11/08/2024 rewatch

The best ever on a big screen, genuinely blessed. I can watch this again and again and it strikes me every single time. I’ve spent the entire 3 hours since this thinking about it, in awe of its genius, its detail, its authenticity - as if I’ve just discovered it. 

I’ve decided I think the most important thing a film can have, for me to like it, is heart. Obviously that’s kind of intangible and will mean different things to different people but this film makes it feel tangible - like it is inarguable that this film has heart and so much of it, not a single bit is held back, it’s all right there in the film for everyone to see and feel. Not one moment is forced or unearned and it comes from every single person pouring everything they have into every scene to make something real and great - they do not need to make certain moments feel important or resonant, it all comes so naturally and the love for this film and the characters is so evident and all consuming as a viewer. 

I’ve come to this film in the past when I’ve been struggling or feeling down about things and it works miracles. I think it works on two levels - partly I enjoy the experience of watching it so much that the thing getting me down becomes less significant because I’m reminded that I can just watch this film and that’s enough and that I’ll be able to do that when I need to. Also it reminds me of how much good and how much beauty there is - I’ve been blinded by whatever is bothering me and consuming my mind and this reminds me that something this incredible exists and that things will be good again because there is so much goodness that I will surely find it again. Watching this and listening to Mazzy Star are the only things that have given me this feeling of new found contentment purely through my awareness of their existence. Watching it in my room on my laptop on my own, or watching it tonight with my friends in the cinema - it’s special regardless. 

This narrative is really unmatched - take away Spider-Man elements and it’s one of the best romances ever, and it’s one of the best coming of age films ever. Add the Spidey bits, the set pieces, the incredible villain etc etc and it’s an undisputed masterpiece in whatever context or genre you want to place it. 

Sometimes I’ve seen people say that Kirsten Dunst is the weak point of these films and especially after seeing this, and the first one in cinemas over the past week, I could not disagree more. She’s absolutely incredible and perfect for the role. Also her screams (& every scream in this movie) are amazing. There's such a great understanding of the characters and what makes them and this is one of the many things that sets this trilogy apart from other Spider-Man films to me. So much genuine sacrifice and conflict and guilt and humanity and love and learnings. The scene where Peter and MJ are talking in the back garden perfectly captures that feeling of trying to tell someone something difficult and it feels physically impossible. You can tell yourself you’re going to but when it comes to it, it feels like you can do anything else but that and the way Peter completely butchers this moment is so perfect. You have to force yourself into a position where you have no other option but to tell whoever it is, whatever it is you have to say. And throughout the course of this film Peter manages to create this situation through making hard and courageous decisions which lead him to standing in front of her, maskless, with no other option but to admit his love for her. 

The other narrative arc that stuck out to me on this watch, with reference back to the first film was the contrast in what Aunt May says to Peter to what Green Goblin says in the first. In Spider-Man he says “The one thing they love more than a hero, is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying”. In Aunt May’s speech she says “Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them, cheer them, scream their names. And years later, they'll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them how to hold on a second longer.” Not only is it a great moment of reflection and greater perspective for Peter on the value of being the hero he is (not that he didn’t dismiss Green Goblin’s suggestion in the first film), but it’s an amazing reflection of both the characters and how their own experiences have influenced their perspective on heroism and on Spider-Man. It’s stuff like this that fleshes out the characters so well. You feel like you know Aunt May so well because whilst it is plot development, there’s so much character work carefully woven into every scene, which also adds to the warm feeling I get from this film. Like when Ursala offers Peter some cake - this scene is not needed for the plot and most writers or directors wouldn’t give this the screen time but Raimi (& others) see the value in it and its place in crafting the vibe and the character’s experience. 

Continuing with Aunt May’s speech, this is probably a contender for my favourite movie scene ever but it also sets up a 20 minute period of also maybe my favourite run of scenes ever. From her beautiful and poignant speech, we go to Peter’s “I’m back, I’m back”… “my back, my back…” scene. The score in both of these is absolutely incredible - it’s almost disappointing that Peter doesn’t just fly across the buildings perfectly in this moment because the score is so rousing but the joke is great so I can get on board with it. We then cut to more great dialogue with Peter and MJ and one of the best action slow mos ever with the car flying through the window and Peter realising and saving them both in time. We’ve gone from emotional peak to comedy to action to threat in a matter of moments and none of it feels out of place - it’s a great ride. It doesn’t stop there though, JK Simmons delivers probably his best scene in the trilogy when you see a tiny inch of humility for only a moment before he hilariously snaps back, calling Spider-Man a thief and a criminal and we follow out the window into the best transition shot I’ve seen from Spider-Man swinging through the city into zoom out from Doc Oc’s glasses, revealing it as his perspective. There’s a lot of great transitions in these films but that’s undoubtedly the standout. And finally we go from a great battle atop a sky scraper into the most iconic action sequence where Peter saves the people on the train and is rewarded with the most cathartic adulation and appreciation from the passengers. That run is cinema - so moving, so gripping, so funny, so enthralling and breathless. 

As with the first film, Raimi’s horror routes are so obvious - I think the jump scares are more startling in the first but the hospital scene in this is more iconic. The way they get Doc Oc’s arms to move and the dedication it took to get it to look so good and so real is astounding. There’s not a single moment in this film where things look weird or unnatural and it’s not through lack of ambition with the set pieces - every single one is a spectacle. The way Peter is engulfed by Doc Oc’s arms as they battle, the scale of the fights, the creativity again of the way the camera moves and interacts with the characters and the way the characters move and get themselves out of difficult positions - it’s all so good and engrossing. I have watched this so many times and I was sat up, muscles tense when Doc Oc was on screen as if I didn’t know what was going to happen next. He’s so intimidating and threatening and this comes from the sound also - it’s so loud and so detailed with all the mechanical sound effects. He moves with such weight and gravity that his presence becomes daunting even when he’s not being aggressive in that moment. 

Another element elevated by the cinema is the visuals and specifically the use of orange light. It’s so beautiful - both in Doc Oc’s original demonstration, at the dock near the end and then right at the end when MJ is stood in Peter’s doorway. It stood out to me so much in all these scenes. 

Not a new takeaway but I once again love the Hold On needle drop. It’s so so perfect the way it is used in the film, both lyrically and the tone it sets. When he’s walking past poster after poster of MJ and this is playing, perfectly describing his situation, it’s so internally satisfying. One of many great uses of imagery. I really love this song purely for its use in that scene. The score is once again magical - I always find that one of the most impressive things that often films get perfect is creating a score that works just right for the film it’s made for. Maybe it’s partly retrospective bias and engrained association but I can’t imagine this film without Danny Elfman’s accompaniment. 

I think the ending of the first film is one of its highlights but this is probably just as good. It’s very different and so insanely beautiful, in emotion and visuals. The sun, the birds flying, MJ’s smile. 
“I know you think we can't be together, but can't you respect me enough to let me make my own decision? I know there'll be risks but I want to face them with you. It's wrong that we should be only half alive... half of ourselves. I love you. So here I am - standing in your doorway. I have always been standing in your doorway. Isn't it about time somebody saved your life?”
Genuine perfection, you can’t change a thing to make that better. 

This just is the film for me, I love the way I feel after watching it, the way I think about life - it’s like I want everyone to watch it and then we can talk directly after it cause we’d be on the same page and be feeling the same warmth and hope and care. I do wonder if I love this film because I completely love and relate to what it says and how it depicts things, or if this film is (one of) the reasons I think and feel the way I do about certain things. Like do I want certain things irrespective of this film or has this film told/shown me that is what I want? It’s probably a little bit of both but either way I’m happy cause it feels right.