Just three things Joshua said that I have to jump at-
Joshua Dyal said:
I'm glad they did GG's costume they way they did. Face it, folks, nobody wants a movie that looks like a comic book: they are two different media of expression and what works for one simply does not for the other.
I'll make the obvious point- then why does the SPIDER-MAN costume, which
looks like a comic book, work so well? Ugh, body armor...
And despite the fan's outcries, Old Toby (not the hobbit "leaf" grower) was perfect as Peter Parker -- which is really what he has to play, not Spidey himself.
I kinda agree with all that, and I suppose it lines up with what Spidey was supposed to be about, but I never got the feeling that he was Spider-man. He played the part, and played it well, but I never felt like he was the guy under the mask. I looked forward to seeing the stuntman and not having to think about Tobey.
One interesting touch: when the old webhead was swinging, he made a lot of poses that absolutely screamed of the Todd MacFarlane influence. Of course, Todd was always my favorite Spidey artist...
I cannot think of a suitably humorous and sarcastic way to express my disbelief. At the risk of sounding like Dr. Midnight, king opinionated comic art snob: McFarlane is a hack.
A hack who could buy and sell me several times, sure, but his art is overrendered, overrated crap.
My thoughts on the movie- I'm oddly cold right now. I wanted to go in and suck it all in and come out screaming the proclamations, but I felt too often like I was slushing through congealed grease to get to the good stuff. Maguire, Dunst, blah. Power Ranger armor bad. DaFoe, the J.J. guy, PERFECT. Spidey-style effects- fighting, s-sense, swinging, webs, fantastic. The humor and feel of the film, great. Goblin vs. Spidey, classic.
I dunno. I'm still ingesting, but the overall feeling isn't half what I was looking for.