22 years later, the line that set millions of young viewers’ hearts racing is still as inspiring

Often as important as the quality of the actors who deliver them or the beauty of the settings they’re thrown into, the dialogues are also sometimes true little works of cinema.

Expertly crafted by the best authors, some lines quickly make us laugh, others make us cry, and others make every cell in our body vibrate. To inspire us, to surprise us, to think and sometimes… to grow.

Life lessons from movies

Real little life lessons on the big screen, Gandalf’s tirades in The Lord of the Rings, Yoda’s advice in The Empire Strikes Back, or even the tender words of Forrest Gump’s mother have such power.

In 2002, the excellent first part of the Spider-Man trilogy, directed by Sam Raimi, also featured one such inspiring line.

At the start of the feature film, when Peter Parker has just discovered his new powers and is using them to defend himself against the formidable Flash Thompson in the hallways of his high school, his Uncle Ben decides to talk to him.

Sensing that his nephew is changing radically (though it’s too far to know how much), he insists that he give him some valuable advice before kicking him out of the “library” (Peter is actually going to enter a wrestling tournament).

Uncle Ben’s last tip

Even if the words that Uncle Ben speaks then anger Peter, they will stick deep in him and become a motto that he will use throughout his superhero career.

“Peter, these are the years when a child begins to transform into the person he will be for the rest of his life. You don’t have to turn into someone. This boy, this Flash Thompson, probably deserved what happened to him, but the fact that you can beat him doesn’t Gives you the right to do this. Remember: great responsibility comes.

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

These last words, which undoubtedly resonated with a special resonance in the ears of the teenage audience (at an age when they too had to face disturbing transformations in life) take on an extra dimension a few minutes later when Uncle Ben is tragically killed by a robber.

They immediately return to inspire Peter when the latter decides to use his superpowers to serve his fellow citizens and become Spider-Man.

What is your favorite line from the movie?

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