What’s your honest opinion of “Spiderman?�

[Tommy]

What’s your honest opinion of “Spiderman?�
by Tommy

I’ve been a Spiderman fan all my life, but I just didn’t enjoy the film.  Here are a few reasons why.
— The soundtrack and overall mood is too similar to Batman.
— Tobey Macquire is too dorky even for Peter Parker.
— The stunt double is too fat in the spidey costume.
— The best CGI is at the end.  Everything else in between is crapola.
— In the comics, Spiderman carries the book with his emotions and humor... In the movie, it’s Tobey.
— Why didn’t the government just arrest Mr. Osbourne?  They had a contract regarding the hover jet and would have traced it.  Aside from that, other scientists knew he was working on it.
— Why didn’t the Goblin just unmask Spiderman when he knocked him out with gas?  It was a pretty lame scene to say the least.
— Spiderman’s webbing and strength seem to deteriate as the movie concludes.  Note the scene at the brigde then the final confrontation.
— Mary Jane is not supposed to look like a cheap whore.

With that said, I’m glad the movie was at least made.  At least I liked the new costume.

[J.R.]

You're questioning plausibility in a comic book movie. Think about it.

I really like it. Picked up the DVD. I think it's the first movie that actually looks like a comic, with the set design and color palette. As a Spidey fan you have to admit they got the supporting characters (Aunt May and Uncle Ben, JJJ) dead-on. And at least he didn't have Spidey nipples.

[Chadzilla]

Let me tackle it point by point, but first off I thought Spiderman was just as good a comic book super hero movie as Superman, The Movie was...

> — The soundtrack and overall mood is too similar to Batman.

Danny Elfman did the music and all his stuff sounds alike to me.  The score was okay (I liked the drums) but it sounded too much like Darkman and Batman put in a blender.

> — Tobey Macquire is too dorky even for Peter Parker.

Disagree, I thought he hit the repressed dweeb just right.  I was a repressed dweeb in high school, so I should know.

> — The stunt double is too fat in the spidey costume.

Fat?  No way, that's muscle mass not spare tire.  Still, skin hugging super hero PJs always make you look fat.  Still, the times when the stunt double took over for Maguire, you could tell.  Pobody's Nerfect.

> — The best CGI is at the end.  Everything else in between is
> crapola.

My one and only statement is this (borrowed from a friend) "It doesn't matter if you spend 90,000 or 90,000,000.  CGI looks like CGI, matte paintings look like matte paintings, and stop motion looks like stop motion."  All this 'gotta be photorealistic' jazz is just a sign of how much Lucasberg has corrupted the dream of movies.  Although some of the effects didn't work 100%, enough did for me to buy the dream.

> — In the comics, Spiderman carries the book with his emotions
> and humor... In the movie, it’s Tobey.

Sounds like you had a problem with Tobey, to me.  I thought the character was handled very well and he carried the picture.

> — Why didn’t the government just arrest Mr. Osbourne?  They
> had a contract regarding the hover jet and would have traced
> it.  Aside from that, other scientists knew he was working on
> it.

Shortly after getting his mind fried by the enhancer, Osbourne is told by an aide that his friend has been murdered and the hoverboard stolen.  It is one line of dialogue, but blink and you'll miss it.  Obviously the shoring up in the script could have helped (a detective on the scene investigating the theft, or something).  But Osbourne is in the clear, no one knew he was there.

> — Why didn’t the Goblin just unmask Spiderman when he knocked
> him out with gas?  It was a pretty lame scene to say the least.

As Jabootu would say, "It's in the script."  Frankly I think that the Goblin couldn't care less who Spiderman really was.  Not until Spidey turns his offer to "go to the dark side" down.  But did you notice the sublte streak of noble in J. Jonah Jameson in the scene prior?  The Goblin blows his wall out, grabs the man by the throat and strangles him, demanding of Jameson to tell who Spiderman's photographer his.  Parker had just been seated across from him, hand delivering photos, but Jameson refuses to devulge his source.  That's honor to the profession!

> — Spiderman’s webbing and strength seem to deteriate as the
> movie concludes.  Note the scene at the bridge then the final
> confrontation.

Wellll, a multi-ton trolley does weigh a hell of a whole lot more than either the Goblin or a partially collapsed wall....and after saving those kids I'd be pretty tired myself, super dooper strength not withstanding.  Even Superman gets winded once and awhile.


> — Mary Jane is not supposed to look like a cheap whore.

Uh, got issues?  Heheh.  She didn't look like a cheap whore to me, just a young teen turned twenty something that I could pass without a second glance (well, maybe a third - if my wife isn't with me).
 

If the sequel is half as good as the first one we'll be lucky.

[Fearless Freep]

Like Christopher Reeve as Superman and Micheal Keaton as Batman, a lot of actors can put on the spandex pajamas, but to really sell the story, you need someone believable when the custome is not on, or no one will care when it is on.

Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent made Superman work
Micheal Keaton as Bruce Waye made Batman work*
And Tobey Macquire made Spiderman work



*Kilmer and Clooney did not.  I think George Clooney was interviewed about replacing Kilmer as Batman and he quipped that it was easy because Kilmer had alread shown that Batman could be replaced.  What I think he missed was that while the guy in tights can be replaced, Bruce Wayne is a lot harder

[Drezzy]

Tommy, honestly, do you b***h about everything? If you were a wrestling fan, you'd do nothing but complain about how Edge forgot to sell his right shoulder during his last match with Eddie Guerrero, regardless of the fact that Edge's left shoulder was being worked on.

Spider-Man is probably the best comic-to-film adaptation ever (with only The Crow and Batman as contenders)*. The feeling was right down to a comic book-feel, and, for the most part, it stayed true to its source. The performances were dead-on, and we also witnessed Kirsten Dunst's first truly watchable performance as well.

Basically, just stop nit-picking.

* = I'm not a fan of Superman at all, I never read the Tank Girl comic, and Dick Tracy was based on the strip.

[Evan3]

I think Tobey turned in the worst performance out of the whole cast and if he was the worst, imagine how good everyone did. Although his voice is pretty wussy, his eyes and facial expressions did the work for him.

Second, I think the show was stolen by Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin) he did an excellent job with everything. I think the guy who played his son was great too.

The costumers are to be commended. Next time you see it, try to watch who is dressed in black and when. It is very interesting.

Some of the CGI was cheesy, but nothing has impressed me more than web slinging (especially not the Yoda battle) and the slow motion scene where he fights the school bully is great.

Lastly, I think Raimi did an innovative and good job with the camera angles.

And MJ is certainly hot in that rain scene.

[ahab]

The only thing that bothered me about Spiderman was the ending. It seemed to me that Sam stole his own Darkman ending and re-wrote it. Small thing that didn't take away too much for me.



Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.

[chris]

Gotta say that it's skyrocketed to one of my favourite movies of all time.  I loved it first time I saw it, but I did nitpick a tad, saying that it wasn't "PERFECT".  But it was a damn good film.  After that I went and saw it four more times in the cinema and I've watched it 3 times on DVD and I think, for me, it's one of the greatest films of all time.  I don't generally get a sense of joy like I do watching Spider-Man.  It truly brings out the kid in me.  Granted, I'm biased, Spider-Man's been my favourite superhero since I was a small lad and Raimi's been my favourite director since I was 13, but I really can't imagine the movie realistically being improved in any way.  Everything worked, the action, romance, drama, fantasy and comedy.  All the characters were treated with the same respect that they've been treated in the comics (unlike quite a few comic adaptions) and the blending of orgin story with the Green Goblin story was superb.  I don't have one bad thing to say about this amazing film.  Can't wait for the sequel.

[Squishy]

I'd like to join Evan3 in giving props to Willem Dafoe for his fantastic performance. The "split personality in the mirror conversation" scene (another Raimi trademark, but not derivative at all here) could have been a disaster; instead, thanks to Dafoe, it is to me the creepiest scene in the movie and better than Jack Nicholson's "Shining" moments.

Oddly, while I am wowed by almost every scene in the movie, my overall impression is less than thrilled. I don't know why. Perhaps Ahab was right but didn't go far enough; while the script has many wild moments and suspenseful scenes, the story as a whole is, like "Darkman" (which I hate), pretty cut-and-dried with few surprises--hero origin, villain origin, fight, hero loses, rematch, hero wins--which is only natural, given that it's so close to its source. It's a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation. Even the romantic subplot yields close calls but no shocks, save for that little ambiguity at the end ("Does MJ know?").

I like the "organic" web-shooters; they save precious film time, and also plausibility. Peter created these devices and formula in his room one afternoon after homework, and then kept them to himself? Yeah, right. I understand Marvel's rewritten that a bit; the webbing was created elsewhere. Still an amazing coincidence.

I did almost puke watching Petey chase the punk who shot Uncle Ben. Had the camera work been one iota wilder, I would've chundered.

Like Elfman's work in comedy; hate Elfman's work in drama.

Hopefully, Raimi is saving up Aunt May's loathing of Spider-Man as dramatic material for the sequel.

GET A LOAD OF THIS! From the IMDB:

"Stan Lee Sues Marvel:  Legendary superhero creator Stan Lee has sued Marvel, his old comic book company, claiming that it has cooked its books to show that it has made no profits from the "Spider-Man" movie and therefore owes him nothing. Lee, who is 79, created Spider-Man in 1962. In his court filing, Lee also asked the court to ensure that he receives his share of profits from upcoming films based on Marvel characters, including The Hulk, X-Men, and Daredevil. Marvel issued a statement stating that it was in full compliance with the terms of its contract with Lee and pointed out that he is well compensated as an employee. He reportedly is paid $1 million annually."

Wow.

[Neville]

I liked all the character development, it is something this kind of films often completely forget about, and I also enjoyed the Raimi touches, specially the scenes where Peter learns his new abilities. They all work very well, and even show a nice sense of humour. If a had to criticise something, it would be the action. It looked too fake to me, with all that CGI effects, and they completely failed to caught my attention.

[Bernie]

I thought this was one of the best comic book movies ever, UNTIL the ending.  There was no reason WHATSOEVER to tack a Superman-style "As a superhero I must walk alone blah blah" ending to the Spidey/MJ romance.  The whole point of Spiderman is that he's just an average Joe who gets super-powers and how he deals with it.  He certainly wouldn't turn down the woman of his dreams!  He never turned away from romance in the comics, not even after Gwen Stacy was killed by the Goblin.  That one moment almost ruined the whole film for me; as it was, it left a very bad taste.  It was just so WRONG somehow.

[Evan3]

Ah Bernie, that is where you are wrong.
The same thing happened in the comics, after he killed his first love Gwen Stacey, Peter didnt stay in any relationship for a long time. In fact, their relationship goes back and forth and neither are even too sure weatther or not they want to get married, (of course it does work out). The relationship will bud, but I think it was really good, especially for the movie, because it gives them time to do more in the next relationship and maybe open the door for other Spidey loves (like Betty Brandt or the Black Cat, YES).

Also, while the CGI for Spider Man does suck, especially when he isnt wearing a mask, the camera angles are amazing and, the CGI for the Green Goblin was very Very good, look how natural he looks on his scooter.

[Bernie]

I stand corrected!  Maybe I just identified with the nerd too much and really REALLY wanted him to get the girl!  (Especially when the girl looks like THAT!)

[Fearless Freep]

I've always thought that was the most selfish, arrogant cliche about super heroes, that the superhero couldn't love anyone for fear that someone would use that to hurt the superhero by hurting the loved one.

Well that's something that really should be trusted to the loved one, shouldn't it?

Spiderman should just tell MJ who is is and how he feels.  MJ then needs to decide if the risk is worth the love.  Maybe it's just infatuation and not worth the danger, so she distances herself, or maybe she decides love is worth that risk.  But it's her decision as well.  To be just cold and aloof seems noble and mature, buy it's really just being arrogant (and I'm not just singleing out Spiderman..same applies to Superman as well.  Batman has is own emotional problems not related to just being a super hero with a secret identity)

[Evan3]

I wont begrudge you for it. Obviously I read comics, which makes me a nerd. I mean if he got MJ now, what drama is left???