[OT] Spider-Man...who's interested? (possible spoilers)

[Breakstone]

I greatly enjoyed this flick.

Some things I enjoyed/didn't enjoy:

SPOILERS AHEAD
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Enjoy:
- Osborn's Split-Personality scenes.
- Spider-Man's swinging
- The costume-creation scene
- Spidey-Sense!
- Norman figuring out Spider-Man's identity at the dinner table
- McGuire as Peter Parker
- Pretty much all other casting, at that
- More live action than CGI
- Jamison. Awesome job with that. "I only trust my barber!"
- Green Goblin's "Oh." before being impaled by his own glider
- Great story

Didn't enjoy
- CGI was a bit clunky at times
- Green Goblin's costume
- Hm...
- That one crying kid in the audience
- Um...
- At the end, I was a tad bit dissapointed. But then I thought about it, and said, "Woah..."


Again, great movie!

 

[SteelDraco]

That was a great, FUN movie

wrabbit37: Stan Lee appears only very briefly, during the attack upon the OsCorp party. He's on the left side of the screen, close shot but very brief. Something is collapsing behind him, and he and a kid are falling forward. You have to be watching for it and not blink to catch it.

I went out to see Spider-Man with my buddies tonight. That was a great movie. Some thoughts, mostly in reply to other posters.

SPOILERS AHEAD!
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Problems first, since it's better to start with the bitter.

The GG didn't look that good. Obviously, it's hard to translate a goofy-looking comic book character to the big screen, but I think it could have been done better. OsCorp's work for the military provides a fine explanation for all the goodies he has - powered armor, the glider, the Goblin-bombs. However, I don't think it was necessary to do both powered armor and the enhancement drugs. The drugs, glider, and bombs are what allow him to compete with Spidey, not his armor. I would have preferred a more organic-looking Goblin, so that you could see Dafoe beneath the mask. He does a good enough job looking crazy that an emotionless mask that keeps us from seeing his face is a waste of potential. Also, I wasn't a great fan of Dafoe's evil laugh. The Goblin does a mad cackle, not a sinister mastermind-esque villain laigh. I didn't think his voice was quite right for the Goblin, either. Then again, I'm a big fan of the 90s Spidey cartoon.

I thought it was a bit sloppy that Quest wasn't Stark Enterprises. All the comic-book geeks that are going to see this movie would have gotten a good chuckle if the powered armor that the GG blew up was a prototype Iron Man suit. It would have fit in perfectly with the continuity, not cost any more, and given insiders another funny tidbit.

I did think that some of the emotional scenes were a bit drawn out. Directing that sort of thing just isn't what Raimi's good at. Of particular note are the scene in Peter's backyard with MJ and the final scene at Osborne's funeral. Good stuff, but I think it would have been better if it moved along a bit quicker.

You didn't get to see how smart Peter is. It's an important part of his character, and I thought it wasn't developed quite as much as it should have been. In the comics, him building the web-shooters helps show this, which wasn't in the movie. I don't care about the mechanic/organic thing, I just would have liked to see his intelligence shown as an important part of what makes him Spider-Man. Maybe spider-tracers, or something similar?

Okay, that's all the real problems I had with the movie. Now on to the good stuff...

Casting. Wow. This movie was damn near perfectly cast. Maguire does an excellent job as Parker. Dunst is similarly good as MJ, though she's not how I've ever pictured her. Willem Dafoe is just creepy as Osborne/GG. Of particular note were the mirror scene and the rooftop scene when Spidey's been drugged. Even the fairly minor roles, such as Uncle Ben and JJJ, were great. JJJ was just great in every scene he was in - stole them, in fact. Harry could have been a bit more sympathetic; he comes off as awfully superficial in the movie, IMO.

The fight scenes were very good - Raimi always does a good job with these. In particular, he incorporates the supernatural into fight scenes well. That fight scene with Flash Thompson was excellent. Where the camera goes to slow motion, and Peter dodges, then looks around in confusion in the time it takes Flash to throw a punch? Solid gold. I was also amazed by the very brief fight scene where he foiled an armored car robbery - the one witht he camera? He took out five guys in the space of a breath or two, and he LOOKED LIKE SPIDER-MAN doing it. He just didn't move like a normal human being would. It wasn't just super-fast martial arts, he hopped around, flipping and throwing people. Great stuff.

All the little comic references were great. Eddie Brock was mentioned. JJJ was PERFECT, and that was Robbie Robertson sitting next to him. The allusion to Harry becoming the next Green Goblin was excellent. Pete even mentions Dr Connors (The Lizard). The Comic Book Guy inside was giggling with glee throughout this movie. I would have liked to see Octavius show up, but that's just me.

I could say more, but that's enough. This was a great, fun movie, and an exellent adaption of the spirit of one of the most important titles in comics. You should go see it if you haven't.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Re: That was a great, FUN movie

I would have liked to see Octavius show up, but that's just me.

See one of my posts a little ways up from yours. I think Octavius did show up, although it's just a theory of mine...

 

[PenguinKing]

Re: That was a great, FUN movie

The GG didn't look that good. Obviously, it's hard to translate a goofy-looking comic book character to the big screen, but I think it could have been done better.

My only comment is that if they'd gone with real actors instead, the complaint would merely change from "the CGI is too obvious" to "the stunt-doubles, wire-work, camera tricks, and superimposed backdrops are too obvious" - it's a no-win scenario. Given that, I think CGI was the right choice - if you have to sacrifice a modicum of verisimilitude anyway, do it in a way that lets you get away with going all-out.

- Sir Bob.

 

[SteelDraco]

So, a sequel?

Ah, some follow-up thoughts about a sequel. Obviously, they're going to be making one - it's already in the works, in fact. So, who should they go with for the next villain?

Doc Otto Octavius - A great bad guy. He would kick ass and look cool doing it. It'd give us a chance to see the scientist side of Parker, which I think is something that the movie lacked. He's Peter gone bad - someone who uses their power for their own gain, rather than for the betterment of all mankind. He starts out as an idol of Spidey's, so you get some emotional conflict going there. Probably my top pick for villain for the second movie.

Venom - You'd have to rewrite his backstory to avoid doing the Secret Wars, of course. The 90s cartoon did this pretty well; they could do something similar. In that, the symbiote was brought back from space, and merged with Spider-Man when he saved some astronauts after a crash. Problem is, the movie would have a long period without a primary bad guy, while SM is slowly realizing that his new suit is doing bad things to him. After he gets rid of it, you've got Venom, but what to do during that low period? Hmmm.

The Lizard - I think this would be cool. Another Jekyll/Hyde story, like the Green Goblin, so I doubt this will be what they go with next. Still, it would be cool to see Spider-Man going through the sewers of New York, fighting mutant lizards before finally meeting the big Lizard himself. Connors is another role model of Spider Man, too.

The Kingpin - The Kingpin is an important part of the Spider Man mythos, but he's hard to do as a villain. The thing is, he needs some kind of super-henchman to go after Spider Man, as he's no match for the wall-crawler himself. Rhino, Electro, and Scorpion have always filled this role quite nicely. A good basic plot would be if we start with some kind of increased criminal activity. SM fights against it, getting hints that something is directing it. Kingpin creates (Scorpion) or hires (Electro, Rhino) to get rid of the interference in his plans. They duke it out, and then SM tracks Kingpin down and brings him to justice.

Harry the Green Goblin or the Hobgoblin - I think it would be a poor choice to do this with the next movie. There are a wealth of good villains out there, and going with essentially the same one for the next movie would sort of cheat the moviegoing audience, IMO.

There are, of course, many others they could do. Kraven the Hunter, Morbius, Mysterio, the Secret Wars, and more all spring to mind. I think these are the top contenders, though. I'd prefer to see Doc Ock or the Kingpin. Thoughts?

 

[Mouseferatu]

I doubt you'll ever see Kingpin as a villain in a Spider-man movie, at least in this current incarnation. (Maybe if they do a brand new Spider-man series in 25 years, you'll see it then.)

Why? Kingpin is the villain in the upcoming Daredevil movie, and I don't see them cross-pollinating, as it were.

 

[Acmite]

There's a minor spoiler below, so read at your own risk.

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Okay, they mentioned several potential villains already. The "Eddie" reference at the Bugle. The whole "I was late again and Doctor Connors fired me," line. (For those who don't know, Doc Connors is the Lizard.) And of course the lead-in to Harry becoming the next Goblin, whichever one they go with.
and the GG shows up, the general is speaking to a man who is, at least presumably, part of the Quest Board, and also part of its scientific team.
<snip>
So, am I reading too much into this? Or have we seen a glimpse of the good Dr. Otto Octavius?

I caught this too, and I agree: It looks like Doc Ock. I totally missed the Eddie reference, though.

Great flick! But really, could Sam Raimi lead us astray?

I don't know about you guys, but in addition to Doc Octopus and the Lizard, I'd like to see The Sandman. Electro was just a petty criminal, and his powers have been done before (Storm, that crappy Mutant X show, etc) so I'd understand it if the Sony folks stayed away from it and focused on a more "marketable" villain. Oh, and it'd be cool to see Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) make an appearance.

But already I see a dangerous trend developing in the early rumours about the second movie: The rumours are that BOTH Connors and Octavious are major opponents in the second flick. I was talking to Cor Azer about this, and we both agree that this was the major downfall of the Bat franchise: too many villains change a potentially good movie into a "name that famous guy!" crapfest.

I say, focus on one villain (like the GG), stay true to the core of that character (like they did in this one), and let Sam Raimi hold the reins!

 

[Acmite]

Duh!

Duh! How could I forget the Scorpion in my above posts? Definitely one of my faves (all the way back to the old 60s cartoon and comics when I was a kid ~ 15 years ago, I'm 23 now).

I'd love to see Scorpy in the next flick!

 

[SteelDraco]

Re: Re: That was a great, FUN movie

My only comment is that if they'd gone with real actors instead, the complaint would merely change from "the CGI is too obvious" to "the stunt-doubles, wire-work, camera tricks, and superimposed backdrops are too obvious" - it's a no-win scenario. Given that, I think CGI was the right choice - if you have to sacrifice a modicum of verisimilitude anyway, do it in a way that lets you get away with going all-out.

I didn't actually have a problem with the CGI. That was fine. Most of the transitions between CGI and guy in a suit were offscreen, so nothing looked really weird. I had a problem with the costume design of the Goblin. It was overly constraining, and prevented us from seeing the actor that was (theoretically) underneath.

 

[Welverin]

Sheesh. It's an amazing thing to contemplate, but it's possible that Star Wars may not be the biggest opening of this summer. (Okay, not likely. But possible.)

SW opens on a Thursday, which could throw things off.

It brings back many cool memories of all the Spider-Man comics that I used to read as a kid. It makes me want to look into collecting comics again! It was just a great time. I highly recommend Spider-Man.

I suggest Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr. and Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. ASM is the original Spidey and USM is an alternate version. Both of which you can read for free at Marvel?s dotComics, ASM is in the members section (which is free and thus a little baffling).

Does anyone know if Tobey did the voice of Spiderman in the PS2 game? It sounds very much like him.

Tobey and Willem both contributed original dialogue to the game.

I also liked the fact that they put in a lot of touches that probably didn't matter to the average viewer, but meant a lot to long-time fans. [SNIP] The Albert Einstein poster in Peter's bedroom.

Definitely cool. The friend I saw it with spent the entire movie looking for references to future villains, one of which I believe no ones mentioned yet (don?t remember the name however).

As for the Einstein poster, did anyone else notice the D&D Adventure Game poster in Peter?s room?