Is He Strong? Listen Bud...
I wanted to absolutely love Spider-Man 2. I honestly did. The previews were amazing, almost a mini movie in themselves. The reviews I read were glowing after glowing, with even the negative reviews exclaiming enjoyment. Rotten Tomatoes had one of the highest ratings of the year, coming in at 95% fresh, with out of 140 reviews, only 7 being negative. Maybe my expectations were just a little high.
I left the theater last night perplexed. Was I a bad geek? Have I become so jaded by the movie-going experience that if I don't see perfection out of one of my most loved properties, it's a failure?
I've been reading Spider-Man comics for over 12 years now. I started with Red Robin: The Sidekick's Revenge. I was there for Carnage. I was there for the return of Peter's parents. I was there for the razzum-frazzum Clone Saga. My Spider collection is only second to my X-book run. The guy is in my bones.
So when I say I only "really liked" the movie, you can probably sense my disappointment. For a movie that was supposed to be the culmination of the last few years of the comic book adaptations, it let me down. And for the life of me, I don't know why.
There are so many great things here. The acting is top notch, and these actors looked much more comfortable in their roles. There isn't one role I would knock. I was particularly impressed by the supporting roles of Rosemary "Aunt May" Harris and James "Harry Osborn" Franco.
The special effects are flawless in my opinion. My roommate didn't think so, but that's a pet peeve he has with nearly all films. The web-swinging scenes are fluid and have a dimension as-yet-unseen before. The Doc Ock origin scene is literally breathtaking (I had o inhale deeply once it was over), I was enthralled the entire time, and the fight scene on the train... man, probably my favorite fight scene since Superman vs. General Zod.
The script isn't too shabby either. Sure, some of the dialogue is cheesy and a bit flowery, but for any comic book fans, it's expected. And you have to have huge soliloquies sometimes... this is epic drama at it's best. If I have a problem with the script, it's the lack of humor attributed to Spider-Man. Spider-Man is one of the funniest characters in comic-book history, and his one-liners during a fight are legendary, but here, they are extremely lacking.
If I had to place blame on my disappointment, I must sadly lay the blame at one of my favorite people: director Sam Raimi. It's a fact this movie drags on occasion. Clocking in at about 2 hours, I think perfection could have been achieved by cutting 20-25 minutes of useless scenes. In particular? Every scene with the landlord's daughter, Ursula Ditcovich (the geeky blond from Joan of Arcadia) probably the most useless character in a comic book film ever. I was also let down by the John Jameson character. At the end, I was just hoping he'd explode into full-on werewolf glory (for those not in the know, John becomes Man-Wolf after exposure to a moon rock). Why these characters were given spotlight, while real highlights like Robbie Robertson, Betty Brant, and Doc Connors get the short stick is beyond me.
Another problem Sam has, and others may like it, is that he allows the camera to linger on background characters too much. The camera catches many people just gawking at the camera... half the time I think they're probably just friends of Sam who he decided to put in the movie.
Anyway, there's more I can discuss, but I'll leave it be for now. I'll be seeing it again, because honestly, it is a fun movie, but I was expecting it to be... well, Amazing. 3 and half out of 5 Stars
posted by Holz |
9:49 AM |
Rant & Rave, Bitches! (0)
Watching: Lost, Heroes, 24, Criminal Minds Listening: Brobdingnagian Bards Reading: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Playing: Final Fantasy XII Eating: Healthy...er Doing: Running... hopefully Wishing:
Comic Quote of the Week
"It's trying to end the suffering of everything. Do you want to discuss our options? Maybe together we can, you know, workshop?"
"Okay, best way to stop a ten-story godlike monster from destroying existence? I'm gonna go with hitting, you have anything?"
"You took mine."
Wesley and Angel, Angel: After The Fall #15
Who Am I?
Name: Holz Home: Sonoma County, California About Me: I'm a comfortador. See my complete profile
AKA: Ozymandias, DrOzymandias, Darth Angelus, Darque Feonix, Trip McNeely Kicking ass for: 29 years Job: UWing Systems Design Specialist Walking Theme: Believe It Or Not by Joey Scarbury Most watched movie: The Princess Bride Most read book: The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King
"Let a man get away with fuckin' you once, you stay bent over so's he can fuck you again whenever he damn well pleases. An' if one man can do it? Another will too. An' another, an' another still. So's being fucked, that's yer life. 'Til who you were, you ain't. 'Cause all you are is an asshole." 100 Bullets #42
