Who's in It: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard
The Basics: I could fill this whole page with plot. Seriously, there is enough stuff going on to make the next couple of sequels. More villains, girlfriends, more emotional weight, more lovey-dovey stuff, more Bruce Campbell, more special effects — just more of everything. You even get two of Spider-Man. And I have to confess: Black-suited, evil Goth Spidey was kind of who I was rooting for.
What's the Deal? I'm no fanboy, but I love these movies. And I can already hear the complaints. That more is less this time around, that it's too much, it's overloaded, overlong, overdone, etc. I even heard someone, on the way out of the screening, say that it was like eating candy for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love that one. Because they're right. It is like eating several entire bags of Starburst Fruit Chews (my favorite movie candy). But who wouldn't want to eat candy all day every once in a while? The special effects/action sequences alone are like sugar-filled needles jabbed right into your face.
Why I Like It When Maguire Tries to Be a Badass: Because he fails and ends up looking like one of the stylish '80s drug dealers in Less Than Zero. Or a snarling, angry kitten on Cuteoverload.com spitting at the camera. In any movie not as committed to amped-up fun as this, I'd be annoyed by that. But here it somehow fits right in.
The Math: Batman Begins > this movie > Superman Returns. And based on what I've heard from an inside source (writing that just made me feel very Hollywood), the Fantastic Four sequel won't even be in the same zip code.