I recently rewatched it, and with all this thing about bringing Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's versions in one movie, I said... what the hell, let's talk about an old school superhero movie...

SPOILERS? YES!!! (🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️)

Intro:

I am old enough to have seen the three installments of the Sam Raimi's original trilogy right on theaters when each was released (yeah, the third left this face 😑 on me), and today it's time to have a look at what made Spider-Man 2 so great even for today standards.

Before entering into analysis, I'd like to start pointing out the context in which this movie was released.

I watched this on summer of 2004, when I wasn't even nine yet. It was that time when there was no Netflix, no HBO, and the Internet was by no means what it is today. In most cases, what kids back then have were theaters and videoclubs, and parents had to make the effort to carry or accompany their children to the movies.

You know that today the superhero genre is so consolidated it gives the impression they bring a new film every day, right? Well back then superhero movies were rare, to the point the genre didn't actually exist as such, and the good ones could be counted with the fingers of one hand (and one of them was still 1989 Tim Burton's Batman).

Two years before, Sam Raimi had surprised the world with the first Spiderman movie, which despite the scarce experience and limited resources of the time, it offered a fresh adaptation of the origins of the legendary character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (rest in peace you masters). It had been very well received, but to put your money on a movie sequel, and even more, a superhero movie sequel was risky as hell.

Plot:

Those who grew up when the MCU had already its place in pop culture could argue that the plot is quite simple in comparison:

It's been two years since Peter Parker became Spiderman and the Green Goblin was buried, and our protagonist has been wearing the mask to this date.

The movie opens with Peter failing to make a delivery on time and losing his job as a result. But this is only a clue of what his daily life must have been since he started wearing the mask: he's late to class, his grades go down, he returns to work for a misery for the Daily Bugle (the same journal whose owner has committed himself to prove Spiderman is actually a criminal), he must help Aunt May with her rent, he fails to be there for his friends (Harry remains obsessed with finding Spiderman after his father's death in the first movie)... and MJ, the girl he has loved since high school, has moved forward and is dating some other guy because she thinks Peter doesn't care about her anymore.

And of course, there is the appearance of a new antagonist. After a science demonstration gone wrong, the physic Otto Octavius, a scientist Peter has in great esteem and to whom he has become closer, loses his wife and the work of his life. His pain, his sorrow, and the ruthless IA of four robotic arms now permanently fused to his body makes him choose the path of the villain, the iconic Dr Octopus, in the name of science and his dream, which naturally will make him cross paths with the webhead.

However, Peter, the man behind the mask, is beginning to think all this is too much for him to handle. In fact, as his motivation seems to fade away, so do his own superpowers, while he misses being just another nerd in the city of New York instead of keep carrying a "responsibility" he never asked for...

Ingredients:

Sam Raimi respects the tone of the original movie and he makes a score: he proves once again a simple story can be great with the proper ingredients and a great execution.

With a bigger budget, the movie exceeded expectations in the action departure. Seriously, that fight between hero and villain where Spiderman makes use of all his power to stop a train full of citizens not only has aged like a fine wine, but it is probably the best hero defining moment it has been seen of the character on the big screen.

Sorry, but I must remark the moment when an unmasked Spiderman faints due to fatigue and those common people from the train hold their savior so he doesn't fall and carefully take him to the inside. One of them even delivers a line that sums up what those who distrust Spiderman don't know about him:

"He's just... a kid. Not older than my son."

And how they return the mask, promise not to tell anyone they have seen his face, tell him they're glad to have him back, and even try to stand up to Dr Octopus when this returns for him... how often do you see this side of the people superheroes save in any media?

If I see no similar scene in MHA in the future, I am going to be really disappointed.

The comedy and fan service don't disappoint either. Cameos by Stan Lee and Bruce Campbell are small but significant examples of the passion for comic books and pop culture in a time where the term "easter egg" probably wasn't even used. And how could we forget the great JK Simmons retaking his role as the ridiculously rude and hilarious Jonah Jameson. Let's not forget his work was so good he was recasted for the same role in the MCU.

Speaking of characters and portrayals, it is no coincidence that Tobey Maguire is a reference for any Spiderman/Peter Parker portrayal. I still think that, while Andrew Garfield made a better Spiderman (let the war begin here), Tobey was the best Peter Parker ever. Years later, Tom Holland would be casted and deliver the perfect balance between the two sides of the character, but even if his version is argueable the best to date, it still lacks the depth and development it was shown here over a decade before. This is a protagonist the public roots for because they see him grow as a character from the previous installment.

Meanwhile, the secondary fulfil their role in the story and never feel out of place.

We have a Harry committed to live up to his family's legacy as a businessman and obsessed to find the vigilante. That leads to an each time bigger distance between him and his friends, since he is resentful on the fact Peter makes a living of taking pictures of the man he believes to be his father's murderer.

Aunt May remains as the emotional support for Peter, that one that is always there and gives that feeling of having somewhere to return when things are bad. This, this is the kind of character who doesn't need superpowers so you want it in your life.

Mary Jane Watson returns as the protagonist's eternal love interest. It is true that the role of damsel in distress is outdated today, and I personally found her character in these movies somewhat annoying who doesn't go further than being that love interest. By today's standards, once could say that at the end of the day her role will consist of being in some kind of danger, screaming (Jesus, Kirsten Dunst could donate her lungs to science), being saved by Spiderman and finally, after discovering Peter is Spiderman and he's always been there or not been there in order to protect her, taking him out of the friendzone. Yeah, even back then I find her a bit annoying and you would be wise to date the MCU version of her instead, but it was a different time. MJ is meant to represent the life Peter can't have because of his responsibility, and since he truly loves her, he feels he must let her go. Anyway, this was 2004 Hollywood so we all know how this would end.

And last but not least we have Dr Otto Octavius, a.k.a Dr Octopus, played by Alfred Molina in a supervillain portrayal that more than lives up to Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin in the original. You get to see become one of Spiderman's most dangerous foes ever, and despite the crimes he commits and the lives he endangers, you never get to hate him or beg Spiderman to kick his ass. You know that beyond his eventually twisted mind there is a good guy who, like Peter became Spiderman, he became a man of science for the greater good. But he loses his loved ones and his dream of creating a massive energy supply comparable to the Sun, he will also need a hero to save him from himself (more on that later).

Analysis:

As I was saying the story prefers to stay simple and loyal to the comics, and in such context the good quality drama is allowed to have its space to shine. I remember as a child I was confused on the fact that this movie tried so hard to convince me being that wall climbing and web swinging hero I cherished back then... actually sucks. But as I grew up I understood it did so because it is the truth.

Spiderman is a guy who despite having received more bullying than gratitude for most of his life keeps sacrificing everything to keep his loved ones and millions others safe, even at the cost of making them think he's a jerk. When he decides he can't take it anymore and quits his double life, you can feel his frustration. Have you ever lived a moment in your life when you feel you are handling with a lot of problems, you hardly do anything right, you can't share it with nobody because nobody understands you, and you don't know what to do and why you even keep trying? Well I did by the time I joined Wattpad, and even if a character's reborn from rock bottom has been seen in cinema thousand of times, it is rarely this well depicted in superhero movies.

At first he is happy with his new life as a normal student, and he even goes to see MJ's play, who is engaged by then, and talks about their past. But it is on these days when Peter starts to meet the best part of New York's people and that not everyone hates Spiderman or treats Peter Parker like trash after all.

The part when Peter enters a building in flames at his own risk and with no powers to save a little girl proves that the will to help us still alive on him. Later on the movie (a much funnier part) he focuses and puts all his will to use his powers again... resulting in him suffering a nasty fall. Because will can be strong and important, but it is not enough. A hero needs a conviction, a motivation.

And in this version Peter doesn't get his new motivation from his genius millionaire idol or the dream of becoming an Avenger, but from what common people need. Aunt May (I don't care how hot or cool is the MCU version; this loving old woman is the one Aunt May we could all have), despite not knowing who he truly is, she tells his nephew people miss Spiderman, specially children, because children need a hero. Peter sees indeed that citizens are unprotected and wondering where Spiderman has gone. The final step comes when he goes out with MJ, who's obviously having some reservations about her wedding. By that time Peter has truly accepted he will never be able to be with her and keep her safe at the same time, so he denies loving her. And when the woman he loves is kidnapped by the villain, his motivation to get his supersuit back is completed.

It might feel a bit Deus Ex Machina that his powers return just like that, but it is not just like that: it has been a whole movie process that has led to that moment. There are people who may hide a potential not even they are aware of, but with no conviction and will to do the best of them, having skills are as useless as lacking them. That is the true harm of illnesses like depression or anxiety. The point is that in the end Peter finds out he's not Spiderman because of chance, but because his reason of living is protecting his loved ones and saving people, and the best and only way to assume that responsibility is being Spiderman, with everything that implies.

At the final confrontation with Octopus, whose creation is about to destroy the city, Spiderman defeats him, but that is not enough to save the city. He reveals himself to Octavius and, as a student who believes in the good of that man turned villain and the words he shared with him, he convinces him that sometimes one must sacrifice his own ambitions for the greater good. And that faith on a villain, that hope on a character that isn't bad just because is what leads to the movie villain's redemption: using those same arms he has used for evil until now he drowns the focus of energy in the river so it doesn't hurt anyone and Spiderman can take MJ out of there. "I won't die a monster" are the good doctor's last words before joining his creation at the bottom of the river. If a hero is only as good as the villains he fights, it doesn't get better than this.

And in the end, it is satisfying to see Spiderman get the girl after all he's gone through. Smart move by MJ, I wouldn't want Jonah Jameson as a father in law either.

The movie ends with Peter going back to be Spiderman with a stronger determination to embrace both the power and the responsibility. Now his inner struggle is finished he will remember he is a hero because he cares for his people and chooses to take the responsibility of making the best use of his power to do so. Like we said, otherwise the power is as if it doesn't exist. Heroes must be heroes because they choose so.

You know what they say: life is a 20% what you live and a 80% how you answer to it...

Conclusion:

This movie remains a classic in the genre, and despite having its flaws like any movie, this was probably the best thing that was done of the character until Spiderman Into The Spiderverse, which I personally prefer.

As much as the superhero cinema has envolved there is still a lot in this movie to take as a reference. The MCU totally deserves the success it has, but I always feel it is more concerned about being commercial than being artistic like old school superhero movies like this.

All in all, this isn't just a fun to watch film, but a movie with a heart, and that is what truly makes it so enjoyable and rewatchable.

I honestly hope that if Tobey returns in the role, even if he's not the protagonist anymore, that magic returns with him.

Oh, I almost forgot: now Harry knows his best friend is Spiderman and a third movie is forshadowed when he finds the Green Goblin's toys in his own house. I'll just say that movie came and it didn't make justice to its predecessor (that emo Parker street dance still hurts 😭).

Phew, this review took me more time than expected. There was indeed a lot to say.

Welcome back to the HF's Pub, Watties! Unfortunately, tonight belongs to those who watched this movie as kids and still feel nostalgic. Not many will be interested on this review, but I wanted to write it, even if it is to share opinions with a couple of readers.

The HF's Artbook comes next to be updated, and then another chapter of Wedding Bells:):)

Stay safe Watties, and receive a huge psychological hug wherever you are!

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