The gold standard for a Marvel movie

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2018)

Now, I never saw Spiderman 2 in theaters as I didn't much care for comic book movies at that time, but earlier this year, I finally decided to watch it and see it for myself and lo and behold, I loved it. From it's solid directing and themes about choice to it's action scenes and performances, Spiderman 2 is a truly wonderful superhero movie.
The movie begins with Peter Parker finding himself being torn between his duties as Spiderman and holding down a job. All the while he's failing in school, his aunt is facing eviction from her home and Peter has become alienated from Mary Jane as well as Harry Osborne. Harry funds a fusion experiment by scientist Otto Octavius, unfortunately the experiment goes haywire and kills Otto's wife causing him to go insane. Later on, Mary Jane getting engaged and Harry snapping at him causes Peter to suffer an emotional breakdown which also causes him to lose his powers and he quits being Spiderman. His life then begins to improve, but when Doctor Octopus remerges, Peter now must learn what it means to have great power and reasonability.
When it comes to sequels, there are only a handful that are able to take what made the first one so great and amplify it to such a degree that it's able to surpass it's predecessor in every possible way, Spiderman 2 is one of those movies. Much like what Bryan Singer did with X-Men 2 or what Nolan did with The Dark Knight, Sam Raimi delivers to us a jewel of a superhero film, effortlessly matching if not improving on the first one in terms of story, character development and action. Unlike some sequels that tend to have a very poor plot that is often covered up by an overlord of action and poorly written characters that serve no purpose to the story, here we spend more time with Peter and see the strain that being Spiderman has put on his relationships with his friends and family, his job and his grades which further makes Peter all the more sympathetic and relatable, allowing us to care more about him and see him grow as a character while Dr. Octopus isn't a power-hungry villain just for the sake of it but rather a tragic villain who has lost everything he cares about which also makes him a much more relatable character.
With the directorial freedom given to him, Sam Raimi is able to direct the movie with his usual eccentric style of directing and a personal touch that gives the film an extra layer of depth that permeates the film more so than the first one by using filming methods like having a certain scene cut to black save for the eyes of Spiderman's suit being used as a scene change or using the camera to accomplish a fading effect when showing us Doctor Octopus's continuing descent into madness and while such licenses taken may cause some to cry foul play, Raimi is able to find a way to incorporate them in such a way that makes it click. The action in Spider-Man 2 is truly fantastic and put the fight scenes in the first movie to shame in terms of momentum and exhilaration while it also looks a lot less cartoonish and more realistic and grounded but still maintain the same visual look the first one has. Raimi certainly knows how to direct action and Spiderman 2 shows that in a fantastic way, the battle in the bank is truly a masterstroke of pacing and energy while the battle on the train just might be one of the finest action scenes ever to be made for a superhero movie thanks to it's stakes, timing and emotional impact while the visual effects look seamless with Spidy swinging though New York while Doc Ock's tentacles allows the effects people to have some fun and while the arms are supposedly half CGI and half live action, they still look amazing.
As with the first film, the cast is absolutory fantastic and everybody plays their role to perfection. James Franco is truly amazing as Harry Osborne, depicting him as a man filled with vengeance and trying to live up to what his father was yet we also see Harry conflicted when he unmasks Spiderman and sees Peter which makes for some great character moments and Franco does such a fantastic job conveying all of his emotional movements compellingly allowing the viewer to care about him more and showing his growth as an actor. Rosemary Harris continues to impress with her role as Aunt May by injecting a lot more sprit into her character and her pep talk to Peter is one of the most inspiring moments in any comic book movie while J.K. Simmons continues to steal every scene he's in as the hotheaded and self-centered J. Jonah Jameson while Kirsten Dunst is wonderful as Mary Jane and gives a great performance plus her and Toby have great chemistry that seems to seep off the screen. Much like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Pratt, Maguire brings a level of good-heartiness, compassion and fearfulness to the role of Peter Parker and Spiderman, but his performance is most heart-wrenching during his moments of hesitation when he slows down and grasps what's going on around him, Maguire's performance truly shines but he also skillfully portrays both the nerdy heroic sides of the character with astonishing ease, easily one of the best superhero portrayals ever seen on screen. However, it's Alfred Molina as Doctor Otto Octavius who steals the movie in what could have been an over-the-top cartoonish performance but becomes a genuine and captivating performance thanks to Molina. By showing us a few scenes with Octavius and his wife, we see that he isn't nessacerly evil but rather determined to see his dream become a reality.
Honestly, what else is there to say? Go watch Spiderman 2 now!