It has been 15 years since Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 was released in theaters, but it has not aged poorly. In fact, it still holds up today as one of the best superhero movies ever made. Peter Parker's character arc in this installment of the Spider-Man franchise is better than ever as his subconscious desire to stop being Spider-Man takes him on what can only be described as an emotional rollercoaster. And once again, this story is very much about Parker's desire to be with Mary Jane, even though he rejected her at the conclusion of Raimi's first Spider-Man movie from two years prior.

One big feature of Spider-Man 2 is the presence of a villain that exceeds the villain of the previous movie in almost every way. Alfred Molina steals the show as Doctor Octavius, or Doc Ock for short, a power-hungry scientist who tries to harness an element named Tridium so he can have "the power of the sun in the palm of his hand." In order to harness the element, however, he builds mechanical arms with artificial intelligence, but things go awry, of course, and he succumbs to the will of these arms when a chip that allows him to maintain control breaks. Octavius' evil motivations are combined from both his own mind and the will of his mechanical arms, so unlike Green Goblin in the previous installment, he is not a villain who goes mad due to insanity being a side effect of a drug. Doc Ock is more well-developed as an antagonist.

Another subplot in the film focuses on Harry Osborn becoming obsessed with longing for Spider-Man's death for the "murder" of his father, Norman. While this subplot ultimately makes sense (most people would seek justice for murder) it does not take up a whole lot of screen time, and it seems to be rather repetitive. It is almost as if every time we see Harry on-screen, he is in the same petty mood as before, drowning his sorrows for the loss of his father, but with nothing new to say each time he appears. Franco's acting chops are good in a scene when he confronts Peter at a banquet while he is clearly intoxicated, but the entire subplot could have been handled better to make Harry's hatred more genuine.

The best movies demand a strong character arc from their protagonists, and this movie does just that. Though it might seem repetitive if thinking about the first Spider-Man movie while watching this one, a lot of the story revolves around Parker struggling to be with Mary Jane, but this time around it is because he has too much responsibility as he balances being Spider-Man, going to school, and trying to find work. This is definitely the most emotional Spider-Man movie to date. His losing his abilities as Spider-Man is a subconscious warning to him that being a hero may no longer be in the cards for Peter Parker. He also struggles to be honest with his Aunt May in this movie, and this leads up to one of the best moments in the history of Spider-Man cinema.

With a brilliant character arc for Peter Parker, good subplots, and a much greater villain than its predecessor, Spider-Man 2 still shines as a brilliant superhero movie 15 years later.

9/10