muh2o
Acrobat
lAST WARNING FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO BE SURPRISED. DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER....
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YOU'VE BEEN WARNED
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I was lucky enough to screen Spider-Man this afternoon. Being a fan of Spider-Man for more than 20 years, this was a movie I had been waiting for ever since it was announced more than 10 years ago. I'm not going to go into great detail about the film, but I can't give an opinion without discussing what happens.
First of all, and this was anticipated, the timeline in the film does not exactly follow the Marvel Comics timeline. We start out with High School science nerd Peter parker, who after a school field trip to a science lab, is bitten by a genetically altered spider. The film does a good job slowly exposing the effects of the bite, although I thought some of the scenes in the high school were ridiculous (not the brightest kids if they couldn't figure out who he was). Eyeing a newspaper ad, Peter sets off to a "toughman" type challenge, where he could pocket $3,000 for staying in a ring for 3 minutes with a badass. Of course, he wins, but the payoff is only $100 as the boss is pissed he finished the other guy off in less than 2 minutes. A robber comes in, and steals the [boss'] money, but Peter doesn't stop him. That same robber kills his Uncle Ben in a carjacking, and with Uncle Ben's "With great power comes great responsibilty" ringing in his ears, he sets off to stop the thief, and now murderer.
I really enjoyed how the film makers developed Peter into Spider-Man. He didn't just put on a suit, and fight crime. It was very awkward at first, especially web swinging, and his first costume wasn't the full body costume we know him for.
The villian in the film is the Green Goblin. Willem Defoe is great as Norman Osbourne (aka the Green Goblin). Under pressure from the military to meet a deadline, Norman becomes his own lab rat, and goes mad from his own experiments. He eventually targets Spider-Man, and their entanglements become the focus of the latter half of the film.
Taking real liberty with the timeline, Mary Jane Watson is Peters's first love interest. In one MAJOR timeline warp, MJ replaces Gwen Stacy as the fall-off-the-bridge girl. In the comic book, Gwen dies. In this version...well, you have to see it. It's pretty cool.
Tobey Mcguire does a fairly decent job playing both Peter and Spidey. Willem DeFoe is brilliant as the Goblin. The actor who played Daily Bugle chief J.J. Jameson was a bright spot. Kirsten Dunst was good as Mary Jane, although I can think of a dozen actresses who would have been better for the role. Kirsten is a fine actress. I just don't think of her as M.J.
The special effects are very good for this type of film. The web slinging scenes are really great. For years I wondered how he was able to swing around the city, as well as other places. This film did a great job explaining that, not with words, but just observing the motions.
The end of the film sets up the sequel. As in the Marvel timeline, Harry Osbourne will be seeking revenge for the defeat of his father. Maybe we'll also be seeing The Lizard in the next one, as Peter loses his job with a "Dr Connors" who is only mentioned, and never seen.
Overall, a good film. I wasn't horribly disappointed. I just hate it when they screw with the original timeline, although I understand why they do it. I give it 2.5 out of 4 stars.
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.
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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
YOU'VE BEEN WARNED
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I was lucky enough to screen Spider-Man this afternoon. Being a fan of Spider-Man for more than 20 years, this was a movie I had been waiting for ever since it was announced more than 10 years ago. I'm not going to go into great detail about the film, but I can't give an opinion without discussing what happens.
First of all, and this was anticipated, the timeline in the film does not exactly follow the Marvel Comics timeline. We start out with High School science nerd Peter parker, who after a school field trip to a science lab, is bitten by a genetically altered spider. The film does a good job slowly exposing the effects of the bite, although I thought some of the scenes in the high school were ridiculous (not the brightest kids if they couldn't figure out who he was). Eyeing a newspaper ad, Peter sets off to a "toughman" type challenge, where he could pocket $3,000 for staying in a ring for 3 minutes with a badass. Of course, he wins, but the payoff is only $100 as the boss is pissed he finished the other guy off in less than 2 minutes. A robber comes in, and steals the [boss'] money, but Peter doesn't stop him. That same robber kills his Uncle Ben in a carjacking, and with Uncle Ben's "With great power comes great responsibilty" ringing in his ears, he sets off to stop the thief, and now murderer.
I really enjoyed how the film makers developed Peter into Spider-Man. He didn't just put on a suit, and fight crime. It was very awkward at first, especially web swinging, and his first costume wasn't the full body costume we know him for.
The villian in the film is the Green Goblin. Willem Defoe is great as Norman Osbourne (aka the Green Goblin). Under pressure from the military to meet a deadline, Norman becomes his own lab rat, and goes mad from his own experiments. He eventually targets Spider-Man, and their entanglements become the focus of the latter half of the film.
Taking real liberty with the timeline, Mary Jane Watson is Peters's first love interest. In one MAJOR timeline warp, MJ replaces Gwen Stacy as the fall-off-the-bridge girl. In the comic book, Gwen dies. In this version...well, you have to see it. It's pretty cool.
Tobey Mcguire does a fairly decent job playing both Peter and Spidey. Willem DeFoe is brilliant as the Goblin. The actor who played Daily Bugle chief J.J. Jameson was a bright spot. Kirsten Dunst was good as Mary Jane, although I can think of a dozen actresses who would have been better for the role. Kirsten is a fine actress. I just don't think of her as M.J.
The special effects are very good for this type of film. The web slinging scenes are really great. For years I wondered how he was able to swing around the city, as well as other places. This film did a great job explaining that, not with words, but just observing the motions.
The end of the film sets up the sequel. As in the Marvel timeline, Harry Osbourne will be seeking revenge for the defeat of his father. Maybe we'll also be seeing The Lizard in the next one, as Peter loses his job with a "Dr Connors" who is only mentioned, and never seen.
Overall, a good film. I wasn't horribly disappointed. I just hate it when they screw with the original timeline, although I understand why they do it. I give it 2.5 out of 4 stars.
