Rinji
Pirate
The Catman King
Necromancer
Posts: 171
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Post by Rinji on Jul 14, 2012 3:46:19 GMT -5
Well, tomorrow I will take the great journey of Amazing Spider-man! Until then, I will comment on how much I did love the Spider-man movies, despite Tobey Mcguire.
It's not that he was a bad actor, he actually did pretty well. He just wasn't Spider-man. He wasn't funny when he beat the hell out of criminals. Nor did he really fit much of the profile of Peter Parker. Then there's the fact that this new movie follows the comics a lot better.
The first movie, awesome. Wilem Dafoe was an awesome Green Goblin despite the stupid-ass costume. Then there's Kirsten Dunst, I've always loved her. Of course, then they picked the perfect Aunt May and Uncle Ben. It wasn't the greatest movie ever, but it was satisfying.
Then there's the sequels. I liked the second one pretty well. Though they over-did the suffering Peter went through in his college years a little. Picked a great Doc Oc for the role, of course. Still, it was a tad long, and there were some boring periods.
Then, there is Spider-man 3. Alright, fight scenes were amazingly out of this world. Then there's the over-dramatization, the shifting of Uncle Ben's murder, the GOD AWFUL scenes of evil Peter and then the mutilation of Venom. It was just a mess. Sandman is NOT THAT INTERESTING A VILLAIN! Still, it had it's high and lows, but mostly just low.
So, here's the spot I'm saving for the upcoming revamp! Here I go!
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Post by Morcombe on Jul 14, 2012 21:47:03 GMT -5
it was awesome.
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Post by Xero on Jul 14, 2012 21:54:56 GMT -5
It was awesome. In my opinion, it was better than the original film, although Spider-man 2 is still my favorite. I will post my review for the movie soon.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Jul 15, 2012 0:13:13 GMT -5
This movie was pretty fuckin' derp.
I mean seriously, that crane scene.
It was definitely not terrible though, better than I thought it was going to be. I'd say a solid 7/10.
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Post by Hitotsumami on Jul 15, 2012 17:35:14 GMT -5
I enjoyed the first few Spider Man movies, though I haven't seen them in a couple of years.
I've heard good things about this one though, so I will definitely give it a watch.
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Post by CJ on Jul 16, 2012 11:16:03 GMT -5
No matter what my friends say, just no. It's not a good scene. I understand the original Spider-Man movie included ordinary citizens helping Spider-Man because of the recent 9/11 attacks. I still get awesome chills when I see him cling to the American flag's pole in the first movie. However, this is 2012, eleven years removed from the terrorist attacks. Spider-Man is supposed to be the people's hero but it's not supposed to be... that literal. That minor point aside, the movie was fantastic. Emma Stone won my heart as Gwen Stacy. No spoilers but I was satisfied to see the continuation of well written female characters in the Marvel movie universe. Note how I didn't say "strong female characters" because that's not what I'm looking for (female characters can be weak but for good reasons). Gwen is confident and smart as she is beautiful. She didn't need to be a superhero to hold her own, which I found to be more inspiring than crane scene. And say what you want about the new Spidey actor, but I thought he did well enough. His wise cracking made me giddy and hey, at least he's not Toby Maguire (sp?).
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Post by Hitotsumami on Jul 16, 2012 11:57:46 GMT -5
Wait are you telling me a bunch of construction workers set up their cranes just right to give Spidey an extra hand?
That is the best thing ever
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Jul 16, 2012 12:43:01 GMT -5
I liked Toby Maguire as Spider Man!
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Post by Morcombe on Jul 16, 2012 20:56:45 GMT -5
Crane scene was epic, shows that not all heroes need to be in a costume with super powers.
Gwen was excellent, she actually helped out with the antidote and her flamethrower scene was sweet. Mary Jane just looked pretty, did nothing and got captured in all 3 movies. they really had no use for her. crappy writing.
bring on the amazing spider-man 2!
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Post by Xero on Jul 16, 2012 23:11:45 GMT -5
The Amazing Spider-Man comes five years after Sam Raimi and Tobey MaGuire’s third installment and the decision made by Sony to reboot the franchise seems, now, to have been a smart one. Unfortunately, this movie will forever be linked and compared to the original film released in 2002. The mentioning of Raimi and MaGuire in the opening statement is as far as this review will go toward comparing films. This film will, however, be compared to the original Amazing Spider-Man comics launched by Stan Lee in the 1960s as well as Brian Michael Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Man in 2000.
After his father’s home office is ransacked, a young Peter Parker is then abandoned by his parents and left in the care of his aunt and uncle. Years later, Peter has become the smart, social outcast of his high school who has difficulties talking with girls and is often bullied by Flash Thompson. One evening, Peter stumbled upon his father’s old briefcase while helping his uncle clean the basement. What Peter found eventually led him to Oscorp Industries and his father’s old partner: Curtis Connors.
The Amazing Spider-Man tells a pretty straightforward origin story of how Peter Parker comes to gain his spider abilities. It is more believable that Peter would find himself in an arachnid chamber inside Oscorp when his father and Curt Connors specialized in cross-species genetics. One of the greatest aspects about the character of both Peter Parker and Spider-man is that it is not about how he gained his powers, but his journey toward becoming a hero.
In the original comics, Peter Parker was motivated to becoming Spider-man by the death of his uncle, and while that is still the main factor for this film, there is also the ongoing plot thread involving his parents’ mysterious “death.” Having Peter feel more isolated is what makes him a very tragic character and one the audience can easily root for. Spider-man has always been the relatable hero and that still holds true for this film.
What makes this movie work so well is the eclectic cast Marc Webb has assembled. Andrew Garfield makes a perfect Peter Parker by having that nerdy charm while maintaining a certain edginess that makes his relationship with the other characters, in this instance Gwen Stacy, believable. Andrew Garfield is able to display a wide range of emotions that makes Peter human and easy to relate. He deals with the abandonment of his parents, the loss of his uncle, his unexplored feelings with his love interest, and the guilt for “creating” Dr. Connors’ transformation into the Lizard. If it was anyone in the title role, the film and the character of Peter Parker would not have worked as well.
Andrew Garfield’s performance is mirrored by his chemistry with his supporting cast such as Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. To the mainstream public, Peter Parker is more well known to be tied to Mary Jane Watson, however, in the original comics, it is Gwen Stacy who is Peter’s first and true love. Establishing Peter and Gwen’s romance throughout the film is important because their relationship and how it progresses will eventually come to define Peter Parker as Spider-man. In the film, their relationship is slowly built, beginning with the awkwardness that is expected from two teenagers. The relationship is handled quite well and much credit to the actors involved as well as the Marc Webb, whose previous work in romantic comedies is evident.
Emma Stone is solidly cast as Gwen Stacy who provides a very strong central voice to the character. She is certainly not the “damsel in distress” character that is mostly associated with comic book films. Gwen Stacy is a strong-willed intellectual who, according to her is the top of her class (don’t try and convince Peter though). It is certainly believable that she would be interning at Oscorp under the tutelage of Curt Connors while still maintaining the beauty of the “girl next door” type of character. However, she is much more fleshed out than that typical stereotype.
One of the greatest dynamics about Spider-man is his relationship with the villain. Oftentimes, Peter Parker has a pre-existing relationship with the villain’s alter ego, and in the case, Dr. Curtis Connors. Rhys Ifans is absolutely fantastic as the brilliant one-armed doctor who is desperately seeking to cure diseases by using cross-species genetics. His research hit’s a snag until the young Peter Parker stumbles (back) into his life and provides him with an algorithm developed by his father, Connors’ old partner. This is the moment where the relationship between Peter and Curt Connors begins. Unfortunately, the film does not quite explore the nature of the relationship outside of mentor/intern. One problem resides in the writer’s decision to exclude Connors’ family. In the comics, Connors has a wife and child that adds a tragic flaw to the misguided villain. Without his family in the film, Connors is seen merely as a villain and not someone whom the audience can feel sorry for. Despite that minor flaw in the script, Doctor Connors is handled perfectly, and the main reason was because of Ifan’s performance.
The other complaint for this film is the Lizard’s design. In all aspects, the Lizard looks perfect, which provides a menacing look. The only poor decision was to not elongate his snout. If the filmmakers thought that keeping the look the way it is would make the Lizard more “human-like” than it is slightly understandable. But, Dr. Connors/Lizard has always suffered from the Jekyll/Hyde syndrome so making the Lizard look even more reptilian would have been great. As it stands, the Lizard’s face does not look good.
The rest of the supporting cast, such as Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben, Sally Field as Aunt May, and Denis Leary as Captain Stacy is all perfectly cast. In this film, Uncle Ben has a slightly tensed variation because he acts as Peter’s surrogate father, but knows that he is not. So he has to balance that dynamic and Martin Sheen handles that well. The fact that he never utters the words “With great power comes great responsibility” may turn some casual fans off, however, it should be known that in Amazing Fantasy #15 (Spider-man’s first appearance), Uncle Ben never says that line. It acts a narrating voice in the very last panel.
In the film, Denis Leary provides a strong vocal voice against the wall crawler which eventually puts Peter at odds with Captain Stacy during a scene involving the Stacy’s at dinner. The banter between Peter and Captain Stacy is expertly handled and Garfield and Leary play off each other extremely well. Their relationship is later put at odds during a crucial scene toward the end of the film, a scene which could have been handled slightly better.
Aunt May has always had a strong relationship with Peter, in both incarnations of the comics (Amazing and Ultimate). In this film, as brilliant an actress as Sally Field is, she is severely underused, which leads one to believe that there was a lot of unused footage that was left on the cutting room floor. It is unfortunate because as much as Uncle Ben may have been the push for Peter, Aunt May has always been Peter’s foundation. Hopefully their relationship can be further explored in the future.
Despite the slight hiccups, most of which could have been rectified with 15 more minutes of running time are just minor reedits, The Amazing Spider-Man is simply a fantastic film and a great start to a potential new trilogy. I seriously hope that Sony realizes the potential they have and keep the trio of Marc Webb, Andrew Garfield, and Emma Stone to finish what they have started.
Overall 9/10
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Post by Sprite on Jul 22, 2012 4:56:04 GMT -5
I didn't like the movie, i thought the original was better. Garfield was a total horndog, Spiderman sucked too badly, not enough super a bit TOO much help from the people. Emma Stone was awesome, The Lizard was a bad choice for a first opponent.
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Post by Kyubey on Jul 28, 2012 21:47:34 GMT -5
No matter what my friends say, just no. It's not a good scene. Just curious, what about it made it a bad scene? I thought it was fine, aside from the amazing coincidence that was all those cranes that happened to be right there. Certainly not the most silly scene in the movie, but it's a superhero movie, of course parts of it will be silly. Movie was awesome, definitely my favorite origin story in any superhero movie. They spent a good amount of time on the transition from Peter Parker to Spider Man, which I really approved of. Villain was a bit too cheesy at times, though I did enjoy all of the scenes of him as a human. Garfield was Spider Man, the relationship parts worked well, and I honestly prefer this film's Uncle Ben to the old one. Uh, that's about it for my critique, I think. More later, maybe. Favorite part of the movie was Spider Man messing with his phone in the sewers. Couldn't tell you why if you asked me, I just thought it was a neat touch.
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