Anyone else think Spider-Man 2 is the best Marvel movie?

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

The more I read this thread, the more I get the urge to revisit Horner's Amazing Spider-Man. 

I remember tearing up when I first heard that score (I think it was the opening track). I'm a fool. But it's gleefully tied with Elfman's Batman Returns as my kind of superhero music.

There's nothing really wrong with Elfman's Spider-Man of course, Horner just makes my heart sing more.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Horner's score is fantastic.

 

As a film, the original Raimi Spider-Man is tied with its sequel and The Dark Knight as most iconic superhero films of the 2000s.

All the other guff is just trying to recapture the magic of those 3 films.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is better.

[Chen G. 3,940]

1 hour ago, gkgyver said:

the original Raimi Spider-Man

 

I'm not the biggest fan of that one.

 

The second one's great, though.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Mary Jane always killed those movies for me. More specifically, the romance writing sucks.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Go get 'em, Tiger.

[gkgyver 1,645]

1 hour ago, Chen G. said:

 

I'm not the biggest fan of that one.

 

The second one's great, though.

 

If I'm not mistaken, it was the very first proper movie adaption of Spider-Man ever (those hokey 70 movies aside), and its genius isn't in staying as close to the comic books as possible, but in taking what's the essence of Spider-Man, making it accessible to all audiences, bringing it to the 21st century, and treating it as a proper story of real people with fantasy elements, instead of treating it as an outlandish comic book movie, making comic book movies socially relevant and accepted among non-comic book lovers, prompting the era of superhero movies.

 

Its genius is in its deceptive simplicity.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Mary Jane is not a real people.

Gwen Stacy was, bless her heart.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

1 hour ago, kaseykockroach said:

Mary Jane always killed those movies for me. More specifically, the romance writing sucks.

 

As a kid, I identified with Peter after Mary Jane, but looking at it as an adult, holy smokes, Mary Jane is a jerk! I do like most of the scenes they have together in the second one, but the ending where she stands up her fiance at their wedding does not hold up for me.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Peter is just as intensely unlikable, if not worse.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Raimi's Trilogy would have been on par with Nolan's Batman trilogy, had he not lost his mind with part 3.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

It's a shame the sequel's a load of hooey, as I prefer Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man to any of the other adaptation attempts, at least characterization and music-wise.

[Trent B 337]

I agree Mary Jane wasn't the right character for the Maguire movies as Peter's love interest.  Everyone that was / is a 80s/90s kid from the animated TV series knew that Gwen was Peter's first love.  They got that right in the Amazing Spider-Man films.

[Chen G. 3,940]

2 minutes ago, Trent B said:

Everyone that was / is a 80s/90s kid from the animated TV series knew that Gwen was Peter's first love. 

 

That's just what @gkgyver was talking about in terms of source material. 

 

Its just an unpopular high-school student with a crush who lives a secret life as a hero with spider-related powers fighting super villains? Great.

 

Everything else about it - screw the source material. What matters is that the film works.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

2 hours ago, gkgyver said:

 

If I'm not mistaken, it was the very first proper movie adaption of Spider-Man ever (those hokey 70 movies aside), and its genius isn't in staying as close to the comic books as possible, but in taking what's the essence of Spider-Man, making it accessible to all audiences, bringing it to the 21st century, and treating it as a proper story of real people with fantasy elements, instead of treating it as an outlandish comic book movie, making comic book movies socially relevant and accepted among non-comic book lovers, prompting the era of superhero movies.

 

Its genius is in its deceptive simplicity.

Agree, although it's not that outstanding as you describe it. The flow of the movie is constantly interrupted by action scenes that don't fit into the narrative. They don't belong there, where they are and damage the pace.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Drag Me to Hell is!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,488]

17 hours ago, Trent B said:

  Spider-Man 3 could have been good but having two vilians and a sub par plot hurt the movie.

 

That film had a plot? Geez, wha'd'ya know?

[MedigoScan 324]

23 hours ago, gkgyver said:

That suite is the musical equivalent of a parody. The only one not in on the joke is the composer.

 

Meanwhile AMS2 is the spiderman score I have given the most relistens (though its helped by the sessions)

One of the worst spidermen movies tho

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Who cares about those failed crappy movies.

 

I can't be the only one who loves Peter and MJ. Kirsten was great. And polished fingernails in the underrated fun third movie was alright. Love how it makes MJ jealous and drives trash Brock insane.

[Tallguy 3,359]

I never liked 2.  And I loved 1.  Might have been an expectations thing.

 

Horner's Amazing is, well, Amazing.  I'm glad we got Homecoming, but I liked Garfield a lot.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Horner's score is literally the only good thing about The Amazing Spider-Man

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

But Glen Stacy is cute!...wait, is it Glen or Gwen? Or Glenda?

[karelm 2,901]

On 6/14/2018 at 8:13 PM, Trent B said:

Spider-Man 2 is definitely the best of the Maguire films.  Spider-Man 3 could have been good but having two vilians and a sub par plot hurt the movie.  At least though in my opinion Christopher Young delivered the best score of the three movies.

Right on, man,...right on.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

I haven't listened to Christopher Young's score for the third one, is it better than the replacement cues he did for the second one?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It's alright.

[Arpy 4,145]

MJ's appeal was that she was the hot girl-next-door type that was the opposite of Peter.

 

Gwen was the best of both worlds, both intelligent and beautiful, but their relationship never seemed as potent as between Peter and MJ, in the films at least.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Everything okay here, Paul?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

So I watched Spider-Man 2 again. No surprise there.

 

I love Peter and MJ. So many lovely scenes such as the backyard meeting, "If my enemies found out about you" on the payphone, "Punch me, I bleed", the entire riveting finale. I love them!

 

Those Aunt May scenes! Just that bit where she wants him to take the $20 bill for his birthday nearly makes me choke up. Real stuff.

 

Speaking of choking up, I'm always so devastated and moved when Peter saves the little girl from the burning building and learns someone didn't make it out. Then he's just contemplating his life and what he's supposed to do. "Am I not supposed to have what I want? What I need? What am I supposed to do?"

 

I don't eat chocolate cake because it's fattening and I don't drink milk because it's animal product, but this movie is like a big delicious piece of chocolate cake and a glass of milk for my soul. I love it.

[Arpy 4,145]

I've often seen people criticize Tobey Maguire for not being a good fit for the role, but I think Raimi and the writers found a way to work with Maguire's sensibilities which I always found to be more authentic and charming than someone just putting on a performance of a dorky kid. It's like a shyness or a figment of social anxiety that I think Maguire picked up on which made his character more believable and relatable. Perhaps that's because of his age compared to the other Spider-Men who were High School/college aged.

 

Another thing I love about the film is it gives such a satisfying rush of energy and heroism with Peter going through his period of self-doubt and then to see him come back around and become the hero is exhilarating. It takes the hero to a low point, strips him of powers, his friends are thrown into perilous situations and then, upon more self-reflection and the realization that he is the only one who can save his friends, he rises to the challenge and becomes the hero - and it's unexpected for him, he goes to rush off to save MJ and then notices he doesn't need his glasses anymore, and he was acting out of instinct and altruism - it's what makes these films great.

 

 

Also, even though it was released in 2004, like the first film, this film looks like it could've been set in the 90's or 80's, it's strange.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Much of the subtext of Spider-Man 2 is about male impotence.

[bollemanneke 3,334]

No, S2 is mediocre at best.

[Arpy 4,145]

No, you're gay.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

People were saying it was one of the best superhero movies when it was released, which wasn't that long ago. Now, it seems like everyone has turned against it similar to what happened with the Tim Burton Batman after those Nolan borefests came out. I think they're just unable to accept that the Spider-Man trilogy has outsold most of the MCU and Peter Parker isn't the same version from that continuity.

[John 2,032]

I like them for the memes. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Disney Marvel has saturated the market with its "Universe" brand so well, its online army of disciples are on-call to trash any earlier incarnations of its own properties like Spider-Man. To these people, the Raimi films are "non-canon" and are therefore disposable and ephemeral. All that matters now is pushing the current version of the brand.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Guess he wasn't too popular at the end, huh?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

What's it look like we're doing here? Why don't you let us work? We let you work.

Wasn't he also Vigo the Butch?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The phone lines are over there! What did I say? How many times?!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Bet those science chicks really dig that large cranium of yours.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

"I want to tell you the truth. Here it is. I'm Spider-Man. Weird, huh? Now you know why I can't be with you. If my enemies found out about you. If you got hurt, I could never forgive myself. I wish I could tell you how I feel about you."

 

This is so lovely. Anyone else think Peter/MJ are one of the best power couples?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Second only to Anakin/Padme and Mulder/Scully.