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Spiderman 2 & 3
I need a good geek icon. Oh well, young Rodney will have to do.
We watched Spiderman 2 & 3 (for the first time, and I still haven't seen the first movie; I know, I am the world's worst nerd). My observations on the movies can best be described as "affectionately snarky".
Here is what we learned from these movies:
- If you are a villain and discover your better nature, you are going to die.
- It's lucky for New York that Spider-Man is around, because the emergency services are totally useless and OSHA hasn't inspected anything since 1978. (The particle accelerator experiment in the third movie, or whatever it is -- the big open pit thing that Sandman falls into -- slayed us. THAT CANNOT BE LEGAL.)
- All the main characters are really dumb. Maybe the Spider-Man costume kills brain cells. The secondary cast, on the other hand, are completely awesome. Not only did they nail the physical appearance and personalities of all the characters from the comics (Jameson, OMG!) but they really got some first-rate actors for the bit parts, like the landlord's daughter (I loved her!) with her adorable crush on Peter.
- CGI really improved a lot between 2002 and 2007.
The movies are beautifully staged. Okay, I admit it -- I'm a comic book fan, I have been since the 1980s, and I was totally geeking out on the way that they framed the camera angles to mimic the way that Marvel comic panels are staged (extreme up and down shots, and so forth). And all of Spider-Man's body language was so fantastically similar to how he's drawn in the comic. As comic book movies go, they really did an awesome job of bringing the comics to life and staying true to the spirit of the original without being horribly, overtly cheesy. (Tongue-in-cheek and cheerfully silly, which is what they ended up with, is just fine with me.)
Also, would it really have been so hard for Peter to web over to the hospital at the end of the third movie rather than standing around watching Harry bleed to death in MJ's arms? Come on ... it's not like he didn't have time to TRY.
We watched Spiderman 2 & 3 (for the first time, and I still haven't seen the first movie; I know, I am the world's worst nerd). My observations on the movies can best be described as "affectionately snarky".
Here is what we learned from these movies:
- If you are a villain and discover your better nature, you are going to die.
- It's lucky for New York that Spider-Man is around, because the emergency services are totally useless and OSHA hasn't inspected anything since 1978. (The particle accelerator experiment in the third movie, or whatever it is -- the big open pit thing that Sandman falls into -- slayed us. THAT CANNOT BE LEGAL.)
- All the main characters are really dumb. Maybe the Spider-Man costume kills brain cells. The secondary cast, on the other hand, are completely awesome. Not only did they nail the physical appearance and personalities of all the characters from the comics (Jameson, OMG!) but they really got some first-rate actors for the bit parts, like the landlord's daughter (I loved her!) with her adorable crush on Peter.
- CGI really improved a lot between 2002 and 2007.
The movies are beautifully staged. Okay, I admit it -- I'm a comic book fan, I have been since the 1980s, and I was totally geeking out on the way that they framed the camera angles to mimic the way that Marvel comic panels are staged (extreme up and down shots, and so forth). And all of Spider-Man's body language was so fantastically similar to how he's drawn in the comic. As comic book movies go, they really did an awesome job of bringing the comics to life and staying true to the spirit of the original without being horribly, overtly cheesy. (Tongue-in-cheek and cheerfully silly, which is what they ended up with, is just fine with me.)
Also, would it really have been so hard for Peter to web over to the hospital at the end of the third movie rather than standing around watching Harry bleed to death in MJ's arms? Come on ... it's not like he didn't have time to TRY.
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But then, isn't this true of any superhero-infested city anywhere? (
I still haven't seen Spiderman 3. 1 & 2 were fun (and gorgeous to look at, I totally agree) but they were missing the...something...that made me love X-men 1-2 (3 doesn't exist) and Batman Begins (and Dark Knight will come to Japan eventually...) I'm not quite sure what it is. I don't think it's actually brain cells (like I said, X-men)...(most of my geek guy-friends love the Spiderman movies as much as the other superhero movies, while as most of my geek girl-friends are more blase about Spidey. It's maybe that Spiderman is ultimate geek guy fantasy, the nerd making it big and getting the hot chick; while the angst of the other movies is different/more existential/sexier...?)
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I went and was that at the dollar theater with three chemists and we completely failed at not laughing hysterically when they did that.
(it's a shame because the first movie was actually very good. I felt it went downhill after)
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Yes! That always bothered me!
And Harry's death! Couldn't Peter do anything? Maybe use the webbing as bandages?
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I think the X-Men movies are my favorites of the current crop of superhero fare (of the ones I've seen, anyhow; like I said, I'm a bad geek). Though the Spidey movies are great brain popcorn, they didn't do a whole lot for me on an emotional level. For me, at least, the characters in the X-Men movies are a lot more interesting -- maybe not deeper, exactly, but more sympathetic, or at least more emotionally engaging. I've never gone for the pretty boy/pretty girl next door type of character. In the Spidey movies I found myself a lot more interested in the supporting cast than in the supposed main characters, as much fun as it was to watch Spider-Man websling around the city.
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Still haven't seen the first one. Though I admit that I enjoyed these two, it didn't really make me want to run out and collect the whole franchise.
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On the other hand, the whole franchise would be a lot shorter if the characters had any sort of rudimentary reasoning ability ...
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edit: sorry typo :(