaters at midnight Tuesday.

Certainly no one is predicting that the second saga of web-slinger Peter Parker will sell as many tickets as the original.

When it debuted in May 2002, “Spider-Man” set at least 15 box office records, including largest opening weekend ever with $114.8 million. By the time it left theaters, it had netted $820 million worldwide and remains the fifth-biggest film of all time.

How do you top that? Don’t even try, Raimi says.

“I can’t look at the box office or I’ll suffer even more,” says the director, who has been a fan of the comic book since he was 7. “I love both of the films, so I don’t try to compare them. It would be like comparing children.”

Still, comparisons will be impossible to avoid for fans and critics.

And to some degree, the cast invites the parallels. To the person, they insist that the second film tells a better story.

“I knew it was a step up from the first movie,” says Maguire, who sneaked into a recent press screening to watch it. “The script is better. The story is better. And Sam is just in the zone. Not only is the movie better than the first movie, this is Sam’s best film.”

Adds Kirsten Dunst, who returns as Mary Jane Watson: “The characters are better developed; the love story is better developed. The people just seem so much more real.”

But real people don’t necessarily make for real big hits. And much is at stake for this film in terms of:

“ Money. When it became clear that “Spider-Man” would be a monster hit, the studio issued Raimi a blank check for the sequel, which cost a reported $200 million. Though the movie is a shoo-in to recoup its cost and turn the studio a tidy profit, anything less than $300 million in U.S. ticket sales would be a disappointment and could limit budgets of future installments.

“ Momentum. With its endless source material in a comic book that is 41 years old and still going strong, Sony executives see no end in sight for sequels and spinoffs and are discussing as many as six episodes.

“I could see this going for as long as I’m around,” says Amy Pascal, chief of Sony, which owns Columbia Pictures.

Although the studio has committed to a third film, due in May 2006, a middling performance for “Spidey 2” might shorten the superhero’s life.

“ Maguire. He conquered the critics by propelling the first film on his surprisingly buff shoulders. A smash sequel makes him a viable action star, which Hollywood sorely needs.

If Maguire is feeling the pressure of sky-high expectations, he isn’t admitting any stress. “It’s not part of my job,” he says. “I just have to act.”