OT - Spiderman: movie Version or comic book Version?

[gregebowman]

Just saw Spiderman 2 yesterday, and it occurred to me that there still might be people, mostly comic book fans, who might not like the movie's take on Spiderman. I wasn't a big superhero reader back in my early years; for some reason, I liked the war comics instead. So Sgt Rock and Sgt Fury were my idols back then. Plus, I just didn't like the cadre of Marvel heroes. I'm still more of a DC guy, preferring Batman and Superman. Anyway, from what limited knowledge of Spiderman I've received over the years, I know Peter Parker had to made a chemical solution and use mechanical web-shooters, instead of them coming out of his wrists. I also know that Pete's first true love was a girl called Gwen Stacy, and she died when the Green Goblin threw her off a bridge and Spiderman used his web to stop her, thus causing her to die from a broken neck due to the whiplash that occurred during the sudden stop. So, for you purists out there, the movies may stink. I'd like to hear what you people have to say. Personally, I loved both movies, and can't wait for the 3rd one. And, not giving nothing away, the movie definitely sets things up for the 3rd installmant. But we're going to have to wait until 2007 for it.

[PvK]

Not much of a fan of any Spiderman, here, though ya I remember he had mechanical gadgets with web juice supply required, and the whiplash killing the girl is a neat detail which seems like a bad thing to re-do, even from a non-fan perspective.

The preview I saw seemed like it had elements that seemed new and unimproved to me. Particularly, I don't much care for the current style of CGI special effects. They seem rather fake and underwhelming. The physics and human reaction times and psychological reactions to violence seem way wrong, from what I've seen. I haven't seen either Spiderman film though, just trailers, so it's a preliminary guess.

Examples:

Bad physics/timing/psych impressions:
* Recent Hulk movie (trailers - saw enough though)
* Recent Pearl Harbor movie (real WW2 not "cool/heroic" enuff for someone??!?!?)
* Star Wars: Episode I & II
* Terminator 3
* Van Helsing (trailers - again, saw enough)

Good physics impressions:
* Superman II (not great, but better superhero physics, I thought)
* The Battle of Midway (late 70's film with real war footage)
* Star Wars: Episode IV
* Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
* Terminator 1 & 2
* Recent commercial where guy tries to swing like Spiderman and goes face first into a building.

PvK

[Kamog]

Well, I saw the first Spiderman movie and it was OK. The preview for the second movie showed an intersting Dr. Octopus villain so I might go see the movie. Never read the comics, but I watched the cartoon when I was a kid.

[gregebowman]

PvK, I think the reason why some of those movies stink is that the direct/producer/executive productor relied too much on special effects. Sure, you can have a totally digitized, computer-enhanced film, but without a great story to match the great effects, then the picture is marred. I think that's what happened to George Lucas. He waited so long for the special effects technology to catch up to what he wanted to be done, that he forgot that it was the story in the original movie that captivated people. Sure, there was some pretty original effects in Star Wars (I'll still call the fourth film that until the day I die), but it was the story that drew people in. The man had this idea floating around in his head for 30 years, but he actually didn't write it down until he starts making the first episode? I think he just lost touch with his own creation, and relied on special effects and fancy marketing. Just look at Jar Jar as an example. Not only was he annoying, but you just couldn't stand to watch him. I think George Lucas should be forced to watch Spiderman 2 50 times so that he can be taught how to create a great sequel to an already great film. As a matter of fact, anybody who's considering to make a sequel of any film should be forced to watch this movie as an example of how it's done correctly. There are too many examples of how it's been done wrong (Highlander 2 is the most obvious in my memory).

[Caduceus]

I am a comic book fan, mostly on the Marvel side of things. I read Fantastic Four, Avengers, X-Men, etc when I was younger, just before Image became a split-off with the more violent Spawn and Savage Dragon.

I have read a fair amount of Spider-Man comics, and I must say that the first movie nailed the origin very well with a modern updating. The trivial things like the webs coming out of Parker himself make more sense considering he's had his genome spliced with a radioactive spider.

Mary Jane was Parker's first crush. Now, I haven't read all the stuff from the sixties, but he wanted to go out with her. It didn't work out so he ended up with Gwen Stacy who was killed as a result of Parker's scuffle with Green Goblin.

CGI swinging thru the New York skyline aside (some of it was good, some bad), Sam Raimi, the director, did another great job of keeping the heart of Spider Man in this movie.

One of the greatest moments in comic book history is Parker walking away from the garbage can with the suit hanginging out with the words "Spider-Man no more!"

There was also a great nod to Maguire's real-life back injury which almost kept him out of SM2.

Maguire's character's interaction with Aunt May continues to be great, especially their discussions regarding guilt over the death of Uncle Ben in the first movie and how they both feel completely responsible for the events that transpired.

As you can probably tell, I really enjoyed the second movie. It boils down to a great summer movie based on a classic comic book. If you don't like popcorn movies with a pretty good character-driven story, obviously this isn't for you. But, if you've been waiting for Hollywood to get a comic book right, this is your ticket.

Wildcard

EDIT: For a good time, when you're browsing in a bookstore, pick up Secret Wars trade paper back and flip to issue #3 where Spider-Man takes on the X-Men and wins! Incidentally, Secret Wars #8 is the origin of the black costume which proceeded to cause a lot of headaches later on...

[ July 07, 2004, 02:00: Message edited by: wildcard06 ]

[bearclaw]

As far as sequels go Spiderman 2 ranks as one of the best. The storyline stays true enough to the comic story that the small details (such as the webs and Gwen/MJ) are small enough to ignore IMO.

I loved the movie. Couldn't get it out my head for days.