I'm also a fan of Franco. If you haven't, I suggest checking out the movie James Dean. It was originally a TBS or TNT movie but I believe it's out on dvd. I believe he pulled a few awards for that performance.

Even though I think James Franco is a good actor there was some things about his character I didn't find believable. These are small things, but they still stood out. First of all, this guy is two years out of high school and he it seems like hes running a billion dollar company without any interference and nobody seems to care or mention he has no experience. Also the whole sipping brandy in front of a fireplace and exclaiming "Im finished" was not the kind of thing you see someone in their early twenties do no matter what their position in life is.

Actually, I really disliked Franco, and thought he felt completely out of place. His dialogue delivery of "Your pal, Spiderman" felt really forced, his whole moping about "I'm ruined" just didn't work for me.

Good point Eddie.

I actually noticed Franco's performance stand out myself, but the thought got lost in the enormity of the quality CG, action, dialogue, and various other aspects. I've still only seen it once. I'll have to go again, and see what I missed.


- Josh

It's surprising how James Franco is being lost in the shuffle in all the discussions about the movie, but I think that he was probably the best actor in the movie despite his limited screen time (as compared to Maguire, Dunst, and Molina).

The humor in the sequel, as with the original, was genuinely funny, appropriate and in respect for the comics. I can't get "Raindrops" out of my head, that scene was hilarious! Same with the elevator, and even some of Doc Ock's lines ("Butterfingers!"). I can't get over how great these flicks are! I wonder what they will do with Spider-man 3? SPOILERS-----> Since Harry finds the Goblin suit, he will probably follow his father's footsteps. But that will seem like a retread of the original unless they add another villain. Curt Conners as The Lizard would be great, and the introduction of John Jameson makes the entrance of Venom possible. But Venom would be hard to adapt with so much history involved and he may be too violent for a PG-13 film. What other ideas may they use? I'd like to see a better Stan Lee cameo...
Honestly, I'm worried about Spider-man 3, since it will have to be a phenomenal film to beat the second one. With the pattern these films are following, that's possible... Sam Raimi and the casting choices were all inspired (see Darkman for Raimi's "audition film" for Spider-man, it's excllent). Like I said, I love and follow the comics and all the casting has been great. I hope they might continue Flash Thompson's storyline in part III, since he was missing in the 2nd. He's not essential, though. I can't imagine a better Peter Parker than Maguire, or anyone else as MJ than Dunst, or a more intense Harry than Franco, a more caring Aunt May than Harris, and the villains (Dafoe and Molina) couldn't have been better. As long as they keep the cast and crew, this could be a franchise that rivals the best, and I can't wait to see what the future holds...

The whole "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" part was a cute touch too :)

I saw Spider-man 2 again yesterday, and I think that it may be the best superhero/comic book film of all time. It's so deep, with complex characters and conflicting situations. Conflict is the heart of drama, and there is PLENTY of conflict in this film! Highly developed characters and amazing action only complete the package. The romance story really touched me and felt so real, and the dialogue was great ( a rarity)! Certain scenes in this film were just unforgettable, such as *SPOILERS* the train fight/unmasked/carried through train, Parker and Ben in car, Spider-man crawling on web to see MJ, Doc Ock in hospital... there are too many! Bruce Campbell's cameo was very welcome and hilarious! I also noticed that the man in the train who says "what the hell?" is the hick father of Bobby Jo in Raimi's Evil Dead II, and he's also in Darkman. The max # of times I've seen a movie in theater was 3 with Matrix Reloaded, but I plan on seeing Spider-man 2 at least that many times. Perhaps the best film of the year? Oscar worthy to me, but I doubt it will get nominated for anything.
Really, you just must see this film. Even all the critics liked it, and you know how picky they are. A\I'm a fan of the comics, and I can say that the films are faithful and that they add new dimensions. After a second viewing, I can say that the Spider-man films are the best comic superhero films, with Batman 1 and 2 close seconds and X1 and 2 third.

Not to mention a certain in-joke about Maguire's bad back

i, too, noticed that dylan baker was playing a one-armed man. the empty shirt sleeve was usually tucked into a pocket or something.