Viking Bastard
Adventurer
Hi.
I just came back from the Spider-Man screening here in Reykjavík (Iceland) which was hosted by my local geek shop (comics, rpgs, whatever) and well...
You'll believe a man can swing.
That's what it's all about isn't it? Credibility. I went into the theatre ready to hold the movie up to such great films like 1989's Batman (which is simply, NOT arguably, the best superhero movie EVAH!) and X-Men, but it didn't really work because Spider-Man isn't a movie about a wacko's fight against his inner turmoils or social battles against predujice. You won't find anything so serious in this movie. This movie is about being fun. It is about the struggle between good and evil, about the ideal of the "True American Hero (tm)" beating the crap out of the boogey man. This movie can only be compared to the 1978's Superman movie. As it tried to convince us that 'a man can fly' Spider-Man tries to convince us that 'a man can swing'. This movie is trying to sell to me the idea that a man in blue and red tights is swinging between New York's rooftops and actually be able look good while doing it.
Well, it worked.
I'm not really that much of a fan of Spider-Man. Always been more of a DC man. Superman, Batman, those are the heros I grew up with. I could never connect with Spider-Man very well, it always felt like a soap opera. Of course, the Spider-Man I grew up with wasn't a teenager, he was married. But none the less, I loved the movie. It isn't in any way flawless, but extremely entertaining.
First about the performance of the cast.
Tobey Maguire is perfect as Peter Parker. Goofy yet forceful. The only thing I found lacking was Spider-Man's comedic side, but that has probably more to do with the script.
Willem Dafoe is one of the best on-screen comic villains in history, second only to Jack Nicholsson's Joker. He nails the Green Goblin down perfectly. This battle against Spider-Man is so important, so personal. It isn't about killing Spider-Man because he's interfering with his plans, but because he offered Spider-Man a team up and he refused. He also gets Osborn's double nature perfectly. Norman Osborn doesn't really know that he's the Green Goblin until halfway through the movie, with a great scene where he tracks the Goblin's voice to a mirror. The Goblin suit did look much better in action than I expected but still screamed 'Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers'. I would've liked more facial expressions.
Kirsten Dunst is probably the weakest link. She delievers the lines but not all that much more. Meh. Who cares, we got a wet t-shirt scene.
The supporting cast delievers well. Harry Osborn, Aunt May, Uncle Ben and JJ Jameson do their characters plenty of justice (J.K. Simmons is especially great as Jameson).
Now, the CGI did look fake at times. Especially in the scenes that took place during the day. It didn't really bother me all that much, but somtimes it woke me up from the movie magic trance I had falled into.
Also, Danny Elfman's score felt flat. He gives us a MiB-ish score, but lacked it's spark. I'm a big fan of Elfman so this was somewhat disappointing. I've never known him to give a bad score before.
Overall, I loved it. It was campy movie magic fun, that delievered well on the big screen while still being able to stay loyal to the original source. I'm so there when it premiers!
You'll believe a man can swing.
Mastermind.
I just came back from the Spider-Man screening here in Reykjavík (Iceland) which was hosted by my local geek shop (comics, rpgs, whatever) and well...
You'll believe a man can swing.
That's what it's all about isn't it? Credibility. I went into the theatre ready to hold the movie up to such great films like 1989's Batman (which is simply, NOT arguably, the best superhero movie EVAH!) and X-Men, but it didn't really work because Spider-Man isn't a movie about a wacko's fight against his inner turmoils or social battles against predujice. You won't find anything so serious in this movie. This movie is about being fun. It is about the struggle between good and evil, about the ideal of the "True American Hero (tm)" beating the crap out of the boogey man. This movie can only be compared to the 1978's Superman movie. As it tried to convince us that 'a man can fly' Spider-Man tries to convince us that 'a man can swing'. This movie is trying to sell to me the idea that a man in blue and red tights is swinging between New York's rooftops and actually be able look good while doing it.
Well, it worked.
I'm not really that much of a fan of Spider-Man. Always been more of a DC man. Superman, Batman, those are the heros I grew up with. I could never connect with Spider-Man very well, it always felt like a soap opera. Of course, the Spider-Man I grew up with wasn't a teenager, he was married. But none the less, I loved the movie. It isn't in any way flawless, but extremely entertaining.
First about the performance of the cast.
Tobey Maguire is perfect as Peter Parker. Goofy yet forceful. The only thing I found lacking was Spider-Man's comedic side, but that has probably more to do with the script.
Willem Dafoe is one of the best on-screen comic villains in history, second only to Jack Nicholsson's Joker. He nails the Green Goblin down perfectly. This battle against Spider-Man is so important, so personal. It isn't about killing Spider-Man because he's interfering with his plans, but because he offered Spider-Man a team up and he refused. He also gets Osborn's double nature perfectly. Norman Osborn doesn't really know that he's the Green Goblin until halfway through the movie, with a great scene where he tracks the Goblin's voice to a mirror. The Goblin suit did look much better in action than I expected but still screamed 'Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers'. I would've liked more facial expressions.
Kirsten Dunst is probably the weakest link. She delievers the lines but not all that much more. Meh. Who cares, we got a wet t-shirt scene.
The supporting cast delievers well. Harry Osborn, Aunt May, Uncle Ben and JJ Jameson do their characters plenty of justice (J.K. Simmons is especially great as Jameson).
Now, the CGI did look fake at times. Especially in the scenes that took place during the day. It didn't really bother me all that much, but somtimes it woke me up from the movie magic trance I had falled into.
Also, Danny Elfman's score felt flat. He gives us a MiB-ish score, but lacked it's spark. I'm a big fan of Elfman so this was somewhat disappointing. I've never known him to give a bad score before.
Overall, I loved it. It was campy movie magic fun, that delievered well on the big screen while still being able to stay loyal to the original source. I'm so there when it premiers!
You'll believe a man can swing.
Mastermind.
