"Too few characters out there, flying around like that, saving old girls like me. And Lord knows, kids like Henry need a hero; courageous, self-sacrificing people, setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them, cheer them, scream their names. And years later, they’ll tell how they stood in the rain for hours, just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them to hold on a second longer."
I can name a fairly decent number of movie sequels that live up to or surpass the original. But, of these, there are but a handful that not only improve on the original film but retroactively increase its stature.
Spider-Man 2 is one of those sequels. From the creative opening title, recapping the events of the first film via paintings by legendary comic book artist Alex Ross, you know your in for a treat. This is a film that builds on the original, expanding its themes and its scope. It juggles these themes through various subplots, often paralleling the first film by revisiting similar situations in a new context. Somehow, the writers manage to weave all this into a coherent narrative.
The film opens with Peter Parker staring at a poster of Mary Jane Watson, who he's still secretly in love with. He then shows up late for work at his pizza delivery job, a job he subsequently loses. He's also struggling to keep up his grades in college and to pay his rent. His life as Spider-Man keeps interfering with his life as Peter Parker. Otto Octavius life, in many ways, represents the balance that Peter’s is missing. He’s a brilliant and successful scientist. Like Peter’s spider powers this is “a gift”, he says, to use “for the good of mankind.” But he also has a happy married life with his wife, Rosie.
The scene where Peter meets Doctor Octavius, beautifully and economically establishes the relationship between he and Rosie. This helps us to really sympathize with Octavius when he later loses her as a result of his failed experiment. Octavius parallels Peter in many ways. Both men are interested in science and both attain superpowers in a tragic accident. Both make arrogant mistakes which cost them dearly. After the accident Octavius has lost everything and is a broken man. This is why the AI controlling his arms is able to control him, he has no real will to live anymore.
In an earlier scene Aunt May, Harry and Mary Jane throw a surprise birthday party for Peter and the relationships between Peter and these three characters are reestablished. Harry is now head of special projects at his father’s company and about to make a breakthrough in fusion thanks to Octavius. Harry hates Spider-Man because he believes that he killed his father. He also distrusts Peter, who seems to have a relationship with the superhero, taking pictures of him for the daily bugle. Peter feels guilty for this and for his part in Uncle Ben’s death, which still haunts Aunt May.
After the party, in a scene paralleling one from the first film, Peter once again talks to Mary Jane in his backyard. Mary Jane is starring in a successful play and is considering dating someone but is still holding out for Peter despite his rejection of her in the first film. When he promises to go see her play she decides to give him one last chance. Of course Peter ends ups missing her play because he gets distracted stopping a robbery. She finally gets fed up and starts going out with astronaut John Jameson (son of Jonah Jameson). Being Spider-Man has, once again, messed up Peter's personal life.
As is brilliantly shown in the scene where Peter calls Mary Jane after missing her play, he wants to tell her his secret and explain why they can’t be together. Yet he still hopes that maybe they can be and is afraid of letting her go. Similarly MJ, like Peter, still wants to be with him. It is implied that she suspects that he’s Spider-Man but she refuses to act on this because she doesn’t want to accept the consequences of such an acknowledgement. But as Octavius tells Peter “If you keep something as complicated as love stored up inside, it could make you sick.” Peter begins to psychosomatically lose his powers because his desire to be with Mary Jane outweighs his sense of responsibility. MJ, on the other hand, accepts Jameson’s marriage proposal because it seems like the safe choice.
This is the last straw for Peter, who’s already in doubt about whether he is actually meant to be Spider-Man. So, in a scene recreating an iconic moment from
Amazing Spider-Man #50, he decides to give up his life as a superhero. He quickly regrets this decision however as MJ continues to reject him and he continually witnesses people in need of saving who he is no longer able to help. In another scene paralleling the first film, Peter saves a young girl from a burning building, but this time without his powers, only to find out that “some poor soul got trapped on the fourth floor; never made it out.” If he had had his powers he could have saved both.
This is followed by one of the best scenes in the movie. In it Aunt May forgives Peter for his role in Uncle Ben’s death.Then, expressing concern over Spider-Man’s disappearance, she talks about the hope that heroes like Spider-Man represent, particularly to young children like her neighbor, Henry Jackson. “I believe there’s a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most, even our dreams. Spider-Man did that for Henry and he wonders where he’s gone. He needs him.”
Meanwhile, Mary Jane has begun to reconsider her feelings for Peter. Jameson is a good, supportive partner for her, but she doesn’t really love him. She decides to trust her heart instead of her head and asks to see Peter again to see if he’s really willing to change. But Peter has changed his mind and once again chosen to sacrifice his happiness for the greater good. His powers are a gift not just for him but for others and he has no right to give them up. Yet he’s still unable to use his powers. This changes when Mary Jane is endangered. Harry, increasingly consumed by his need for revenge against Spider-Man, has hired Doc Ock to capture him. In order to do so Octavius kidnaps MJ, knowing that Spider-Man will come to the rescue. This situation, the girl he gave up being Spider-Man for being put in harm’s way, reignites his dormant spider powers.
With Peter’s power back in place, we get one of the greatest action set pieces in movie history: the train fight between Spider-Man and Doc Ock. Not only is this a brilliantly shot and choreographed scene, filled with energy and innovation, it also serves to further solidify the films theme of heroism, as the passengers see that, beneath the mask, Spider-Man is just an ordinary guy and they are inspired to try and protect him as he did them. This theme is reinforced once more in the climax as Octavius, brought to his senses when Spider-Man reveals his secret identity to him, overcomes his tentacles and sacrifices himself to destroy the reactor.
This is also an example of another of the movies themes: truth. Peter has continually lied to people to hide his identity, this is at the root of many of the character's troubles throughout the film. Because he won’t tell aunt May about his responsibility for uncle Ben’s death, she blames herself. Because he can’t tell Harry that his father was the Green Goblin, he blames Spider-Man for his death. And because he won’t reveal his identity to Mary Jane and she won’t admit her suspicions about him, they are kept apart and left feeling bitter.
When he gives up being Spider-Man, Peter decides to tell Aunt May the truth about what happened the night Uncle Ben died in order to move past it. Though May is shocked by this at first she eventually forgives Peter and even thanks him for being honest with her. Similarly, when Harry finds out that Peter is Spider-Man, he is able to let go of his desire for vengeance, at least temporarily. Finally, when Mary Jane discovers Peter’s secret she finally understands the way he’s behaved toward her, and why he believes they can never be together. This is, of course, related to another theme that runs throughout the series: destiny.
The conflict brewing between Harry and Peter over the course of the film has a feeling of inevitability. His father's death and the promise he extracted from Peter have set the two friends on a destructive path. Similarly, Uncle Ben's death and his words about power and responsibility weigh heavily on Peter, seemingly dooming him to a life of unhappiness. In the first film Aunt May tells Peter that Uncle Ben “never doubted the man you’d grow into, how you were meant for great things. You won’t disappoint him.” Peter believes that because of his gift he can never really be happy. Ultimately though, the film subverts this notion. In the end Mary Jane refuses to let Peter sacrifice their happiness for her safety. She is willing to take the risks associated with being Peter’s girlfriend and to accept the fact that he has commitments that will take priority over their relationship.
Sam Raimi's really at the top of his game here. He once again brings his unique cinematic voice to this material. The scene where Doctor Octopus is born, as his limbs murder the doctors and nurses in the hospital, is straight out of Raimi's early horror films. The whole film is filled with this kind of creative energy. Raimi really brought out the best in his cast and crew to deliver a sequel that topped the original in almost every way. The two big set pieces, Spidey's fight with Doc Ock at the bank and the aforementioned train sequence, are just fantastic. The special effects for
Spider-Man 2 have aged phenomenally with Doc Ock's tentacles, part puppetry and part CGI, and the Spydercam photography being highlights. Though he unfortunately had a falling out with Raimi during the production of this film, Danny Elfman, once again, delivers a superb score. Weaving together the musical themes established in the first film with new material for Octavius, Elfman's score really complements the storytelling and strengthens the films thematic weight.
Tobey Maguire puts in an even better performance then the first film, if that's even possible. He really sells the Peter Parker's inner turmoil but also the characters sense of innocence and sincerity. James Franco also puts in his strongest performance of the series, as Harry becomes increasingly bitter and consumed with vengeance. Rosemary Harris and J.K. Simmons are dependable as ever in their supporting roles as Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson and both are given more material to work with. Kirsten Dunst imbues Mary Jane with a real sense of pathos and dignity, giving her decision to marry Jameson just the right amount of self-doubt. Of course I'd be remiss not to mention Alfred Molina, whose portrayal of Otto Octavius has rightly gone down as one of the best comic book movie villain performances of all time. He delights in playing the manic, over-the-top Doctor Octopus but also imbues Octavius with real personality and warmth. Not only is Octavius a sympathetic villain but, at the beginning of the film, he's a downright likable, nice guy.
What really stands out about Spider-Man 2, beyond the great writing, acting and direction, are the moments of inspiring heroism on Peter's part: watching him save Aunt May from Doc Ock or the little girl from the fire or seeing the reaction of the people on the train when they see that Spider-Man is just a kid in a mask. By humanizing Peter, by putting him through the ringer physically, emotionally, and psychologically, this film gets at the heart of the character: a nerdy kid who got superpowers and struggles to use them for the benefit of others and, by doing so, inspires them. And that's the great thing about Spider-Man 2. It understands, perhaps better than any
other film in the genre, why we're drawn to these stories in the first place.
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