Friday, July 28, 2006
Spider-Man Too
Spider-Man 2 was so-so as a movie, but the two stars made it tolerable. Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst have old souls in their young bodies; both actors, in different ways, look as though the weight of ancient human sorrows is whispering in their ears. Maguire has this fascinating aspect to his demeanor: he appears logy with feeling, just overwhelmed. The special effects weren't my favorite part, not a good sign in a movie that so relies on these artificial flourishes. I would have preferred an Alex Raymond cartoon style in the opening credits to what looked more like 1950's illustration. They were competently done illustrations, but too bland a style for so dark a figure as Spider-Man. The commentary made the lot of them sound as though they thought they had made Richard III.