Jasonic's Favorites: Spider-Man 2
Hello, and good evening, Internet!
My prior blog also had a review of this movie along with the rest of the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy. Even if my thoughts on this movie have hardly changed, I still felt the need to update it to my current blog along with the current format I utilize.
Released in 2004, Spider-Man 2 is unquestionably one of -- if not THE -- greatest superhero movie of all time and for many -- myself included -- it maintains that title to this day. Coming off the heels of its predecessor, Sam Raimi had a lot to live up to with this being a sequel to what was, at the time, the most successful superhero movie of all time. Of the Spider-Man movies he made, this has remained the most positive in terms of critical reception and while financially it was beaten by its successor, it was still one of the most successful superhero movies of its time and one of the most overall successful movies of 2004. Whereas Spider-Man 1 became the reason for superheroes populating and dominating the box office for years to come, the blueprint of this movie ended up being what makes a lot of comic book movies beyond it work in terms of emotional weight, character development, special effects, and comedy among other factors. For many reasons, including its success factors, this has become my most watched Spider-Man movie of all time for the reason that it re-awakens my inner child, but as an adult, it makes me think about and contemplate life the way a superhero like Spider-Man should for moviegoers and comic book fans alike. That said, this movie may be praised to death for a number of reasons, but are there really any criticisms against it that are valid if not warranted? Let's find out as we examine what many consider to be the quintessential movie for the character of Spider-Man, his fans, the superhero genre in general, and the catalogue of most successful Sam Raimi movies.
*SPOILERS* (though the film is 20 years old in a couple months, so really should it matter?)
This film starts about two years following Spider-Man 1. In it, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is a college student who has become increasingly more unreliable due to attending to Spider-Man activities on top of his busy life as a student at Columbia University and as a worker in different jobs. He initially tries to keep a second job as a pizza delivery man only to get fired for failing to deliver on time; J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) consistently fires and unfires him for failing to live up to photography standards at the Daily Bugle; he also is struggling to pay rent at his apartment and can't keep consistent friends when he's unable to be there for Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) at her recent play, "The Importance of Being Earnest". Although he's not on the best terms following his father's death, Peter is given an opportunity when his best friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco) teams with Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) and introduces him to Peter as the latter is trying to do his paper on Octavius's studies of fusion. Things go awry, however, when Otto's miscalculations result in his experiment going haywire, inadvertently killing his wife, Rosie (Donna Murphy), and infusing Otto's tentacle harness to his skin. When the tentacles start talking to him, taking over his mind and influencing him to become a criminal and remake his machine only bigger, Peter is faced with a choice of whether to continue being Spider-Man and save the city on a regular basis or to give up being the hero -- if only for a little while -- and develop a better, more consistent routine as Peter Parker.
Right off the bat, this movie's plot is simple yet somehow complex. It continues Peter's arc in a logical fashion, starting us off in a place of uncertainty that makes us feel for Peter and his struggles; we've all been there when life keeps getting in the way of what we want to accomplish as a person and sometimes it feels like the world is out to get us at every turn. The amount of relatability here is the beauty of Spider-Man as a character and it's demonstrated perfectly here in a way that's arguably more accurate to the original comics than the first film was. What makes it even more relatable is the internal struggles Peter faces through finding out MJ has a boyfriend in the form of John Jameson (Daniel Gillies) and becoming so emotionally broken down upon seeing her with him that his powers stop working on multiple occasions whilst swinging. It eventually comes to a head when MJ accepts a marriage proposal from John and Peter goes to the doctor to determine that he's psychologically compromised, the doctor giving him a choice on what to do. Following a conversation with Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) in his conscience, Peter declares that he's Spider-Man no more and then dumps the Spider-Man suit into the dumpster in a scene reminiscent of an iconic panel of The Amazing Spider-Man Issue #50. In this instance, the resemblance to the comics is used less for fanservice and more as a meaningful turning point for the story to make sense and allow you to root for Peter to be happy despite him throwing in the towel with his hero duties. Plotwise, this also ties in well to Doc Ock and his quest to remake his machine and allow his dreams to come true; Peter later learns from Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) that sometimes the best way to do the right thing is to give up what we want the most and that's exactly what Peter does in choosing to be Spider-Man again -- Doc Ock, on the other hand, sacrificing his machine along with himself in the end.
The best thing about this movie that improves upon the first one is the acting. Tobey Maguire undergoes a very mature transformation as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and it's reflected very well in his performance; overall, he acts pretty consistent with the first film, but he definitely shows a more emotional side to his character, particularly in the scene where he talks to Uncle Ben in his conscience. His Peter Parker side also demonstrates his smarts when interacting with pre-transformation Otto, which, in my opinion, makes him the best Peter Parker -- his Spider-Man still isn't as quippy as later actors, but he does better body acting in the suit at least. I wasn't particularly fond of Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane in the first movie for being a cringy damsel most of the time, but she does an okay job here even if she still isn't that much of a character and is ultimately less of a damsel, getting kidnapped only for the climax. James Franco as Harry Osborn, on the other hand, demonstrates why this is the best live action Harry by showcasing his more angry, vengeful side. Having lost his father supposedly to Spider-Man in the previous movie, it makes sense why he would be angry and obsessed with finding Spidey and seeking vengeance; Harry ultimately doesn't have an arc like our hero and villain, but his setup as a villain in Spider-Man 3 is displayed perfectly here. Rosemary Harris as Aunt May and J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson are very consistent with their previous performances with the former given a standout moment with her speech about there being a "hero in all of us" and the latter acting way funnier an meme-worthy while also displaying a caring attitude when he realizes he essentially drove Spider-Man away -- that gets instantly turned on its head when Spider-Man steals back his suit from Jameson's office, but it's a different side of Jameson no less. As far as new actors, Daniel Gilles' John Jameson isn't much of a standout and is sadly not given much of a role or character despite being casually built up as an American hero and MJ's husband-to-be. The real highlight as far as new characters, however, is Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius/Octopus; as good of an actor as Molina is, he demonstrates a likable, caring attitude as far as science, Peter, and his wife Rosie and conveys hubris convincingly, making you feel sorry for his eventual turn to villainy. As a villain, he could have easily come off as a cartoony evil scientist, but he showcases a more tortured side as far as his grief of his wife dying and a crazed side of listening to the tentacles due to them taking over his brain functions. All in all, the actors were more convincing this time around, even if not all of them were perfect.
Whereas certain special effects, action, and stuntwork looked dated a few years after the first movie, this movie is a massive improvement in that regard. The Doc Ock tentacles are CGI in wide shots, but up close, they are very real-looking puppets/animatronics -- Alfred Molina being so clever as to name them based on the gender of their grip. The tentacles themselves also look very menacing with their "evil flower" design, glowing red center lights, and extendable knife-like gadgets so much that looking at them up close could easily scare small children watching -- I was almost nine when this film came out so I probably wouldn't have minded back then. The action scenes, on the other hand, have less cartoony CGI dolls for Spidey and Doc Ock during their battles, making them blend in well with the live action environments. Ultimately, there's less stuntwork than the first movie due to the villain being less of an on-foot combatant than the Green Goblin was, but even shots like Peter flipping over the incoming car as his moped gets crushed look to be a stuntman taking the place of Tobey since we can't see his face. The action scenes themselves, however, are some of the best that have ever been put to screen in superhero movies before and since; Spidey and Doc Ock's bank and river fights are done well with choreography being an improvement over the first film and even the one scene where Spidey fights criminals in a getaway car has decent action regardless of how quick it is. The one scene that has since gone down in history as one of the best action scenes put to screen, superhero or otherwise, is the iconic train fight; this fight was the highlight of the film and has almost no dialogue during the action, highlighting the stakes between our hero and his nemesis. The action is mostly CGI, but well-choreographed with little bits like Spidey swerving through people within the train to avoid Doc Ock's attacks, busting out the window, and pulling himself onto the side of the train using his webs to face Doc Ock showcasing Spidey's intelligent use of his abilities during fights. Of all the superhero movies, Spider-Man 2 seemed to set the standard for action setpieces since that most others, if not some, have rarely topped since.
Once again, Danny Elfman excels in presenting an excellent musical score for the film -- he would sadly not return for the third film due to disagreements with Sam Raimi, but he did well here once again. In the beginning, the iconic Spider-Man main title theme returns, seemingly recomposed to match the opening montage in which a recap of the first film is shown in matte paintings. The fact that they established a trend of opening these films with the same theme song was an excellent way to propel us into the world of Spider-Man and the score only gets better from there. Rarely do I ever listen to entire film soundtracks in isolation, but I am able to pick out certain musical cues that represent what's going on or the character being shown and Doc Ock's theme is one of them; titled "Doc Ock Suite", the swelling horns and use of percussion represent well the menace of Doc Ock's demeanor and the amount of destruction he's capable of with the slower, quieter part representing his more sinister, cunning side. The song "Train/Appreciation" particularly in the Train half is, of course, the song that plays during the aforementioned train fight scene and the standard swelling orchestra reflects well the tension and adrenaline between the two combatants as they fight on and around the train, the instrumentation of which seems to represent both Spidey and Ock as they battle. Though I rarely have much to say on instrumental score, I most always have stuff to say about whatever the standout vocal song is and, in Spider-Man 2's case, it's "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"; being a song from the 60s, it wholly suits the tone of this Spider-Man universe immediately following Peter renouncing his secret identity. As it plays in the film, you may somewhat idealize Peter's pseudo-happiness he experiences after abandoning his responsibility, but the bits of the montage where he ignores cops rushing to the scene of the crime also make you wonder whether or not he's doing the right thing even with the song playing. It's one of the best feelings when film score and vocal songs within a film help you identify ideas and emotions regardless of the original intention of the song.
Generally speaking, my criticisms of a great film like Spider-Man 2 are minimal as I do believe it is the greatest Spider-Man film of all time -- the GOAT as most people say nowadays. It's a very simple, yet deep character study-worthy plot, it has great acting overall (with some weird-ish extras I might add), special effects are an improvement from its predecessor, action scenes are some of the best put to film, superhero or otherwise, and the film score brings out proper ideas along with the humanity of the film's narrative even. With as much as I believe it to be a near-perfect film and a perfect sequel for that matter, I do believe it is deserving of the praise it received both back in the day as well as today even with the Spider-Verse movies coming out. Many have even said that the Spider-Verse movies are better than Spider-Man 2, but for me, Spidey 2 will always hold a special place in my heart for being one of my pick-me-up films that allows me to see hope in hardship, especially when I experience that in real-life. That's one of the reasons why Spider-Man will always be my favorite superhero; he is among those who is hope for the people who cannot save themselves. All that said, I give Spider-Man 2 an A+ and recommend it to all people, comic book nerds or otherwise.
Thank you all for reading and I will see you in the next review!
My prior blog also had a review of this movie along with the rest of the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy. Even if my thoughts on this movie have hardly changed, I still felt the need to update it to my current blog along with the current format I utilize.
Released in 2004, Spider-Man 2 is unquestionably one of -- if not THE -- greatest superhero movie of all time and for many -- myself included -- it maintains that title to this day. Coming off the heels of its predecessor, Sam Raimi had a lot to live up to with this being a sequel to what was, at the time, the most successful superhero movie of all time. Of the Spider-Man movies he made, this has remained the most positive in terms of critical reception and while financially it was beaten by its successor, it was still one of the most successful superhero movies of its time and one of the most overall successful movies of 2004. Whereas Spider-Man 1 became the reason for superheroes populating and dominating the box office for years to come, the blueprint of this movie ended up being what makes a lot of comic book movies beyond it work in terms of emotional weight, character development, special effects, and comedy among other factors. For many reasons, including its success factors, this has become my most watched Spider-Man movie of all time for the reason that it re-awakens my inner child, but as an adult, it makes me think about and contemplate life the way a superhero like Spider-Man should for moviegoers and comic book fans alike. That said, this movie may be praised to death for a number of reasons, but are there really any criticisms against it that are valid if not warranted? Let's find out as we examine what many consider to be the quintessential movie for the character of Spider-Man, his fans, the superhero genre in general, and the catalogue of most successful Sam Raimi movies.
*SPOILERS* (though the film is 20 years old in a couple months, so really should it matter?)
This film starts about two years following Spider-Man 1. In it, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is a college student who has become increasingly more unreliable due to attending to Spider-Man activities on top of his busy life as a student at Columbia University and as a worker in different jobs. He initially tries to keep a second job as a pizza delivery man only to get fired for failing to deliver on time; J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) consistently fires and unfires him for failing to live up to photography standards at the Daily Bugle; he also is struggling to pay rent at his apartment and can't keep consistent friends when he's unable to be there for Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) at her recent play, "The Importance of Being Earnest". Although he's not on the best terms following his father's death, Peter is given an opportunity when his best friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco) teams with Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) and introduces him to Peter as the latter is trying to do his paper on Octavius's studies of fusion. Things go awry, however, when Otto's miscalculations result in his experiment going haywire, inadvertently killing his wife, Rosie (Donna Murphy), and infusing Otto's tentacle harness to his skin. When the tentacles start talking to him, taking over his mind and influencing him to become a criminal and remake his machine only bigger, Peter is faced with a choice of whether to continue being Spider-Man and save the city on a regular basis or to give up being the hero -- if only for a little while -- and develop a better, more consistent routine as Peter Parker.
Right off the bat, this movie's plot is simple yet somehow complex. It continues Peter's arc in a logical fashion, starting us off in a place of uncertainty that makes us feel for Peter and his struggles; we've all been there when life keeps getting in the way of what we want to accomplish as a person and sometimes it feels like the world is out to get us at every turn. The amount of relatability here is the beauty of Spider-Man as a character and it's demonstrated perfectly here in a way that's arguably more accurate to the original comics than the first film was. What makes it even more relatable is the internal struggles Peter faces through finding out MJ has a boyfriend in the form of John Jameson (Daniel Gillies) and becoming so emotionally broken down upon seeing her with him that his powers stop working on multiple occasions whilst swinging. It eventually comes to a head when MJ accepts a marriage proposal from John and Peter goes to the doctor to determine that he's psychologically compromised, the doctor giving him a choice on what to do. Following a conversation with Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) in his conscience, Peter declares that he's Spider-Man no more and then dumps the Spider-Man suit into the dumpster in a scene reminiscent of an iconic panel of The Amazing Spider-Man Issue #50. In this instance, the resemblance to the comics is used less for fanservice and more as a meaningful turning point for the story to make sense and allow you to root for Peter to be happy despite him throwing in the towel with his hero duties. Plotwise, this also ties in well to Doc Ock and his quest to remake his machine and allow his dreams to come true; Peter later learns from Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) that sometimes the best way to do the right thing is to give up what we want the most and that's exactly what Peter does in choosing to be Spider-Man again -- Doc Ock, on the other hand, sacrificing his machine along with himself in the end.
The best thing about this movie that improves upon the first one is the acting. Tobey Maguire undergoes a very mature transformation as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and it's reflected very well in his performance; overall, he acts pretty consistent with the first film, but he definitely shows a more emotional side to his character, particularly in the scene where he talks to Uncle Ben in his conscience. His Peter Parker side also demonstrates his smarts when interacting with pre-transformation Otto, which, in my opinion, makes him the best Peter Parker -- his Spider-Man still isn't as quippy as later actors, but he does better body acting in the suit at least. I wasn't particularly fond of Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane in the first movie for being a cringy damsel most of the time, but she does an okay job here even if she still isn't that much of a character and is ultimately less of a damsel, getting kidnapped only for the climax. James Franco as Harry Osborn, on the other hand, demonstrates why this is the best live action Harry by showcasing his more angry, vengeful side. Having lost his father supposedly to Spider-Man in the previous movie, it makes sense why he would be angry and obsessed with finding Spidey and seeking vengeance; Harry ultimately doesn't have an arc like our hero and villain, but his setup as a villain in Spider-Man 3 is displayed perfectly here. Rosemary Harris as Aunt May and J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson are very consistent with their previous performances with the former given a standout moment with her speech about there being a "hero in all of us" and the latter acting way funnier an meme-worthy while also displaying a caring attitude when he realizes he essentially drove Spider-Man away -- that gets instantly turned on its head when Spider-Man steals back his suit from Jameson's office, but it's a different side of Jameson no less. As far as new actors, Daniel Gilles' John Jameson isn't much of a standout and is sadly not given much of a role or character despite being casually built up as an American hero and MJ's husband-to-be. The real highlight as far as new characters, however, is Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius/Octopus; as good of an actor as Molina is, he demonstrates a likable, caring attitude as far as science, Peter, and his wife Rosie and conveys hubris convincingly, making you feel sorry for his eventual turn to villainy. As a villain, he could have easily come off as a cartoony evil scientist, but he showcases a more tortured side as far as his grief of his wife dying and a crazed side of listening to the tentacles due to them taking over his brain functions. All in all, the actors were more convincing this time around, even if not all of them were perfect.
Whereas certain special effects, action, and stuntwork looked dated a few years after the first movie, this movie is a massive improvement in that regard. The Doc Ock tentacles are CGI in wide shots, but up close, they are very real-looking puppets/animatronics -- Alfred Molina being so clever as to name them based on the gender of their grip. The tentacles themselves also look very menacing with their "evil flower" design, glowing red center lights, and extendable knife-like gadgets so much that looking at them up close could easily scare small children watching -- I was almost nine when this film came out so I probably wouldn't have minded back then. The action scenes, on the other hand, have less cartoony CGI dolls for Spidey and Doc Ock during their battles, making them blend in well with the live action environments. Ultimately, there's less stuntwork than the first movie due to the villain being less of an on-foot combatant than the Green Goblin was, but even shots like Peter flipping over the incoming car as his moped gets crushed look to be a stuntman taking the place of Tobey since we can't see his face. The action scenes themselves, however, are some of the best that have ever been put to screen in superhero movies before and since; Spidey and Doc Ock's bank and river fights are done well with choreography being an improvement over the first film and even the one scene where Spidey fights criminals in a getaway car has decent action regardless of how quick it is. The one scene that has since gone down in history as one of the best action scenes put to screen, superhero or otherwise, is the iconic train fight; this fight was the highlight of the film and has almost no dialogue during the action, highlighting the stakes between our hero and his nemesis. The action is mostly CGI, but well-choreographed with little bits like Spidey swerving through people within the train to avoid Doc Ock's attacks, busting out the window, and pulling himself onto the side of the train using his webs to face Doc Ock showcasing Spidey's intelligent use of his abilities during fights. Of all the superhero movies, Spider-Man 2 seemed to set the standard for action setpieces since that most others, if not some, have rarely topped since.
Once again, Danny Elfman excels in presenting an excellent musical score for the film -- he would sadly not return for the third film due to disagreements with Sam Raimi, but he did well here once again. In the beginning, the iconic Spider-Man main title theme returns, seemingly recomposed to match the opening montage in which a recap of the first film is shown in matte paintings. The fact that they established a trend of opening these films with the same theme song was an excellent way to propel us into the world of Spider-Man and the score only gets better from there. Rarely do I ever listen to entire film soundtracks in isolation, but I am able to pick out certain musical cues that represent what's going on or the character being shown and Doc Ock's theme is one of them; titled "Doc Ock Suite", the swelling horns and use of percussion represent well the menace of Doc Ock's demeanor and the amount of destruction he's capable of with the slower, quieter part representing his more sinister, cunning side. The song "Train/Appreciation" particularly in the Train half is, of course, the song that plays during the aforementioned train fight scene and the standard swelling orchestra reflects well the tension and adrenaline between the two combatants as they fight on and around the train, the instrumentation of which seems to represent both Spidey and Ock as they battle. Though I rarely have much to say on instrumental score, I most always have stuff to say about whatever the standout vocal song is and, in Spider-Man 2's case, it's "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"; being a song from the 60s, it wholly suits the tone of this Spider-Man universe immediately following Peter renouncing his secret identity. As it plays in the film, you may somewhat idealize Peter's pseudo-happiness he experiences after abandoning his responsibility, but the bits of the montage where he ignores cops rushing to the scene of the crime also make you wonder whether or not he's doing the right thing even with the song playing. It's one of the best feelings when film score and vocal songs within a film help you identify ideas and emotions regardless of the original intention of the song.
Generally speaking, my criticisms of a great film like Spider-Man 2 are minimal as I do believe it is the greatest Spider-Man film of all time -- the GOAT as most people say nowadays. It's a very simple, yet deep character study-worthy plot, it has great acting overall (with some weird-ish extras I might add), special effects are an improvement from its predecessor, action scenes are some of the best put to film, superhero or otherwise, and the film score brings out proper ideas along with the humanity of the film's narrative even. With as much as I believe it to be a near-perfect film and a perfect sequel for that matter, I do believe it is deserving of the praise it received both back in the day as well as today even with the Spider-Verse movies coming out. Many have even said that the Spider-Verse movies are better than Spider-Man 2, but for me, Spidey 2 will always hold a special place in my heart for being one of my pick-me-up films that allows me to see hope in hardship, especially when I experience that in real-life. That's one of the reasons why Spider-Man will always be my favorite superhero; he is among those who is hope for the people who cannot save themselves. All that said, I give Spider-Man 2 an A+ and recommend it to all people, comic book nerds or otherwise.
Thank you all for reading and I will see you in the next review!
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