The bright gem of Spider-Man 2 (Part 2)

I love the film “Spider-Man 2”.  Last time, I began detailing why.  Let’s get right back to it.

Compassionate Speech

Peter is as lost as ever.  He has tried to shirk his responsibilities as Spider-Man, but he still wants to protect others.  He gets the help he needs in one of my favorite scenes of the film.  Aunt May is moving.  And she, along with a boy named Henry, are working hard at organizing everything and putting them into boxes.  Henry brings up Spider-Man, and Aunt May chimes in on his absence of his picture in the papers.  The subject then turns to Henry himself, and how he actually wants to be Spider-Man one day.  When Peter asks why, his aunt replies with a touching speech:

“Lord knows kids like Henry need a hero.  Courageous, self-sacrificing people, setting examples for all of us.  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 to hold on a second longer.  I believe there’s a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride.  Even though sometimes, we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most, even our dreams.  Spider-Man did that for Henry, and he wondered where’s he’s gone.  He needs him.”

These words inspire Peter to choose the hard life of Spider-Man again.  This is the moment he chose Spider-Man in his heart and soul.

Complete Surprise

One of the more intriguing aspects of “Spider-Man 2” is the Peter and Mary Jane relationship.  The ‘will they/won’t they’ storyline is something I find quite fascinating.  Remember it was Peter’s decision to protect MJ from his dangerous life that drove her into the arms of John Jameson in the first place; when she accepted John’s hand in marriage, Peter’s future with MJ looked very bleak.  But, at this point in the film, some dramatic surprises regarding her relationship with Peter begin to occur.  First off, Peter is surprised when MJ contacts him and asks him meet her in a local café.

Mary Jane had previously realized that maybe she didn’t really love John Jameson, and her heart lies elsewhere.  Thus, the surprise invitation.  At the café, there was another surprise: she boldly asks Peter if he loves her.  In another desperate attempt to protect her, Peter lies, and says he doesn’t.  Undeterred, she asks Peter to kiss her, because she “needs to know something.”  But Doctor Octopus appears, (after Peter, in a dazzling cinematic moment, saves them both from a car Ock had tossed at them).  Doc Ock demands that Peter find Spider-Man, and he kidnaps Mary Jane for good measure.  This sets the stage for more surprises in the next act of the film.

Crazy good sequence

After Peter takes back his Spider-Man suit that his boss, J. Jonah Jameson, had displayed on the wall in his office, he immediately goes after Ock.  Their fight ends up landing them both on a train.  I could go on and on with the breathtaking moments that occur in the entire marvelous scene, but I want to focus on Doctor Octopus’ speeding up the train, and cutting the brakes, forcing Spider-Man to stop it before the train falls off the unfinished bridge.  There’s a you tube video where someone details this entire train scene; he comments:

“This decision may seem out of place, but when you think about it, it’s actually a brilliant move on Octavius’ part.  He’s fully confident that Spider-Man will stop this train.  After all, he has a deal with Harry Osborn to trade Spider-Man for the fusion material.  He has no reason to kill Spider-Man at this point; meaning, it’s all done to tire him out as much as possible, since he knows he’ll always find a way to keep chasing him.  No better way to tire a superhero than forcing them into a life and death scenario.”

Ultimately, he does stop the train, inches before everyone would have fallen off the unfinished tracks.  But Peter is so exhausted that he has no strength left; he loses consciousness, and would have actually fallen to his death, had the passengers of the train not caught him.  This same you tube video continues: “In “Spider-Man 2”, the scene is executed gracefully by having the passengers pull Peter up into the train, in a Christ-like manner.”  Then Ock returns, easily subdues Spider-Man, and takes him to Harry Osborn.

(Source: “Spider-Man 2: The beauty of the train scene” by Core Ideas - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4_mJiROoQo)

In conclusion, great superhero films inspire, and this film inspires me.  Many lessons to draw out, but let me focus on just one today.  This movie teaches me that even if I’m down, I don’t have to be out.  I can get up and keep fighting the good fight.  Peter picks up the mantle of Spider-Man again, knowing the cost of doing so.  

To be continued!

Kevin

Spider-Man 2: The brightest gem of a superhero film (Part 1)

The 2004 movie “Spider-Man 2” is a film that is close to my heart.  When I decided to undertake the project of articulating why I love it, I quickly realized that I could go on and on.  I will try to cover it all in 2 parts, but to adequately capture it, it may actually be 3.  To begin, I’m going to present this in sections, each beginning with the same letters.  First off, we need to think about the context.  Or what I’m going to call…

Continuing Story

At the very end of 2002’s “Spider-Man” Peter left Mary Jane in tears, not to mention broke his own heart.  He chose to not reciprocate the feelings MJ had declared she had for him.  The film ends with Peter choosing responsibility over heart.  It’s a noble, inspiring end to the film, for sure.  But what are the ramifications of Peter’s decision?  “Spider-Man 2” gives us the answer.

Consistent Suffering

Act one of the film shows that nothing is going right in Peter’s life.  He is so strapped for cash that he takes a second job as a pizza deliveryman, which he loses because he was late (again) in delivering it.  Why?  Because he was saving lives as Spider-Man.  His grades are slipping; he is late to classes.  Why?  Because of his duties as Spider-Man.  His relationship with Mary Jane deteriorates from her longing glances at him in the beginning of the film, to her referring to him as “a great big jerk” towards the end.  Why?  Because he was stopping crime as Spider-Man, which caused him to be late to MJ’s play.  Peter’s life is falling apart, because of Spider-Man.

Compelling Super-villain

“Spider-Man 2” has an intriguing, menacing villain.  Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus is a formidable foe.  But when we first meet him, he is Otto Octavius.  He just wants to benefit mankind by realizing his dream of creating renewable, sustainable, energy.  Otto quickly befriends Peter.  Both he, his wife Rosie, and Peter chat at length the night before Otto’s big demonstration.  Ultimately, his experiment fails; four mechanical arms are welded to his body.  Quickly it becomes apparent that Doctor Octopus, or Doc Ock, is a physical threat.  Director Sam Raimi does a great job of capturing this when the camera literally shakes as Doc Ock is off-screen, but approaching.

Complex Situation

Another fascinating aspect of “Spider-Man 2” is the storyline when Peter begins to lose his spider powers.  When I was younger, I didn’t understand why this was happening, but I get it now.  This was a case of “mind over matter.”  There are buried emotions at work here, manifesting in the loss of his powers.  Primarily he is heartsick over a sad development regarding Mary Jane; and it’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back.  But let me back up.

There’s a vitally important scene where Peter is devastated to learn that Mary Jane had accepted John Jameson’s marriage proposal.  In the next scene, Spidey goes from web slinging, to losing his powers yet again.  Further, in that previous scene, where Peter are Otto are chatting the night before the experiment, Otto had stated that love should never be kept a secret.  “If you keep something as complicated as love inside,” he continued, “It’ll make you sick.”  Also when Peter goes to a doctor to see what’s wrong with him, the doctor flat-out tells him he is fine; it is all in his mind.  He asks if Peter had gone through heartbreak or bad dreams.  Peter focuses on the bad dreams example, but it’s heartbreak.

Cinematic Shock

Peter states that he is Spider-Man “in his dreams”, but he keeps losing his powers and falling off a wall.  The well-meaning doctor suggests that maybe he doesn’t need to be Spider-Man.  “You always have a choice, Peter,” the doctor says.  Those words lead to Peter having a chat with Uncle Ben in a daydream of sorts.  He tells Ben that he wants a life of his own.   And he resolutely declares, “I’m Spider-Man no more.”  He throws his Spidey suit into a trash can.  I’ve called this cinematic shock because very rarely do you see this decision made by the protagonist in a superhero film.

In conclusion, someone is wondering: what’s the relevance of digging into “Spiderman 2” in 2022?  Quite a lot.  First, while I dislike the phrase “no good deed goes unpunished”, it seems to fit Peter in this movie.  Whatever good he does just results in him getting kicked in the teeth.  Can’t we all relate to this on some level?  I know I can.  Secondly, I’m leaving this on a bit of a cliffhanger, but obviously there’s more to come.  And I submit that Peter’s example in this film inspires me, even to this very day.  He teaches us that the cost for doing the right thing is high – perhaps higher than ever before – but it’s still so worth it.

To be continued!

Kevin

Harpooned

Rob Petrie, in a particularly riveting episode of the iconic program “The Dick Van Dyke show” began receiving a barrage of insults from others after not being as proficient in self-defense as his wife.  I could go on and on about this episode, but for today, my point is Rob eventually likens the emotional damage he feels from the words as “another harpoon” (if you’re interested, I’m referencing an episode titled “My mother can beat up my father”).  I’ve began using that analogy because it’s a vivid word picture.

Candidly, I’ve been at the receiving end of unkind words from others in recent days.  I have been hurt unexpectedly; to use Rob’s word, I’ve been harpooned.  And this has happened on more than one occasion.  I don’t think it would be all that helpful to describe these episodes in detail.  Suffice to say, they made me angry; actually, that’s not strong enough: they made my blood boil.  But if you live on this planet, you’ll be hurt by others.  It’s inevitable.  Therefore, if that’s true, what is the remedy for this?  The remedy, in a word, is forgiveness.  I’m not saying it’s an easy remedy; in fact, forgiveness seems like the last thing we should do, but I can tell you from firsthand experience the only way to heal is to forgive.

Recently, I had this thought: if someone were to ask me to present one last blog installment, and then retire from writing them altogether, what would my last, all-important blog be about?  Of course, I would have great difficulty with such a task.  Perhaps I would condense it into a bullet point format or something.  But, without a doubt, somewhere in that blog I would state this: if you and I want to live a life of happiness and peace, we must choose to forgive when others hurt us.  I’ve experienced the power of forgiveness, and I thank God for it.  Without it, I don’t know where I would be. 

In Matthew 6, Jesus gives His disciples a sample prayer, commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer”, He gives these words: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (verse 12; NKJV).  I’ve heard this prayer recited in groups, and sometimes the phrase is “forgive us our transgressions, as we forgive those who transgress against us.”  I like that rendering too.  Further, in Matthew 18, Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother.  Up to seven times?  Peter had to be surprised when Jesus answered, “seventy times seven” (verse 22).  Essentially, what Jesus was saying is there’s no limit; keep on forgiving.    

Ephesians 4:30 states to not “grieve the Holy Spirit of God”, and the next verse admonishes, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you.”  Well, okay, how does one get rid of all of these things?  Verse 32 of Ephesians 4: “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”  That last phrase is very important.  When I consider the massive debt of sin that I accrued, and how Jesus paid off that debt with His blood, I’m inspired to turn around and forgive others with the same mercy that I’ve been given by God.

In conclusion, forgiveness is powerful, but it can be misunderstood.  So let me hit and run on a few instances to clarify.  This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, but it’s a start.  First off, “forgive and forget” is not found in the Bible.  I can choose to forgive, but I may never actually forget.  Secondly, forgiving yourself is vitally important.  Since God forgave me, I can choose to forgive myself too.  Thirdly, forgiveness isn’t dependent on the other person apologizing.  They may never apologize.  Reconciliation may not occur.  So be it.

Furthermore, forgiving someone doesn’t imply that you are now okay with what they did; it means you are letting God be the judge of the situation.  Fifthly, forgiveness doesn’t mean you are a doormat who stays in a bad situation.  Similarly, forgiveness doesn’t suggest you now trust the person; trust has to be earned.  Sixthly and finally, forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling.  You may not feel like you’ve forgiven, but your emotions will eventually catch up to the decision of your will.

Kevin

Coming soon in September

Back in July, I composed a blog that was basically just a teaser of blogs I was going to write later on that month.  I’ve decided to do that again today.  One of the reasons I wrote in that way then is the same reason I am doing so now: I was tired.  I had no energy other than to just give a preview.  Plus, writing in this way also gets it out of my head (the plight of someone who loves to write; it floats around in the brain).  So here I am.

First of all, not long ago, I was going to present a collection of blogs.  Initially, I was actually going to have it be a trilogy; then it soon became apparent that a 4th blog was necessary.  While I’ve already revised the trilogy angle, the subject matter is an important one. 

I was going to begin it with this question: if I had the opportunity to convey just one thing to you, before retiring from writing, what would it be?  Understand that would be impossible for me.  And if I were asked such a question, I would probably be like being the person who, upon finding a genie, wished for more than 3 wishes; in other words, I would ask for several blogs, not just one.  But even still, you get the point.  This is an extremely important subject matter that would certainly make my list, if I were asked to give just one last blog. 

Further, as I was preparing all of this in my head, a few noteworthy episodes in my life occurred; as matter of fact, one of them was as recent as today.  It became a confirmation of sorts that God was saying I need to go down this road.  I know, without any context, you can’t really resonate. But maybe it serves as an effective teaser for what I hope to present soon.

Secondly, and in conclusion for today, after I finally get all that presented, I would love to write on something that is long overdue.  I’ve repeatedly stated that 2004’s “Spider-Man 2” is the best superhero film ever made.  But in 11 years of this blog, I’ve never composed why I believe this.  Therefore, after singing the praises of 2002’s “Spider-Man” back in July; as well as the considerable space I’ve given to 2007’s “Spider-Man 3” over the years; and even a few blogs devoted to the Maguire-led “Spider-Man 4” (I am hoping on that film happening one day).  After all of that, an exploration on “Spider-Man 2” seems very much in order.  And, once again, long overdue.

To be continued!

Kevin