There's a hero in all of us

After the incredible success of Spider-Man in 2002, everybody was expecting a sequel to come out. Superhero movies had been around for awhile, but in the early 2000's the genre was just exploding. Marvel had had success in the film industry with films like Blade, X-Men, and of course, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. I was not even 4 years old when this movie released, so I don't remember much about it when I was younger. In fact, I mainly got into watching it when I was in my late teens, so all my memories and thoughts aren't that of genuine nostalgia or anything. It's memories of seeing awkward moments that had been talked about and joked about for nearly a decade and a half. But at the time, it was one of the hugest movies in the entire world. People still consider it the best live action Spider-Man movie to date. If you asked me a few years ago I would quickly agree, but after the run of Tom Holland for the past decade it isn't so cut and dry. So I wanted to dive in and talk about why people say this movie is not only one of the best Spider-Man movies, but one of the best superhero movies in general.

The movie takes place about two years after the first film, and Peter Parker is going about his day, desperately trying to balance his life as Spider-Man and Peter. There is a brilliant scene where Peter is at risk of losing his job as a pizza delivery job, and is given a last chance to get a delivery done in time. He's able to use his Spider-Man powers to swing across the streets easily, but stops to help some kids who are nearly hit by a car. By doing this, he ends up being late for the delivery and is fired. He then goes to visit Aunt May, who threw him a surprise party! In attendance is herself, Peters best friend Harry Osborn, and their friend Mary Jane Watson, who Peter struggles with keeping a friendship with, since she confessed feelings for her at the end of the last film. Harry is also becoming irate with Peter, since he feels as if Peter is protecting Spider-Man, whom he believes killed his father, Norman Osborn, A.K.A. the green goblin. This movie from the opening scene continually pushes peter into uncomfortable and oftentimes damming situations where he is continually punished for his actions no matter what he does. He does get a little bit of a break in the form of Dr. Otto Octavius, a scientist who has agreed to meet with Peter to help him with his school paper, of which he is also at risk of failing without. This is where I would say one of the central theme of the movie is presented- Octavius tells peter that being intelligent is not a privilege, rather a gift, one that must be used to better mankind. Peter gets a pleasant afternoon, having lunch with Octavius and his wife Rosie, as they chat about life. The next day Otto has his big presentation, where he shows off the power of his self sustaining fusion reactor. Everything goes well at first, but it becomes too powerful and Peter is forced to help shut the machine down as Spider-Man. This incident causes Otto to be electrocuted, causing his mechanical limbs he attached to gain sentience, and takes over his mind.

After Otto awakens from his hospital, he unknowingly kills the doctors in his room, and he finds a riverside warehouse to take refuge in. The scene changes to Peters part time job- The Daily Bugle- where they are talking about what happened at Otto's presentation. Peter is tasked on taking photos at the party of his boss's son, J Jonah Jameson Jr. This is where Peter's main conflict comes into play. Peter is confronted by Harry, who accuses him of betraying his father and slaps him twice publicly, and Mary Jane accepts Jameson Jr's marriage proposal. This kicks in Peters mental block, where his powers continually fail him while swinging around the city. He can barely afford rent in his apartment, and May's house is at risk of being foreclosed, so he and her goes to the bank to get a loan. He fights Otto, who has come to the bank to get money in order to recreate his machine. After fighting and saving his aunt from being seriously injured by Otto, he goes home and has more issues about his life struggles. Thinking that he can no longer balance his life anymore, he throws the suit away, and embraces his life as Peter Parker- as he swears he will be Spider-Man no more.

This dramatic scene is broken up by the cheesiest and funniest montage, where Peter's life begins turning around for the better- he gets better grades and is actually happy overall! He's even able to attend Mary Jane's play, which he was unable to attend when he was acting as Spider-Man. Eventually though, Peter sees there is too much chaos, and attempts to go back to being Spider-Man. It doesn't work initially, as he gets a bad back injury from attempting to swing from a building. In a fantastic dramatic scene, he goes to Aunt May and confesses that he was the one who's actions caused Uncle Ben to be killed because he let the robber go that night at the wrestling match he wasn't even supposed to be at. Peter eventually meets with Mary Jane, who wants to know if he harbours feelings towards her that she still has towards him. His powers finally kick in when Dr. Octopus throws an entire fucking car at him, and he's able to react in time and dodge it. It turns out Harry hired Otto to get Peter to tell him where Spider-Man was so that Harry can finally take his revenge on the web head. Peter refuses and Otto obliterates his spine by yeeting him into a brick wall and kidnaps Mary Jane. This is what allows Peter to focus enough to get his powers back and he follows Octavius and leads into the best live action fight scene in these movies. They brawl from a skyscraper, and fall onto a train, where both characters use their respective animal characteristics as they balance on the train and fight each other. The fight is put on pause, as Otto decides to remove the train breaks, and leaves, forcing Peter to exert all his energy to stopping the train. A touching scene occurs where Peter is carried across the train and the passengers all remark on his age and promise to keep his secret in solidarity for what he did for them all.

Otto knocks a weakened Spider-Man out, and delivers him to Harry as promised. As Harry prepares to kill Spider-Man, he takes off the mask so he can look at the man he believes killed his father, only to be petrified at the revelation that Peter is the one behind the mask. He asks why Peter killed his father, but Peter was asked to keep the revelation a secret by Norman, Harry's father, so he simply replied "there are bigger things happening than with you and me." Getting the information of what Dr. Octavius needed, Peter swings off, attempting to shut down his fusion machine, before Otto destroys the entire city. Another brawl ensues and Peter eventually manages to electrocute Otto again, which stuns him for awhile. Trying to figure out a way to destroy the device, he takes off his mask and pleads with Otto on shutting it down. Otto is shocked initially, but chuckles, and repeats an earlier line that was used to describe Peter to him- "Brilliant, but lazy." Peter once again begs Otto for help, citing not only his earlier words about intelligence being a gift to be used for mankind, but also tells him something that is the other main theme of the movie. That there is good in everyone, a hero in all of us, that we only have to look inside to find. As Otto regains his sanity briefly, he tells Peter that the only way to shut down the machine is to drown it deep in the river, and he sacrifices himself to save the entirety of New York, dying a hero rather than a villain.

Finally, Mary Jane sees Peter in the suit, and everything clicks for her, then she's nearly killed by falling debris, which causes Peter to let out an iconic scream that has been memed for nearly two decades now. The two manage to escape, and Peter tells her that this is why he can't be with Mary Jane, because no matter what, as long as they were in each others lives, she would be in danger because of him. She thinks about this for awhile, but ultimately leaves her wedding in order to tell him that she thinks he's full of shit for that, and if she wants to be with him, then that is her choice, and he's got to accept that. Then they share a loving embrace and kiss, before Peter has to go out and stop another crime in progress. The film ends on a reflective look in Mary Jane's eyes, as she clues in to what her life will now be like, in a relationship with Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Harry is reeling with the revelation of Peter being Spider-Man, and hallucinates his father, telling his son to avenge him, and be strong and worthy of the family name. Harry lashes out, breaking a window which reveals the goblin weapons and suit hidden in the Osborn house.

There are several reasons why Spider-Man 2 was an incredible success and still a very well renowned film to this day nearly 22 years ago. The story focusing more on interpersonal relationships and the strain on Peter's life, the sympathetic yet crazed Doc Ock, and the kickass fight scenes scattered through the film. The brilliant performances from the main cast, and the incredible score by Danny Elfman once again. There is no definitive best Spider-Man movie, as every single one has its merits, even the complete dogshit ones of course (Amazing Spider-Man 2, I'm looking at you), but for me, this one far surpassed its predecessor, and is an incredible movie that I would recommend to any and everyone.