spider-man countdown blogging

count: ninety-six days, eight hours, nineteen minutes
analysis of timeline: that is way too fucking long
status: tense and fidgety; difficulty concentrating on things that do not involve webbing

i don't know how many of you are aware of this--i'm certain nobody was aware of it at the time--but my very first post was about the amazing spider-man and my enduring and immensely geeky love of peter parker and the peter-parkeresque. it is also about kirsten dunst's ability to inspire the exact opposite sentiment, but i've changed my mind somewhat about her appropriateness for this particular screen role; in a way, her single, unappealing dimension makes her a perfect mary jane. mj was always flighty and simplistic. when she spoke she did so in trite slang, and she expressed little to no intelligence or introspection for the first decade of her existence as a regular spider-man character. she toyed with peter relentlessly, even while dating other people, and sometimes by dating other people. some say it was all a desperate act she put on in order to keep peter from realizing she was aware of his superhero identity, but you have to wonder if even her creators took her seriously (witness her go-go-dancer phase), and she was every bit as pouty and helpless and irritating after she confessed her knowledge. one way or the other, i never liked her, and if someone else were playing her i might, so i retract the statement i made all those years ago. retroactive kudos to francine maisler, and infinite kudos, obviously, to sam raimi, for this and everything else he's done to better my world and yours.

so, this movie: it's gonna be big. in fact, i'm wondering if maybe the bite they've taken this time around isn't too big. first, you've got the symbiote/venom plot, which is definitely more than a movie unto itself (and which i absolutely forgive the writers for tweaking the origin of); if we're going to have a chance to really explore the psychological battle peter has to wage with himself once the symbiote starts to exert its influence--and that's, like, all the trailers are about--brock will have to be just plain brock until almost the very end of the film, and that means there won't be time to get into the deep, dark, messy dynamic that emerges between those two characters, which is maybe the most fascinating hero-villain rivalry in marvel history. an open door leading to a future film? i can't allow myself to speculate, as i'm having a hard enough time catching my breath as it is. but the idea that brock is just an egomaniacal journalist for the first three-fourths of the movie would explain why raimi felt compelled to incorporate another villain, and while i might not have chosen the sandman, he's bound to make for some bad-ass graphics. but the addition of harry's evil, windsurfing goblin incarnation on top of the sandman makes me think they're tying up loose ends; wouldn't one or the other have been enough when coupled with the good spidey/bad spidey drama? did they have to stuff everything into this sequel? maybe harry won't come around and they'll keep him as a way to bring in the chameleon in a fourth installment (OH MY GOD THAT WOULD BE SO RAD), but i can't imagine spidey fighting the chameleon and venom; that would be madness. how can they cover as much ground as they seem to be attempting to cover in under three hours? will the radioactive aspect of the sandman's origin be retained? will spidey reform him? will venom incapacitate him? it's too much! it's tooooo muuuuuuch!!!!!

aw, hell. no it's not. it could never be enough.