SPIDER MAN 2 REVIEW

I finally got out to see Spider Man 2 last night. When it came out a few months ago, I had no interest in it. I'd seen the first one and I was underwhelmed. Everyone was talking about the first one like it was Star Wars all over again, but I just didn't feel it. This time, everyone said it was "even better than the first!" and even my brother said, "I know you didn't like the first one, but you've GOTTA see the second one!" With a roll of my eyes I decided to give it a shot.

I gotta say it was pretty damn good! The first one seemed like the director, Sam Raimi, was holding back. There were some Raimi-esque moments, but overall it seemed too restrained. This one had just the right amout of "wink-wink" moments and super-stylized action to be fun but not so many that it became "A Very Brady Spider Man", or worse, "Scooby Doo". There was one scene in particular that reminded me directly of his Evil Dead days, which was nice.

One thing that did "bug" me a little (I'm so sorry) was that every time Tobey Maguire had an emotional closeup (which seemed to be every five minutes), I was instantly reminded of Elijah Wood's eye-popping performance as Frodo in the Lord Of The Rings movies. It was as if they both went to the same School of Eyebrow-Furrowing & Wide-Eyed Goodness.

Nit-picking aside (another bug joke?)*, I highly recommend it. I put it in the top 5 Comic Book Movies ever, along with Superman, Batman, X-Men and Men In Black. Hmm...notice they all have MAN or MEN in the titles? Hm...maybe I just like movies with MEN or MAN in the titles...let's explore this:

Elephant Man: Good!
A Few Good Men: Good!
12 Angry Men: Good!
Mystery Men: Not Bad...
Man on the Moon: Interesting, but not great
Dead Man Walking: Good!
Hollow Man: A whole lotta fun, but not "good"
Rain Man: Good!
The Man With Two Brains: Good!
Demolition Man: (See Hollow Man)
Little Man Tate: Good!
Men (1997): Never saw it
Men (1989): Never saw it
Men (1987): Never saw it
Men (1953): Never saw it
Men (1924): Never saw it
Men (1918): Never saw it
Running Man: not good....not good at all....
Lawnmover Man: Dear lord, it was not good....

OK, there's no need to go on. I'd say there's no corrolation between the word MAN and my appreciation for the film. Thanks for coming, though...bye!



*nit n.
The egg or young of a parasitic insect, such as a louse.
[Middle English, from Old English hnitu.