Every Sony Marvel movie ranked from worst to best
By Wesley Bell
7. Spider-Man 2
After being Spider-Man for around two years, Peter finds it increasingly difficult to maintain his personal life, spending less time with Harry and Mary Jane. Doctor Otto Octavius, a scientist sponsored by Oscorp, now led by Harry, creates a reactor capable of achieving fusion. After a lab accident, the artificial intelligence-powered tentacles he constructed to assist him in his lab begin to take over his mind, forcing him to complete the experiment.
Octavius begins robbing banks to fund his work, catching the attention of Spider-Man. After getting into a fight with Harry and finding out that Mary Jane is engaged, Peter begins losing his powers. Learning it’s due to stress, he decides to retire from being the hero before being convinced to return to it after a conversation with May. Still needing a reactor piece, Otto turns to Harry, who blames Spider-Man for his father’s death and agrees to give Octavius the component he needs to complete the machine in exchange for Spider-Man, pointing him in Peter’s direction, who he thinks is friends with the hero.
Octavius goes to Peter and tells him to find Spider-Man, and Mary Jane once again gets captured. After an intense battle between Doc Ock and Spider-Man, Peter is captured and brought to Harry, who discovers he’s Spider-Man for the first time. Peter gets Harry to tell him where Octavius is, who now has everything to complete the machine at risk of destroying the city. While Peter can’t shut off the device himself, he successfully manages to get through to Octavius by revealing his identity. Otto collapses the building, submerging the reactor underwater and sacrificing himself.
Spider-Man 2 is considered the best of the Raimi films, heavily borrowing from the “Spider-Man No More” story from the comics that sees Peter give up the Spider-Man identity. The film has some great action sequences, including the iconic train fight that gets referenced constantly across Spider-Man-related media. Raimi’s horror background is utilized the most in this film, especially in the scene where Otto’s arms slaughter the nurses and doctors operating on him.
The worst thing that can be said about the movie is that it’s a bit cliche. The story beats it hits are no longer as fresh as they once were, making it a little tedious on rewatches. While some things feel like a rehash from the first film, like Mary Jane once again being put in danger and the villain being another not in control of their mind, it still manages to be a worthy successor to the original.