SpiderMan, SpiderMan - the movie, part 2:)

[mrdreamjeans]

Dad finally felt well enough to leave the house this afternoon and so we went to the local theatre to see SpiderMan II. Afterward, I took my folks to dinner at K-Bobs Steakhouse and we're back home now debating whether to brave the 90+ degree-heat and 96% humidity to view the fireworks at dusk at Washington-on-the-Brazos.

I vote for watching fireworks on television in the comfort of my home, as I get irritated by crowds, kids running around setting off firecrackers and celebrations that center around drinking. Sweating with strangers is not always good:)

I enjoyed SpiderMan II; it wasn't as wonderful as I expected, but I realize I'm going to be in the minority. I thought the execution of certain elements of the film was the best I had ever seen, but I found small lapses in the script where you had to have seen the first film to understand what was going on or to understand the motivation of this film's characters. I kept having to explain who people were to my parents who hadn't seen the first movie.

I loved Doc Ock and found Alfred Molina's character to be the best multi-dimensional villain of all time. Molina, who I haven't liked in anything else, was brilliant. As always, I liked the work of Rosemary Harris as Peter's aunt. She grounds the emotional content of the film.

Donna Murphy (on Broadway currently in "Wonderful Town") scored big, in a brief but important role as Dr. Octavius' wife.

Kirtin Dunst is best when MJ is wet, bedraggled and worried. Dunst has quite possibly the worst hair in show business:)

Tobey Maguire is best when he can manage to animate his features. Passive Peter Parker irritates the hell out of me, so I was more fully invested when Parker finally got cojones.

Please make Peter's supposed best friend a super-villain soon, so he can be disposed of; every time the actor portraying him had screen time, I tuned into the babies and pre-teens rustling around in the auditorium. One word for this actor onscreen - YAWN!

Finally - if you've seen it, you know this SpiderMan has astounding special effects and the battle between Spidey and Doc Ock on the subway train is worth the price of admission.

I wouldn't go see this film again and I won't buy the DVD, but I'm glad I saw it!