IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched on Blu-Ray (Spider-Man 2.1 Extended Cut)
Spider-Man Rewatch Road To Far From Home Step 2 of 7
What Sam Raimi has already established with his predecessor, he continues in the brilliant sequel: His Spider-Man, now accepted by the city of New York, is a penniless hero. Peter Parker is in trouble with his jobs, can not keep commitments to his friends, oversleeps the university and has trouble with his landlord. While the superheroes in current blockbuster cinema are mostly reduced to superiority, Spider-Man has difficulty organizing both his life as a fighter for law and order and his life as Peter Parker (ergo, his personal desires). In addition, Raimi classifies him as a child of the working class, from the financial security of an Iron Man or Batman he is far away.
That dilemma is the core of Spider-Man 2. Raimi focuses on the career of his protagonist, who has to throw his costume in the bin first to see how much he needs it and can fight for the good again. For this development, the spectacle takes a back seat, but it's precisely the action scenes in which the film accumulates to absolute top form. In the battles between Spider-Man and Dr. Octavius the city of New York is extensively used as a venue, enriched with seemingly timeless effects that, unlike its predecessor, have lost none of their impact.
What distinguishes Spider-Man 2 is its villain. Otto Octavius is not only an equal opponent, but also another form of antagonist. Unlike the Green Goblin, Octavius is not interested in personal enrichment, but only wants to realize his life project, the creation of an artificial sun. When his experiment fails, he loses his wife and an artificial intelligence takes his mind. Octavius is unable to separate the power inherent in his dilated body from his anger. His development is quiet similar to that of Peter Parker, except that unlike Peter, Octavius no longer has a hold that would let him take responsibility. Raimi tells the tragic development of his character comprehensible, but without taking his menace.
Spider-Man 2 finds its biggest scene in a moment that seems almost casual: After Peter has brought a full train to a halt, he collapses and is caught by the grateful passers-by. Suddenly he lies before them without a mask. One of the passers-by notes, "He's just a kid, not older than my son." In these words, Raimi's entire approach on Spider-Mans figure becomes obvious. Spider-Man is not an god-like character, he is a man who just wants to fight for the good, something that everyone could do. Anyone could be Spider-Man.
Thus, Spider-Man 2 is a touching appeal to do the right thing, no matter how hard it sometimes is and the one who holds on to it can also be saved. Raimi combines this deeply human approach with fulminating action, creating nothing more and nothing less than the best live-action Spider-Man movie.
Of course, there are again great cameos: Bruce Campbell is back as waiter in the theatre M.J.'s playing in and also legendary John Landis can be seen as a doctor. There are also small appearances by Joel McHale (loan departement employee), Daniel Dae Kim (Octavius's assistant) and Emily Deschanel (receptionist).
