Post by pinkfloydsound17 on May 7, 2014 16:23:52 GMT -5
I wanted to start reviewing some of the superhero movies coming out this summer and, having just watched Amazing Spider-Man 2 and had the time to reflect on it, I think it is time to post my thoughts. I welcome others to share their thoughts also on the movie and where they think future installments are heading
I will start with a large SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And in case you missed that, I will start by reviewing The Amazing Spider-Man quickly before diving into the latest installment.
When the reboot came out, I was excited but not as excited when the very first Tobey Maguire Spider-Man came out. I was 13 then and there was something about Spider-Man finally coming to the big screen that wowed me. At the time, I was just starting to get big into Spider-Man and his history and while I was initially upset with a few minor things (and still am today), that movie was great. It had a good plot and I like the characters, despite what others say. I thought Tobey was just dorky enough and that Dunst was just uh...Dunst? enough for the role. The supporting cast was great and the pacing of how Peter gained his powers and grew into Spider-Man was excellent.
With the new reboot, they took it in a newer direction and as a comic reader, I am kind of in the dark on Spidey's recent history (anything from 1995-now is somewhat of an unknown to me). That being said, I was open to the direction and liked Garfield and Stone in their roles. I found in interesting that they focused on Parker's parents and have continued to do so in the newest installment. However, the whole origin story was rushed and the fact that the reboot never mentioned outright "with great power come great responsibility" kind of bugged me. Then again, maybe people did not want another drawn out origin so I can respect the fact they kept it shorter. Still, it did not have the charm of the initial Spider-Man for that reason. The overall plot was fair, Lizard was okay (not the best CGI) and it ended with a shadowy figure alluding to something deeper going on.
Now, for the new flick. Starts off with an interesting flashback scene of PP's parents. Still not sure where this whole direction is going. As a comic fan, I know that not a lot has been done with his parents (except the awful clone story and the often forgot annual which this whole thing seems partially based off of). I am intrigued to see where it goes.
The characters are again good. Garfield and Stone work and the whole love, romance thing feels better this time around. More real. The problem is the focus of the film. It really does have a lot crammed into it. There is a nice set up with have Spider-Man meet Max Dillon before he changes to Electro that works. I am a fan of old school Electro but the decision to make him look like the Ultimate Spiderman version is fine with me. The fight scenes were good but not as epic as I have seen in other superhero movies.
Then, there is the intro of Harry Osborn. He comes in right as his father (who looks like a dying lizard/goblin) passes away. His introduction ends as quickly as it began which is odd and makes me feel as though there will definitely be more with him (whether he is ressurrected or is not even dead). Still images have come up too showing deleted scenes of the "mystery man" talking to Norman's severed head in a jar. Why they left this from the film, I do not know (I waited the entire credits for nothing!) Harry looks good, like a goblin really, and finds out about his illness. This is yet another piece crammed in. He gets it in his head that he needs Spidey's blood to survive. Of course, he meets up with Pete, they reunite and he mentions this, eventually leading to PP showing up as Spidey to deny his old friend. Now Harry is pissed so he runs off to Ryker's to free Electro so he can break back into Oscorp and gain access to secret hidden spider blood.
As I type this, I realize how convoluted this all is. Watching it, it is choppy and full but somehow almost works. Not enough to make it an amazing film, but pretty good. So he breaks out Electro, who gets his wish to fight Spider-Man. Of course he loses as Pete and Gwen defeat him together. Then, Harry comes roaring in having taken the serum and goblin armour and finds Spider-Man and Gwen. He makes the connection like that, and decides to take Gwen. At this point, I started to think "hey, are they actually going to kill Gwen Stacy in this film"?? I went in knowing who the villains were but that was about it. I thought for sure her death would be the third movie (she would survive this one, go to London, come back and meet demise). But no, Gwen is killed. And as much as I had envisioned it and thought about how to do it on the big screen, I feel they did as good a job or better. First, because it was somewhat unexpected. And when it happened, I did get slight goosebumps. That means the whole romance part must have worked. So overall, while it was a bit jam packed and the ending wrapped up kind of quick, it was good overall. Pacing seems to be something that Marc Webb and company struggle with. I felt it in the first movie and this one seems to have the action, climax, death and overcoming of the loss all occur in the last half hour, with little interaction in between. I think a better director could have turned it from a pretty good movie to a great movie. Definitely not as great as Captain America: Winter Soldier but an improvement on the first and a good overall addition to this trilogy.
Little things that bugged me: Rhino did not look nearly as cool as hoped. Electro was good but could have been better. Peter stumbles across his father’s lab and the computer still works? Surrrree. Well I guess if I can believe in superheroes in general, I should believe this.
Pacing was bad. Plot was fair overall. Electro was dorky, not sure I loved it or Foxx's performance.
Little things that I liked: Felicia Hardy appearance…really hoping they use Black Cat in the next film, maybe as a love triangle with Peter if you throw MJ into the mix. I liked the look f Harry when he first reacts to the serum (you can see his face as he crawls toward the costume) but later it is less than great. Really hope he goes green an super creepy for the final film. Stan’s cameo was good…early too! And the best was the clock tower showing the time 1:21, a clear reference to the issue with Gwen’s death.
So what is next? Well the secret area in Oscorp shows arms for Doc Ock and wings for the Vulture so a Sinister Six version seems all but the inevitable. Which is nice. It can be an all out action fest for all I care, nothing like a good villain/Spidey battle. Also, JK Simmons better be recast as JJ for the finale!
These are some of my thoughts, please chime in!
I will start with a large SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And in case you missed that, I will start by reviewing The Amazing Spider-Man quickly before diving into the latest installment.
When the reboot came out, I was excited but not as excited when the very first Tobey Maguire Spider-Man came out. I was 13 then and there was something about Spider-Man finally coming to the big screen that wowed me. At the time, I was just starting to get big into Spider-Man and his history and while I was initially upset with a few minor things (and still am today), that movie was great. It had a good plot and I like the characters, despite what others say. I thought Tobey was just dorky enough and that Dunst was just uh...Dunst? enough for the role. The supporting cast was great and the pacing of how Peter gained his powers and grew into Spider-Man was excellent.
With the new reboot, they took it in a newer direction and as a comic reader, I am kind of in the dark on Spidey's recent history (anything from 1995-now is somewhat of an unknown to me). That being said, I was open to the direction and liked Garfield and Stone in their roles. I found in interesting that they focused on Parker's parents and have continued to do so in the newest installment. However, the whole origin story was rushed and the fact that the reboot never mentioned outright "with great power come great responsibility" kind of bugged me. Then again, maybe people did not want another drawn out origin so I can respect the fact they kept it shorter. Still, it did not have the charm of the initial Spider-Man for that reason. The overall plot was fair, Lizard was okay (not the best CGI) and it ended with a shadowy figure alluding to something deeper going on.
Now, for the new flick. Starts off with an interesting flashback scene of PP's parents. Still not sure where this whole direction is going. As a comic fan, I know that not a lot has been done with his parents (except the awful clone story and the often forgot annual which this whole thing seems partially based off of). I am intrigued to see where it goes.
The characters are again good. Garfield and Stone work and the whole love, romance thing feels better this time around. More real. The problem is the focus of the film. It really does have a lot crammed into it. There is a nice set up with have Spider-Man meet Max Dillon before he changes to Electro that works. I am a fan of old school Electro but the decision to make him look like the Ultimate Spiderman version is fine with me. The fight scenes were good but not as epic as I have seen in other superhero movies.
Then, there is the intro of Harry Osborn. He comes in right as his father (who looks like a dying lizard/goblin) passes away. His introduction ends as quickly as it began which is odd and makes me feel as though there will definitely be more with him (whether he is ressurrected or is not even dead). Still images have come up too showing deleted scenes of the "mystery man" talking to Norman's severed head in a jar. Why they left this from the film, I do not know (I waited the entire credits for nothing!) Harry looks good, like a goblin really, and finds out about his illness. This is yet another piece crammed in. He gets it in his head that he needs Spidey's blood to survive. Of course, he meets up with Pete, they reunite and he mentions this, eventually leading to PP showing up as Spidey to deny his old friend. Now Harry is pissed so he runs off to Ryker's to free Electro so he can break back into Oscorp and gain access to secret hidden spider blood.
As I type this, I realize how convoluted this all is. Watching it, it is choppy and full but somehow almost works. Not enough to make it an amazing film, but pretty good. So he breaks out Electro, who gets his wish to fight Spider-Man. Of course he loses as Pete and Gwen defeat him together. Then, Harry comes roaring in having taken the serum and goblin armour and finds Spider-Man and Gwen. He makes the connection like that, and decides to take Gwen. At this point, I started to think "hey, are they actually going to kill Gwen Stacy in this film"?? I went in knowing who the villains were but that was about it. I thought for sure her death would be the third movie (she would survive this one, go to London, come back and meet demise). But no, Gwen is killed. And as much as I had envisioned it and thought about how to do it on the big screen, I feel they did as good a job or better. First, because it was somewhat unexpected. And when it happened, I did get slight goosebumps. That means the whole romance part must have worked. So overall, while it was a bit jam packed and the ending wrapped up kind of quick, it was good overall. Pacing seems to be something that Marc Webb and company struggle with. I felt it in the first movie and this one seems to have the action, climax, death and overcoming of the loss all occur in the last half hour, with little interaction in between. I think a better director could have turned it from a pretty good movie to a great movie. Definitely not as great as Captain America: Winter Soldier but an improvement on the first and a good overall addition to this trilogy.
Little things that bugged me: Rhino did not look nearly as cool as hoped. Electro was good but could have been better. Peter stumbles across his father’s lab and the computer still works? Surrrree. Well I guess if I can believe in superheroes in general, I should believe this.
Pacing was bad. Plot was fair overall. Electro was dorky, not sure I loved it or Foxx's performance.
Little things that I liked: Felicia Hardy appearance…really hoping they use Black Cat in the next film, maybe as a love triangle with Peter if you throw MJ into the mix. I liked the look f Harry when he first reacts to the serum (you can see his face as he crawls toward the costume) but later it is less than great. Really hope he goes green an super creepy for the final film. Stan’s cameo was good…early too! And the best was the clock tower showing the time 1:21, a clear reference to the issue with Gwen’s death.
So what is next? Well the secret area in Oscorp shows arms for Doc Ock and wings for the Vulture so a Sinister Six version seems all but the inevitable. Which is nice. It can be an all out action fest for all I care, nothing like a good villain/Spidey battle. Also, JK Simmons better be recast as JJ for the finale!
These are some of my thoughts, please chime in!
