by Nathaniel R
With Sam Raimi's take on Doctor Strange new in theaters, we chose his earlier superhero film Spider-Man 2 (2004) as this week's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" subject. While Raimi directed all three of the original Spider-Man films, Cláudio was right to suggest that the second film could well be considered a "platonic ideal for what superhero movies should be". When the film first opened in 2004 I saw it twice on opening weekend, something I hadn't done since I was a teenager. Not coincidentally it made me feel like a little kid again, pouring over comic books. It was a kind of pop bliss seeing Spider-Man come to life in such a wonderfully judged adventurous, romantic, and thrilling movie. Though that kind of magic has long become normalized, Spider-Man 2 is still a thrill.
Revisiting it was fun though quite surprising in three specific ways...
Alexander's Choice for Best Shot. Read his Tweets
1. LASER FOCUS
Though it's only been eighteen years since the movie was released, the superhero movie has evolved considerably in those two decades. They've gotten so big and crowded and ambitious (from a production standpoint at least) that Spider-Man 2 is now quite shocking in its laser focus and simplicity. It nods to what came before (the 2002 film's Green Goblin story and Spider-Man and MJ's upside down kiss) and has two hints at what might come (more Green Goblin and The Lizard... though the latter plans were derailed) but otherwise it knows it is a feature film and not a television series. Raimi's second go at the webslinger is a fully satisfying self-contained story with characters arcs and a beginning, middle, and end; Imagine that!
Ben's Choice for Best Shot. Read His Article
Silver Medal. What a MOVIE MOMENT this was.
Bronze Medal. Doc Ock working on his fusion reactor. Such a simple trick. Conveys so much.
Though Peter Parker is torn between superheroics and love, and Doctor Octopus is split between good and evil (as he and his tentacles battle for control of his mind) Sam Raimi and his team don't fuss. They provide everything with utter confidence that will find it all thrilling. How many superhero films give us such a peak into the warm marriage of a villain? How many climaxes are the villain saving the day?
It's a gooey romance, a doubled redemption arc for both hero and villain, and a riproaring good action movie simultaneously. I adore the two shots above, the first an incredible action moment interrupting a kiss (again it's two movies at once), with expertly judged angles, actor blocking, and macro closeups, slo-mo, and a crashing edit. The second image, is a beautiful lighting trick (cinematography by the great Dick Pope) when Doc Ock's fusion reactor is only reflecting in one of his goggles, prophesying his binary nature visually so they barely have to say a word about the internal battles thereafter.
What other superhero has to do their own laundry and find that their suit bleeds onto their skivvies!?
Cláudio's choice for Best Shot. Read his article.
2. EVERYMAN RELATABILITY
I also wasn't prepared for humbly human it was. That's probably because it feels so much more down to earth than subsequent superhero films in which the characters have no real lives outside of their spandex, no financial problems (so many billionaire heroes now!), no family, no friends, and no day jobs once they're past their "origin story". Consider that the opening action setpiece is Spider-Man trying to deliver pizzas on time so that Peter Parker doesn't lose his delivery boy gig!
Some of the best sight gags in the movie like Peter never able to grab an hors d'oeuvres at a party before the plate is emptied, or an awkward elevator ride are the comic variations on this 'he's just like us!' mundanity. All the relatability between audience and hero is what really sells that beautifully healing moment of community when New Yorkers rescue Spider-Man from falling at the tail end of one of the best action scenes in any superhero movie. Hands on a spandex body, not to take a piece of him away but to lift him back up. Your "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" is more inspirational than he is a power fantasy. Only Captain America has given off that vibe since.
Peter Parkers not the only one who gets lost in Kirsten Dunst's sad dreamy eyes.
Ryan's Choice for Best Shot. Read His Tweets
3. ROMANTIC
The third surprise was how earnest and devoted it was to the Peter & MJ romance. Perhaps its the subsequent mostly sexless two decades of the genre but romance is, at most, a minor third tier subplot here and there within this genre. We're told people like each other or they're paired in some way but it's rarely earned or felt or even focused on. Here it's the practically the A story. Spider-Man 2 could honestly be called a "Romantic Drama" just as much as it's labelled a "Superhero Movie". In fact it's so romantically besotted that it's almost camp at times with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst continually getting so lost in each others eyes in quiet shot/reverse shots that they lose the power of language altogether and just stare at each other. The eyes truly do have it. And who has better puppy-love eyes than Maguire and who has dreamier faraway eyes than Dunst?
Gold Medal. Nathaniel's Choice for Best Shot.
Given its double duty as both superhero adventure and romantic drama, my choice for best shot is the one that brings it all together. Peter's central dilemma -- to superhero or not to superhero i.e. love Mary Jane -- as humble and earnest and binary and pure as this image of Parker's sad closet. Two warring costumes await his choice.
best shot schedule and episode index
NEXT THURSDAY NIGHT: Wong Kar Wai's Happy Together (1997) streaming on the Criterion Channel