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Episode 1246 Talkback: The Amazing Spider-Man Movie Review
Pants
Posts: 567
For Spider-Man's 50th Anniversary year we get a reboot of the movie franchise. Chris, Dani and Ryan from Wild Pig Comics join us to talk all about 'The Amazing Spider-Man' film. (1:06:24)
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Comments
http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2012/0706/Why-Spider-Man-is-pulling-in-moviegoers.-Again
Also, I posted this on another thread but I thought I'd add it here too in case you missed it:
What was left on the cutting room floor?"
http://www.vulture.com/2012/07/what-was-cut-from-the-amazing-spider-man.html
I assume that the "lizard serum" will perhaps appear again in the sequels. Why couldn't Norman Osborn inject himself with an advanced version that will turn him into a "goblin?"
Norman Osborn's "dying" - What if this is more metaphorical rather than physical. Maybe Norman has already tried some experimental treatment and the Goblin persona is already there, trying to take over and because he is not in the movie we don't get to see that until the second or third movie. It's a stretch of a theory.
Peter's lack of money problems - Maybe his parents had life insuarnce. Lack of money is a staple of the Spider-Man mythos, they could have touched on it somewhow but it didn't really bother me.
Best Stan Lee cameo to date.
End scene - The way the shadowed guy was fidgeting grabbing at his elbows suggests to me this is somebody clearly not playing with a full deck and can't see it being villians such as Electro, Chameleon or Mysterio. The voice might not be a "Norman Osborn" voice but I thought it made a slightly decent "goblin" voice. I read articles saying that it was not Norman, but I've learned that you can't always trust that stuff even when it's coming from the production team. The Goblin and Jackel are my first two choices with Doc Oc being a distant third. They can bring Jackel into it without it turning it into a clone fest.
The "where did he get industrial strength webbing" discussion confused me. He came across it in the lab and found several cartridges of it. He took one or two with him. He was proven to be super smart throughout the movie, so he could have reverse engineered it. Now if asked where he got the money to buy the materials he needed for it, that I can understand questioning. He also had access to the labs once he started working for Curt Connors, so he also could have snagged cartridges here and there.
I personally thought he did come across geeky, which I don't think Toby MacGuire ever did in my eyes. This was the scrawny kid at school who took photos and few people paid attention to except to pick on.
Not a huge fan of the costume change around the arms and hands, but I honestly rarely noticed it in he movie. Loved the quips while fighting and the fun the character brought. I didn't think it felt long at all, and when I saw the running time before going to the theater, I thought it would feel that way.
I look forward to more in the future, and I agree I hope they save the Green Goblin fr the 3rd movie, but who should be in the next one (assuming they don't take a character that was done in the Raimi run)? Maybe do the Scorpion being hired by Jameson story? Or Mysterio? Or Electro?
My ratings for the Spider-Man movies are:
Spider-Man = 3 out of 5
Spider-Man 2 = 4 out of 5
Spider-Man 3 = 2 out of 5
Amazing Spider-Man = 4.5 out of 5
Great show as always, guys!!
Also, I think the ending of him walking away from MJ in the Raimi movie helped emphasized how he isolates himself with this burden. Uncle Ben, Harry, to some extent Norman & Aunt May, all "paid a price" for Peter being Spider-man. He is just trying to save MJ from that same fate.
M.
1. The CGI, and not just that used for the Lizard, was horrendous. None of the webbing looked natural and the Lizard was obviously wrong.
2. The end fight looked basically like they designed it with the video game in mind. When I watch a scene and feel like I'm watching a video game rather than a movie, you've done something wrong.
3. I would have thought that, since they appeared to be trying to make a movie that is more for kids, they could have prevented Leary from saying "ass." It was the only real "swear" word in the thing, and they pointed it out by having the kid comment on it, so it *really* stood out.
4. I just had a hard time seeing Garfield as Peter Parker. Some of the school scenes were okay, but he just doesn't look like I imagine Parker to look. And I'm not a big fan of the hoodie look anyway.
5. Stan Lee's cameo...why do they insist on interrupting dramatic fight scenes with these moronic attempts at humor scenes just to show Stan Lee for the 593rd time?
There were a couple things I just had to accept, like Spider-Man standing without his mask in a spotlight totally unconcerned with his secret identity, and his revealing his identity to mollify the kid.
Things I did like, though include the retelling of the origin, a real Gwen Stacy (and though I absolutely love Bryce Dallas Howard, Emma Stone was really good), his designing his own webshooters based on webs from the spider that bit him, and Spidey's comments during fights. I also loved Uncle Ben and the change that they made to his death.
Overall, there was just more that I didn't like than that I did. I just didn't feel like there was anything special in the story that we were given.
M
Only needed a VHS vs DVD rant to complete a hat-trick!
The score left no lasting impression on me as well. I was alright with the lizard having no snout, they didn't really have many tight face shots anyway (at least that I remember)
At the end, after the credits I felt exactly like the guy who said maybe its Electro, I was reminded of the comic where electro just cracks a huge whole into the jail and lets all the baddies out.
That Stan Lee Cameo was probably the best one,
The thing that clinched the first Sam Rami for me is when he tells Mary Jane he can't be with her. I always think of Peter, in that part of his life, as the guy who does not get the girl. I like that they kept the same note in this movie.
I did not like the fact that Gwen immediately knew her father made him promise. I thought it was a bit too soon. If they had a scene earlier that would have given her a clue it would have helped.
In short, teen romance elements aside, there's no more "responsible" course of action than to seek out help when one realizes one needs it, and I would argue that's what Peter does when he lets Gwen in on his secret. 'Nuff said.
As to Peter's distancing himself from MJ and Gwen, in both cases ostensibly to "protect" the women from the collateral dangers of his crimefighting: who's to say that they even want or need to be "protected"? Peter decided for himself to assume the burden of being Spider-Man; don't the women in his life deserve the chance to make a similar decision as to whether or not they're willing to accept the risks of being a superhero's significant other, rather than having that decision made for them by Peter? (Or worse yet, in Gwen's case, by a deathbed pact between Peter and her overprotective dad to "leave Gwen out of it"--rather hypocritical of Capt. Stacy, btw, given that he didn't "leave Gwen's mother out of it" when he asked her to become a policeman's wife!) The way I see it, by summarily cutting Gwen/MJ out of his life without so much as the courtesy of an explanation, even if he does so out of concern for their safety, Peter does them and himself a real disservice. Thank goodness Gwen calls bulls**t on him in this most recent film, and he reconsiders his move in the end.
Point two, Pete seeing his powers as a burden makes sense to why he would keep his distance from MJ (or Gwen). Clark Kent did the same with Lois for years (in Smallville, Clark had multiple opportunities to tell Lana & didn't for the same type of reasoning.)
If there were news flashes about someone robbing a bank & stealing millions of dollars, and I told & showed you it was me, I've just burdened you. Even if you're going to keep my secret, you're a part of it. If my secret gets out, you could go down as well for knowing & never reporting me. I cannot undo you knowing once I tell you the secret.
The idea of his powers being a burden is the exactly why I would never want super powers. Everyone thinks how cool it would be to have extraordinary abilities, but few think about the burden or psychological weight that goes with it. Obviously, I'm not a superhero & my life is not that dangerous. I do, however, keep certain aspects of what I do through work secret from Meg to keep her safe. There was a long period of time I distance myself from people (let alone a love interest) to protect them.
You're right, it's not fair of Peter to not let MJ make the decision for herself, but his secret isn't something small. There's a huge weight/burden that comes with it. Once he shares it with her, it's her's as well...whether she can handle it or not. Peter can never undo it (unless Mephisto gets involved, apparently.)
M
I thought Toby MacGuire was good in the first run of movies, but Garfield was even better in Amazing. I thought he came off as geeky and portrayed the Peter Parker character really well.
I also hope that the Green Gobblin doesn't appear until the 3rd movie, and that Gwen doesn't die until at least the 3rd movie. I like Emma Stone so much in this movie that I hope that they don't rush to kill her in the second movie. They can have her in at least three movies before the inevitable killing. Especially when they killed Captain Stacey right away. I would have liked to see Dennis Leary in another movie before he died. I think they rushed it a little bit with offing him in the first movie. They could have built the bond between Peter and this family a little more before the tragedy of Capt. Stacey's death. Draw it out a little more. Uncle Ben just died, Capt. Stacey could have died in the next movie.
Scorpion, Mysterio, or Electro are all good choices for the second movie. Great picks. Rhino would be cool too. Maybe even Craven. I know that we'll see the Green Goblin eventually. And its probably a decent bet that Venom will show up some time. But I would like to see them hold back on those characters a little longer so that we can see soem of these other guys that we haven't seen yet. There's no shortage of cool characters here.
I really enjoyed it though. I liked the fancy moves he does when he's swinging through town (you know, the ones you get half way through the video game) I like this lizard better than the one that's currently in the comic snout or no snout. Leary I thought was great, going into the movie you know he's probably going to bite it but he was good enough I was hoping for it to happen in the next one.
I'm glad the wrestling ring still made an appearance even if for just a minute.
One thing my wife pointed out was that when he has the mask on it fully looks like a single piece of material and when he takes of off it makes it a little weird to see.
I really enjoyed Garfield and Stone's performances individually, although I did not feel much chemistry between the two. That awkward will they/won't they scene in the school hall felt too much like twenty-year-olds playing high school kids. Still, not a fatal flaw in the film. Kudos to the filmmakers for not turning Gwen into a "damsel in distress" at the end (and nice foreshadowing of, I suppose, her ultimate fate at the Goblin's hands when Spidey tosses her out the school window and catches her with a web). I liked Curt Connors as a character but thought the Lizard did not translate overly well to the screen (as several of you all said) - he looked too cartoony, even stop-motion-ish. Oh, well.
Loved Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben (once I got over my "That's President Bartlett!" feeling), but thought Sally Field was underutilized as Aunt May. (Granted, Aunt May isn't much of a character in those early comic stories, either.)
I kept waiting for Connors' family to show up, as in the comics. I noted (I think) that Connors is wearing a wedding ring... a dropped subplot, perhaps?
I enjoyed Dennis Leary as Captain Stacy - but I did not know he was going to die! Don't know that character's comics history, so that development truly surprised me.
I do know, that, Uncle Ben doesn't actually say "With great power..." in Amazing Fantasy 15 (the narrator does in a text box), so I didn't mind as much as you guys seemed to that it was missing.
I also have to disagree with several of you - I thought the James Horner score was fantastic! I think there actually is a theme (this being Horner, heavy on the trumpets, of course) that gets lots of repetition - but I will have to wait until I hear the CD to render final judgment. I do know I enjoyed it in the film, though. Another great Horner effort.
I was disappointed we didn't get to meet a new J. Jonah Jameson this time around. Next time, maybe?
I think Flash got into Midtown Science High because the school must be a magnet school. I attended a magnet school for part of high school, but the school was also the default local neighborhood school for others who were not there because of the magnet programs. So it's not at all unbelievable that kids like Flash would be there.
By the way, Aunt May totally knows, and so what if they never showed where/how Peter was able to get the resources for his costume and equipment? Stan and Steve always kinda glossed over that, too.
So, better than the Raimi films? Yeah, I think so. I don't think they've held up particularly well, especially 2. Good lord, MJ, your orphaned, scraping-by, not-boyfriend missed your play. Big deal. Not only is he kind of busy, but you're a terrible actress... I mean, just stop and look at your own performance in this very movie! No need to go off and marry an astronaut over something so slight as that. He'd be better off with that girl who gave him cake, which must have been important because they slowed down the whole movie and took a break from the forced Christ metaphors just to show him getting that cake. Must have been good cake.
First, I could not wait until the origin was over with. I understand it's supposed to cross throughout the trilogy, but damn...WE KNOW THE ORIGIN!
I could not stay Garfield as Spider-man. He had the quips that I missed from Raimi's movies, but I just couldn't get behind him as the character (maybe part of that is because I hate Ultimate Spider-man and this definitely feels like it)
I could not buy Peter's relationship with Aunt May and Uncle Ben. I couldn't buy their casting either. In fact, when Ben died, I did not feel anything...I just didn't care.
The Lizard was written wrong and looked even worse
Still had a Spider-man who's allergic to wearing a mask, but with a costume that sucked, it's no wonder.
The crane scene...WTF?!
His reveal to Gwen annoyed the hell out of me; maybe if Uncle Ben had reminded him about Great Power and Great Responsibility
The positive (besides the quips) was Emma Stone and Denis Leary. Like both of them.
I think it might have been better if they bypassed the origin part of the story, it felt very redundant and I felt NO emotion attachment this time around. When it was over, I immediately ejected the disc, and put it back in my bag to return to Los Pants. My wife fell asleep the last 20 minutes, and never asked what happened or that she wanted to see how it ended. Spider-man 3 was truly the last Spidey movie I will be seeing any time in the foreseeable decade.
M.
:O)
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