Spiderman

[Sulimo]

And here's hoping the Spiderman franchise doesn't fall prey to the same problems the Batman movies have. Too many villains and making the villains more important to the movie than the heros.

Yeah. Although part of the problem there I think was casting bigname Hollywood actors in the villain roles, so it was hard to see the character, beyond the actor's persona.

But yeah, the villains were more impoartant than Batman in those live-action films. We still havent seen the Great Detective in action. What we need is a more serious Batfilm with R'as Al Ghul as the villain. Of course I have high hopes for the Year One film currently being adapted.

 

[KnowTheToe]

They could do something with aquaman if they are looking for emotion.

But how are they going to do the next movie? Though I didn't see the movie, I am pretty sure they spent atleast 1/3 of the movie detaling spiderman's overall developement (getting his abilities and then his training) into the friendly neighborhood spider.

Much more than a thrid of the movie. It should have been called Peter Parker the movie. I was very disappointed in the flick, they had little to no character developement for spidey himself. They chose to do a montoge of quick fighting scenes to represent Spiderman's developement and control of his abilities. GG had no lpot, he surely was not anything it would take a superhero to take care of. I thought this movie did not do anything Batman did, but Spiderman did it all much more poorly.

 

[Jeremy]

Perhaps you read a different Spider-man comic than I do, but the thing that has always made him endearing and entertaining is Peter Parker, not his ability to lift 10 tons.

I thought they did a very good job of establishing who he was and why he was that way. The hardest thing to establish for a super hero is why the hell are they using their powers thanklessly to save innocents? It's the hardest, most unappreciated, most dangerous path out there. Besides that it means that anytime someone wants you they can just threaten anyone until you show up. And kill them if they please to discredit you.

Giving emotional attachment to the character allows you to understand his losses and thought patterns which allows you to agree with his choices.

Batman never established that. Batman was a cold rich millionaire who goes out every night to fight crime in the movie. The original Batman movie was my favorite comic book movie at the time, but Spiderman surpassed it with its honest treatment of the material, interesting developments outside of special effects/techno gadgets (i.e. Norman and Harry, Harry and MJ, MJ and Peter, Peter and Harry, Norman and Peter).

Spiderman has always been a relatively low-power super hero taking on relatively low power villains in more personal situations. The green goblin is a good foil for him because his power is limited (he can't just blast him into oblivion or mind wipe him, nor is he juggernaut or colossus or the hulk or some other creature too durable for Spidey to damage) enough for him to be a threat but not unsurpassable, he has a personal connection to Spidey (Norman to Peter connection, and insane goblin to Spidey once goblin knows Peter is Spidey), and because they share a similar situation (power in a relatively power free city at the time, and the choice of what to do with it).

Good movie. Well done, especially within a Hollywood time limit and talent budget. Especially well done considering the quality of Tobey Maguire's and Willem Dafoe's performances in a movie that could have pandered to the cartoon watching children to sell toys and make more money. (Because honestly, they didn't have to make an adult movie, the fans would have come anyways, they would have been pissed, but Hollywood still would have had its money.)

 

[Bass Puppet]

The movie was pretty good...I don't think it is $100+ million the first weekend good, but good none the less. It was no Lord of The Rings, but then again, how many movies do I say that about. I didn't care for the Green Goblins outfit. I understood from the beginning that this movie was geared towards a "Family" audience and I usually steer far away from such productions. But add a little sugar to any pg-13 film and this is was you get.

 

[hong]

Yeah, what Jeremy said.

Spidey is the patron superhero of geeks and awkward teenagers everywhere. A Spiderman that doesn't have trouble getting the girl, or isn't misunderstood despite his best efforts, isn't Spiderman. As Aunt May said, "you're not Superman".

So yes, it was "Peter Parker, the movie". This is the part of Spidey that's always captivated me the most, and it was great.

 

[Melkor Lord Of ALL!]

Well, Green Goblin was the brightiest point of this movie, I liked his speeches, it reminded me of some cool Star Wars lines, I was almost expecting him to say things like: "he will join us or die" or "and now, young Peter, you will die!". Oh, and I didn`t symphatize with Peter, especially when he decided to reject Mary Jane at the end. Well, I don`t fully agree with this: "with great power comes great responsibility" line. What about opportunities? I guess it is fortunate that I don`t posess any superpowers, or the world would be in a big trouble.

 

[Staffan]

Well, I don`t fully agree with this: "with great power comes great responsibility" line. What about opportunities? I guess it is fortunate that I don`t posess any superpowers, or the world would be in a big trouble.

The thing is that Peter had that particular concept driven home in a very personal way. He could have stopped a lowly robber, but didn't - that wasn't his problem. Soon after, that robber had killed Peter's uncle. If Peter had acted a little more responsibly earlier, his uncle would still be alive.

That's not something the movie came up with, by the way. With slight cosmetic differences (e.g. I don't think the robber was robbing the wrestling promotor), it was pretty much exactly the same as in the comics.

 

[Jeremy]

Kinda true. In the comics, Peter was made much more brash by his new found powers. In the movie they softened the blow. He let the guy go because a) the wrestling promoter had just screwed him, b) the guy looked like he really needed help, and c) he was stealing from a crooked man.

In the comic books Peter has no such justifications, its more like a purse snatcher and he just doesn't give a care.

As for turning down MJ, that wasn't quite what he did. Here was the girl that he loved, and who was offering to return that love, and he hid his own emotion to spare her the trauma. What would it be like to have a relationship with a person who is likely to die? Spidey hasn't got any damage taking capability, he gets shot in a robbery and that's it. He is also a target and so is anyone he remotely cares about, as evidenced by MJ's kidnapping to begin with. He does it to save her from himself. Hence the line, "This is my gift. This is my curse."

 

[Ranger REG]

They could do something with aquaman if they are looking for emotion.

From DC's Aquaman to Marvel's Sub-Mariner, this Prince Namor character has been tossed around in Hollywood a lot, so what is going on what this one? Are we going to see such movie on the big screen or little screen?

 

[Staffan]

From DC's Aquaman to Marvel's Sub-Mariner, this Prince Namor character has been tossed around in Hollywood a lot, so what is going on what this one? Are we going to see such movie on the big screen or little screen?

I hope not. As the Advanced Marvel Super Heroes RPG says:
Water Breathing: This is a wimp Power. Face it. When the great hero parties take place, and Ulterior-Motive Man asks you what you do, if you say, "I breathe water" you end up wearing a full fishbowl.