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Post by Caveboy0 on Jul 3, 2012 0:51:45 GMT -5
debating when i should see it. could end up seeing it 3 times in a week
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Post by BackinBlack on Jul 3, 2012 3:23:03 GMT -5
Just got back from the midnight showing. I have to say that I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would. It was very emotional, the 3D was awesome (especially the fights and webswinging), and it is a great start for a new series. While it's possible to watch it on its own, it has great set-up for what else is to come. There were many things I liked about it. *The Peter/Gwen relationship; Andrew and Emma nailed it. *Uncle Ben's death. While I was trying to not compare it, I felt it was more emotional than it was in the 2002 film. It may be because this is the first time we've seen him actually get killed firsthand. *Peter had a learning curve about being a hero in this movie, and didn't just step into the role. Lizard kind of reminded me of Voldemort. Might be because they're both reptilian villains. Speaking of which, I think they did a good job with him. One last thing: I feel like there's a reason Uncle Ben's killer wasn't caught. Maybe it's all part of the plan for the larger story, like Peter's parents and Norman Osborn, and he'll have a confrontation similar to Amazing Spider-Man #200.
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Post by Spidey 1923 on Jul 3, 2012 4:57:37 GMT -5
Glad you enjoyed it. Was there a post-credit scene?
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Post by BackinBlack on Jul 3, 2012 13:10:04 GMT -5
A mid-credits scene.
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Post by mr. excellent on Jul 3, 2012 13:54:55 GMT -5
I’m in the same boat as Caveboy, might see it again on Thursday, and again on Friday. So, I loved the movie. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, because Andrew Garfield, James Vanderbilt, and Marc Webb did certain things better than I anticipated they would. It’s all little things too, like the way that Peter Parker hangs upside down in his room while writing notes, and the way he freaks out after getting his powers. It was a long running gag that while familiar, played out so nicely that it felt unique and original. They weren’t kidding when they said they embraced the spideryness of the character, and that was lovely. Before I gush further, I’d like to get on with the bad. I have one major complaint, and some minor nitpicks. I say a lot here, so don't read until after you've seen the movie. The villain (major complaint): So much work went into making him a sympathetic villain, but not enough went into making him a plausible threat. As soon as he turned Lizzy, he was way too reminiscent of Norman Osborn for me. Not in motivation, but in the way he was crazy and with voices in his head. The script and characterization was so solid until that point for the Lizard. It’s like they didn’t know how to pull his Lizard side off.
The creature CGI (minor nitpick): For the most part, the Lizard was so-so. The special effects on the character at their worse weren’t laughable, but they weren’t as good as they should’ve been either. At their best, they were every bit as good as the Hulk in Avengers, so it’s a shame that that level of quality wasn’t maintained. The genetically altered lab rat was embarrassing though. The CGI Spiders were kind of meh. The music (minor nitpick): Sometimes I loved it, sometimes it was off. I feel that James Horner didn’t know how to convey the light hearted nature of the character in the heat of battle, and sometimes the score conflicted with what was going on, on screen. However, the score wasn’t bad by any means.
Defense of Lizard: The Lizard character design wasn’t bad at all. In the trailers, it was questionable in the trailers sometimes (think about the unintentionally funny face peeping through the shutters at Gwen in Oscorp), but in the movie it worked out pretty well. It certainly didn’t ruin the Spidey vs. Lizard battles for me. While the characterization for the Lizard feels awkward for me, I like that they found a way to use one of the most ridiculous ideas in Spider-man lore in a way that was less laughable. The Lizard men thing wasn’t laughable like I thought it would be. I was pleasantly surprised, even if it wasn’t great either.
The Good: The movie works its way into itself slowly. The practical effects were great, especially in the warehouse where Peter is testing his powers out. That was actually my favorite part of the entire film. Listening to Coldplay’s “Till Kingdom Come” as an enthusiastic and newly powered Peter Parker develops his skills and abilities into something bigger than the sum of their parts. It just looked so cool because you could tell that it wasn’t CGI, but it was more acrobatic and athletic than anything you’ve ever seen from Captain America in film, or Mystique, or any of them. When you do get to the Spider-man action, it really kicks off.
The Spider-man CGI: Sony Image Works at least nailed the Spider-man portion of their special effects. I couldn’t be happier with their renderings of the character. He’s quicker than a human being, agile, flexible, acrobatic, and just plain cool to look at. Yeah, we’ve seen web swinging before, but not like this. It’s absolutely beautiful.
Fighting: Spider-man uses his webs so much more in this film. It’s pretty awesome how creative he is with it. He’s also much faster in this movie. There’s a scene where he wraps the lizard up in web by crawling all over his body, going around and around. He’s crawling so fast that you know it can’t be practical effects because humans don’t move that fast, but it doesn’t look fake either. While the Lizard’s design and characterization is debatable, he brings a lot to the table in terms of fighting. When people say he doesn’t pose much of a threat, they aren’t talking about his physicality. He’s much stronger than Spider-man, hurling him through walls repeatedly, punching holes through steel doors, recovering from a 5+ man machine gun assault. He was brutal.
Retelling: As a retelling of the classic tale, it does a lot of things right. I loved the way they worked the dialogue from USM volume 1 and 6 into the film, about power and responsibility. They did it in a way that is much more touching than anything I experienced in the Raimi films, and this is coming from someone who appreciates those for what they are. The Uncle Ben dynamic is great in this movie.
The acting: Brilliant. Andrew is perfect, I could hug him. Emma Stone is lovely, Martin Sheen and Sally Field, Dennis Leary. Hell, I really liked Rhys Ifans, and I’m glad he’s not dead because he is a great actor and he brought a sophistication to his role that many wouldn’t have been able to handle. I think that if the character comes back, and if his Lizard counterpart is written a little better, it’ll be really incredible to see him do the Lizard thing again.
Conclusion: While not a perfect film, the movie is a love letter to Peter Parker and Spider-man. If you want to see Peter Parker get his due the way Tony Stark got his, you watch this film. Like the original Iron Man, the villain conflict isn’t quite as cool as the main character himself (although 2008s Iron Man movie does the villain better), but the movie is bolstered up with an intelligent script and really good performances. It makes a connection, so while there’s room for improvement, you feel like it reached you. It stands on its own as a film, and if you’ve lived under a rock and never seen 2002’s Spider-man (nobody here obviously), you’d be better off seeing this film first. I’m very proud of Marc Webb and the cast of this film. Whoever directs the next one has been left in a great place to continue the saga.
This is my new favorite Spider-man movie. Not saying it’s the best though, just that it’s my favorite.
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Post by Caveboy0 on Jul 3, 2012 21:23:34 GMT -5
i can see that. right now i'm worried that i'll recognize how it surpasses SM at the very least, but not feel it's better. so maybe that under hype will help seeing it tomorrow. just hope i get good seats. i know it's completely unrelated to me, but i'll ask anyways, was the theater crowded at all?
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Post by BackinBlack on Jul 3, 2012 22:26:49 GMT -5
I'd say it was crowded at my showing. Not sure if it was as much as Avengers, but it seemed like alot of people. It was also playing on 3 screens.
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Post by Caveboy0 on Jul 4, 2012 14:26:53 GMT -5
just got back. i loved it. some of the pacing was a bit iffy, but once it got into the swing into things, i always intend my puns, it really kicked ass. garfield was incredible as Peter. the range he had to go through was pitch perfect. More importantly they didn't skip over uncle ben's death so quickly. it wasn't his death and then okay move not to revenge. they took the time to elaborate on his grief and oh my god flash was a good character. he had his own little arc and i thought that was great. They really took their time with that and it's one of the big reasons i feel that it surpasses SM, which I still feel for in Ben's death, but here it captured the fallout much better.
Another thing is easing Peter into the hero role in a very real way. I expected Peter to be Spider-Man before Ben died, but that wasn't the case at all and they really gave him a nice arc that wasn't immediate either. Even after the death he wasn't the perfect hero. mostly out for revenge, but the bridge battle showed him that he could be a hero and i felt that rescue scene was really inspired.
the action was also phenomenal. the biggest fight was really the library/school one and that was quintessential spider-man. it was tense it was exciting, it was funny. i loved it. (maybe even more than SM2's train scene) the ingenuity and use of his webs and just agility and climbing it incorporated everything in an uncut battle.
just to go back to garfield the emotions he portrayed were excellent and i really believed in his performance and his chemistry with gwen. maybe some people won't accept that peter can you know be sad and a bit angst, but that's who the character is. he has his ups and downs. his attitude as spider-man was spot on and the chattiness felt right and his kind of high school sarcasm and cockiness. when he jumped onto that car thief yelling "CROTCH!" I was dying. And his commentary after first confronting Lizard in the sewer "That sucked!" perfect. And before that him playing games on his phone waiting for a hint toward the lizard's direction. It just felt right. He's so casual as SM and not so weighted down by heroism and duty and what not.
the villain plot was weak i think everyone can agree. (animal version of experiments gone wrong always turn out stupid i'm looking at you rat lizard) they really missed out on conners, but he was still acted well and for what it was Lizard wasn't bad and i actually quite enjoyed him. i just feel like they could have expanded on his logic because there was something to it just not enough.
as much as i love SM2 as the best possible sequel to SM with a pitch perfect hero story and villain it still carries the same flaws of the Raimi films. it was fun it was theatrical and sometimes kind of real, but ASM blows the original movies out of the water with how grounded it makes the characters feel. Besides there being a giant lizard walking around I get that this was what a SM would be like in the real world. The humor and characters was all believable and I'm really amazed at how many critics seem to let that blow them by. This wasn't just a retelling and really didn't feel like the same story at all. Sure you have ben dying, him being spider-man, and monster created out of desperation, but that is seriously generalizing the film. I don't want to diss too much on something that defined my childhood, but I can't help but say this is the perfect Spider-Man. not the perfect movie, but still something special.
And a large part of that is due to the relationship at the core of the movie, minor gripes of possible creepiness aside, it felt more sensual in a way that was really missing from Raimi's movies. It felt closer and i wanted them to be together and when it seemed done they brought it back that really was a perfect fit for the ending. I found myself cheering for a relationship just as I did in Spider-Man: Blue. For the casual fan this feels like a happy note on a rather tragic story, but to us carries much more weight for what is to come.
I hesitate to give this film a rating because there are aspects that really bring this down, but SM is back and only the most jaded of people will not fall for its charms and thrills.
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Post by Spidey 1923 on Jul 4, 2012 18:14:41 GMT -5
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Post by Caveboy0 on Jul 4, 2012 18:51:16 GMT -5
hmmm it was a mysterious scene
i just saw what i did that i didn't intend to. i think you can grasp and that i'm suggesting.
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Post by Spidey 1923 on Jul 5, 2012 0:46:57 GMT -5
The scene was also very electrifying.
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Post by mr. excellent on Jul 5, 2012 1:08:22 GMT -5
I forgot to mention this the first time... I saw the movie at a B rate movie theater. I appreciate the establishment, it's solid, but it doesn't have the newest equipment in the world. That's part of why I want to see the film again.
Even so, these Red Epics produce a beautiful picture. The colors were lovely, the clarity, everything. I didn't see the film in 3D, but I'll be seeing it on the best 3D screens in my area to really maximize the experience and get a better taste of what the Red Epics are bringing.
Also, my theater was pretty full. Not totally packed, but there were a lot of people there. The movie will get its support for sure, even if it doesn't make as much as the first three. I think eventually it'll get up to those numbers, and possibly higher. There's a lot of room for expansion, and even though it's a little disappointing that the film didn't hit its potential in every aspect, the franchise is in a place to explain things and really expand in the next film. I don't want this to be the type of franchise that always leaves you wanting more, I'd like each film to be a stand alone episode, but at the very least, Andrew Garfield was perfect, and they know what they're doing with Spider-man himself. I'm not worried about this franchise's future.
But, I do hope that Marc Webb comes back. I really appreciate what he brought to this movie, and somehow I think that with the right writing behind all the characters, it's him who will make this the definitive Spider-man series. As of now, I think Spider-man 2 is still the best overall Spidey film, but Andrew Garfield has defined Peter Parker for me, in terms of non-comic book media.
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Post by BackinBlack on Jul 6, 2012 9:50:16 GMT -5
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Post by Caveboy0 on Jul 6, 2012 10:31:00 GMT -5
awesome.
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Post by Spidey 1923 on Jul 7, 2012 3:10:12 GMT -5
Here's my review: I have mixed feelings about the film... Garfield and Stone easily outshine Maguire and Dunst. Garfield's Peter Parker/Spider-Man is more faithful to the comics with his sense of humour and intelligence. I'm glad Gwen was more than just your traditional damsel in distress and could hold her own. I liked Martin Sheen a lot as Uncle Ben, Sally Field on the other hand is the same whingey mother from Brother and Sisters. The screenplay could have been polished a lot more, the romance between Peter and Gwen is underdeveloped and the romance scenes still make me cringe. The Lizard is a lackluster villain; I blame this on deleted scenes that could have fleshed out the character more and the fact that he is written very similarly to the Green Goblin (split personality). Speaking of deleted scenes, what happened to Ratha? Did he die? For that matter, Why did Peter abandon his hunt for Uncle Ben’s killer? Was it a mature realization that he was acting out in vengeance brought upon by Captain Stacy’s assessment of Spider-Man activities? It’s never explained. Also, why does Peter believe that his father needs a lesson in responsibility? Is it his father’s fault that he and Peter’s mother died in a plane crash? And finally why did Connor’s family not appear in the film at all despite being mentioned in the game and even being casted for the film? The inconsistent editing damages the film. I hope they release some deleted scenes to see if the majority of these issues occurred because of original origin that was removed from the movie. Part of me wishes that they had kept the original origin as it would have been a breath of fresh air. The Visual effects were great especially during web-swinging sequences but I wasn’t a big fan of the soundtrack. I particularly disliked the crane sequence, it's cheesy scenes like this that I had hoped this franchise would not include. I really can't rate the film because it wouldn't be a fair score, while I believe it surpasses the Raimi films and is taking the franchise into the right direction, I'm a little disappointed in the final product.
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