Spider-Man 2 – Film Review

When a failed nuclear fusion experiment results in an explosion that kills his wife, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) is transformed into Dr. Octopus, a cyborg with deadly metal tentacles. Doc Ock blames Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) for the accident and seeks revenge. Meanwhile, Spidey’s alter ego, Peter Parker, faces fading powers and self-doubt. Complicating matters is his best friend’s (James Franco) hatred for Spider-Man and his true love’s (Kirsten Dunst) sudden engagement to another man.

We all know that superhero movies are absolutely everywhere these days – it truly seems as though a brand new comic book film is released in theatres every month or two, and as a result, it can be a little bit overwhelming and oversaturated. It may be hard to understand, but we once lived in a time in which superhero movies were actually relatively rare, and studios weren’t guaranteed a surefire success no matter what the character was.

For example, when Tim Burton released his film version of Batman in 1989, not many people were too eager to see it. Before that film was released, most people just knew Batman from the comics and the Adam West television program from the 1960s. And the casting choice of Michael Keaton as the titular Caped Crusader? That did not go over well at all. But when the film was released, people were blown away because they were treated with a deeply entertaining, well-directed, and interesting film while also delivering comic book goods.

Superhero movies these days seem less interested in being grounded and instead, seem to want to be bigger and more grand than the previous one. That’s not always a bad thing (take Avengers: Endgame for example) but it is definitely nice to see a superhero film that really has its focus on the humans while also being able to entertain with some great action. Few superhero movies mean more to me than Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man 2 – a staggeringly rich, emotional, and invigorating tale about one man who must learn what it means to be human and to be responsible.

One of the best – if not the – best elements to the character of Peter Parker / Spider-Man is just how relatable and human he is. In my opinion, Tobey Maguire has always been the best iteration of this iconic superhero and quite frankly, I don’t think that he will ever be beaten.

Yes, Tom Holland has a great mixture of nerdy yet badass, but there’s just something about Maguire’s Peter Parker that feels so real and human. It also helps that the brilliant script by Alvin Sargent fleshes his character out immensely and makes him go through real problems that everyday teenagers would go through.

As we know from the first film, Parker has always had a crush on his neighbor Mary-Jane Watson, but at the end of said film, he tells her that he just can’t be with her because it would be too dangerous. She’s confused by this which makes sense because at the time, she didn’t know that Parker was Spider-Man.

And so in Spider-Man 2, we see Parker and Watson exploring their relationship further – or rather, Parker wondering if he made a mistake telling the girl of his dreams that they couldn’t be together. The scene where Watson tells Parker that she has agreed to marry her super-smart astronaut boyfriend is genuinely heartbreaking because you understand that while he may be a wonderful guy, he’s just not the one. Peter Parker is.

On top of Parker’s relationship matters, he also has to deal with school and making sure that all his grades are up because now that he’s in university, that kind of thing is especially important. But how in the world can one man manage being Spider-Man – a superhero that quite literally has to save the day every day – while also pursuing the girl of his dreams, and attending school and getting good grades?

It’s a difficult task but no matter how dour things start to look, Parker always puts his best foot forward and does all he can. With great power comes great responsibility. Spider-Man 2 legitimately taught me a lot about what it means to be responsible and how important it is to do your best and follow your dreams no matter how bad things may be looking for me. After all, if Spider-Man can do so many things while also maintaining his life, so can I, right?

Aside from being hugely inspirational, Spider-Man 2 is also a hugely entertaining movie absolutely jam-packed with memorable moments and excellent acting. As mentioned earlier, Maguire is absolutely stellar in the role of Parker. If he’s not in Spider-Man: No Way Home it would be a gigantic disappointment because the potential for greatness is so high.

Of course, this film introduces us to Alfred Molina as Doctor Otto Octavius who is without a doubt one of the most layered villains in superhero movie history. For a while, it truly seems as though he is doing what he’s doing for sheer power, but third act reveals make it clear that he is a hugely flawed character and one that has genuine motivation. They do some truly emotional things with his character that always makes me tear up by the time the third act comes into play.

And do I even need to mention just how fantastic the whole train sequence is? This scene between Doc Ock and Spider-Man is legitimately intense. Superhero movie fight scenes today are great, don’t get me wrong, but some of them don’t feel real and in the moment. They lack a sense of intensity. But boy oh boy does Spider-Man 2‘s action feel grounded, especially here.

Spider-Man must do whatever he can to save this train full of hundreds of innocent civilians but how in the world is he going to do that when it’s moving so fast all while having to deal with Doc Ock wreaking havoc in the area? It seems impossible, right? But much like Spider-Man 2‘s themes, Parker chooses bravery in the face of extreme danger. What a beautiful film.