bonus: ‘spiderman: the peril of doc ock’ in legos!
Overview
amazing. so fucking cool. unbelievably awesome. see it immediately.
for once, the critics are right…the second is so much better than the first. which is not to say, of course, that the first one wasn’t good. because it was – ‘spiderman 2’ is just SO GOOD. this is a fully fleshed out movie with deeper characters, a more exciting plot and great b-storylines. AND, lots of fun sam raimi camera stunts.
Cast
tobey maguire was great, and pretty heartbreaking at times as peter parker finds himself losing his powers and his life is falling apart. he also gets a chance to make a lot of ARRRRRRRRHHHH!!! faces. his scenes with kirsten dunst are touching and very genuine.
alfred molina is pretty good, james franco does a great job turning poor little rich boy harry osborn into a falling-down drunk who at the end of the movie, yes, actually completely loses his mind, leaving no doubt that the franchise will continue.
bruce campbell was, of course, brilliant as the ‘snooty usher.’
Tech
all in all, the flying-through-the-city sequences were much more realistic and cool looking. the fights were bigger and better – all of the visual effects and aspects of the production have improved.
probably the biggest improvement (besides a really great script this time that actually let’s the actors, uh…act) was the inclusion of so many of the great camera tricks and angles that made sam raimi famous and the humor that was allowed into the film. it wasn’t so deadly serious this time – see ‘rain drops keep falling on my head’ sequence.
story story story. this movie has an actual plot that you care about and several story arcs that keep ‘spiderman 2’ from getting slow or boring. i would imagine that michael chabon has a lot to do with the better screenplay, but i don’t want to leave the other writers and contributors who all have managed to turn out a really compelling script. for a big-budget comic book movie this is a great feat indeed.
In summary…
i’m sort of having a hard time coming up with things to say about ‘spiderman 2’ – i am still feeling the afterglow of a Great Movie-Going Experience (and spent from writing that ‘riddick’ review), so all i can really say is that you should go see this movie and experience it for yourself. you won’t be disappointed, especially by the last line of the film (i think it’s the last line…you’ll know what i mean when you hear it).