Spider-Man 2

Remember when superhero movies were this good?  Man, what Sam Raimi does with Spider-Man 2 is nothing short of spectacular (pun intended). I love how he took all the criticism people had with the first movie and actually worked to improve on his craft, granting us what’s perhaps the greatest superhero movie of all time.  Now, I personally love Tom Holland’s interpretation of the web-crawler, but there’s something so special about Tobey Maguire’s work in this movie. Even if he’s portrayal remains as a very odd and goofy performance a lot of times, he brings a lot of heart into what he does. Definitely the best the web-slinger has ever been written on the big screen.  Peter and MJ’s relationship continues to be adorable, and for all its worth I’m very happy how their emotional arc concludes in this movie. And that’s what’s truly special about this flick… every character choice is truly purposeful. You can tell there was a lot of love for the source material due to how much thoughtfulness was put into the writing for the whole cast.  From Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock to Rosemary Harris’ Aunt May. It is all earned, all beautifully crafted and beautifully acted.  With my favorite scenes in the whole movie being the personal ones. One between Peter and May on her backyard, with the latter given him the exact advice he needs after accepting what he had shared with her beforehand. And the second being how the people of New York City both admired and protect Spider-Man from our villain.  Both are powerful scenes that genuinely make me tear up each time I watch them play.  There’s a lot one can say about Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 that I’m sure many have already said through the years, so we will leave it at that.  I love this movie. Always have. Always will.