Intellectual Defenestration

Spider-Man, Spider-Man

Amy and I had originally planned on seeing Spiderman 2 later in the week. Based on the overwhelming positive reviews (see Ebert, for example) and long and frustrating days at work for both of us, we decided to see it last night instead.

In short, Spider-Man 2 is a great movie. To use all the standard phraseology, it was action-packed while still character-driven, possessed an intelligent and engaging plot, improved nicely upon the CG of Spidey 1, showcased good acting and directing, dealt seriously with everyday struggles while simultaneously encouraging character values such as nobility, honor and sacrifice, and still had just enough comic book cheesiness to not lose touch with its roots.

This is not to say it was perfect. I thought the story dragged at a couple points. The CG was much less CG-ish than the first, but it was still apparent. I can't decide if the resolution between Peter Parker and MJ Watson was satisfying. And, to be honest, I'm not a big fan of Kirsten Dunst as an actress.

Nevertheless, there are certain movies that are just good movies. They utilize the particular tools of the genre fully and ably, telling a good story in a visually appealing way in a short amount of time. In my humble judgement, Spider-Man 2 was in that category.

Our major complaint, however, was with the seating arrangements. We only arrived 10-15 minutes early, so the all the good seats were taken. We ended up sitting in the second or third row back from the screen, which meant one had to look directly upwards to see the movie. And even then, only a third of the screen would fit in the primary field of vision at any given time. Plus, the people in front of us had to do the same thing, meaning Amy was left with 1.5 inches of leg room because the guy in front was leaning so far back. I think the resultant neck and back pain detracted from the overall experience.

This adds to my growing suspicion that theater-going is normally not worth it. The cost of two tickets at Loews is barely less than a month's subscription at Netflix. Yet the only major advantages to a theater are the ability to view movies earlier and bigger screens. For roughly the same cost, I can watch a greater number of movies at home, enjoy more comfortable seating, exploit my surround sound system, drink alcoholic beverages, have snacks at non-ridiculous prices, cuddle with my wife, and not have to deal with crying babies and the constant sound of popcorn-munching. But, I whine ...

To wrap up this blog entry, Spider-Man 2 was fantastic. Go see it.

July 1, 2004 10:53 AM