Before moving on to the exciting conclusion of “Spider-Man 2”, I want to rewind a little bit and flesh out something.
Christ-like
Similarities
Christ-like similarities or allusions are nothing new in
superhero films. Consider, for example,
when Superman is stabbed in the side with a kryptonite dagger in the film “Superman Returns”, as Jesus’ was on the
cross. Or when Batman takes the sins of
Harvey Dent upon himself in the final scene of “The Dark Knight”; Gordon’s son comments that Batman did nothing
wrong, ultimately pointing us to Jesus. There’s
a Christ allusion in “Spider-Man 2”
as well:
As Spider-Man shoots numerous webbing lines on both sides
of the train, he proceeds to use every drop of his strength to grasp the
webbing, and stop the train. He does
this with arms outstretched, like Jesus on the cross. Spidey is so spent, he loses consciousness. The passengers pull the spent hero inside the
train; this is a tender picture of Jesus’ body being taken off the cross. The body of Spider-Man is so unresponsive one
passenger asks another, “Is he alive?”
Complete
Surprise (Part 2)
As they had previously arranged, Ock brings a captured
Spider-Man to Harry Osborn, in exchange Harry would give Ock all the Tritium
fuel to complete his fusion reactor. In
yet another riveting scene, Harry Osborn looms over a subdued Spider-Man, with
a knife in hand. He decides to take off
his mask so he can look into his eyes.
The look of shock on Harry’s face, when he sees his best friend Peter
Parker looking back at him, is priceless. Surprisingly, Peter convinces Harry to reveal
where Ock is keeping MJ, so he can save her, and stop Ock once and for all. Because Octavius’ fusion reaction project
failed before and it will fail again.
Collaborative
Shift
Octavius’ calculations were wrong. That’s why his fusion reactor didn’t work
before; and so unsurprisingly, when he fired it up the reactor – that was much
larger than before – it began to suck magnetic objects into it, endangering
many lives. But Spider-Man arrived to
stop Ock. The way he stopped him is
remarkable. He stopped using his fists
and began using his head; he took off his mask and began to appeal to Octavius
as a man. He pointed out that the four
mechanical arms had turned him into something he isn’t, and he needed to stop
listening to them.
Ock points out that sustainable energy for mankind was his
dream. “Sometimes to do what’s right, we
have to be steady,” Peter replied. “And give
up the thing we want the most, even our dreams.” These words were essentially what Aunt May
had said to him. Amazingly, Octavius
agrees with Peter, and regains control over the arms. He proceeds to volunteer to drown the fusion
reactor in the river, sacrificing himself in the process, but saving the day. I’m always in tears when I see this noble
sacrifice. As he destroys his life’s
work and his dream, Octavius says, “I will not die a monster.” As I see it, he died a hero, not a monster.
Celebrated
Shock
As Octavius sacrifices himself, it is revealed that MJ –
who Peter thought had run to safety when he saved her – saw that Peter was
Spider-Man. The two lock eyes. The look on MJ’s face, the accompanied music,
what I’m calling the celebrated shock,
is pure gold. I’m tearing up just describing
it here. Very early in the movie, MJ had
called Peter a mystery, but now the mystery was solved. Suddenly, a huge wall began falling, about to
crush MJ, but Peter saves her. He confesses
that, the structure is “really heavy” and in case they both die, he wanted to
set the record straight: he does love her, even though he had said he didn’t. He manages to rescue them, and the two escape
to safety.
Concluding
Scenes
Peter chose to sacrifice his own dream of being with MJ. He had explained to her that now that she
knew the truth of his superhero life, she knew why they couldn’t be
together. Mary Jane was to go ahead and
marry John Jameson after all. But she couldn’t
go through with it. She ran to Peter’s
apartment, in her wedding dress, and said that she was making the choice to
face the danger of Peter’s life.
She wanted to be with him. The
tension is whether Peter will finally reciprocate this time. His line “thank you, Mary Jane Watson”
solidifies the happy ending. The two
kiss, until police sirens blare; she encourages, “Go get them, Tiger.” He web-swings to the danger, and this amazing
film’s credits roll.
In conclusion, I’ve presented numerous reasons why I love “Spider-Man 2” and
there’s even more I could have said! Some
takeaways for today: I find it refreshing that a movie proclaimed that you can’t
always go after your dreams, if in the process of doing so, you lose yourself. Octavius teaches that it’s never too late to stop on the wrong path and begin doing the right thing. And Peter and MJ’s happy ending shows that
the saying is wrong: nice guys don’t always finish last.
Kevin
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