The Amazing Spider-Man 2 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - User Review Thread! - SPOILERS! - Part 5

[spiderman2]

While you not the only one it is my 3erd or 4th favorite CBM ever top 5 would go something like this.
1. Dark knight rises
2. spider man 2
3. batman begins/asm2
4. asm2/batman begins
5. dark knight

 

[The Joker]

So was this the Dark Knight of Spider-Man films?

Not even close. More like the Batman Forever of them, IMO.

 

[Frodo]

I wouldn't say so, no, seeing as it's nowhere near as good as TDK.

But it's still a very good movie, so maybe it's more of the TDKR of the Spider-Man franchise. Some people love it, some people don't.

I alot of ways I feel like this is more the Batman Returns of the Amazing Spiderman Franchise. It has both positive and negative qualities which some fans really praise and some fans really hate. Has some great characters moments like Batman Returns but also alot of bad moments and missed opportunities like Batman Returns has. Although ASM 2 is much Spiderman better film than Batman Returns is a Batman film imo.

 

[spideykk]

in the context of a spider-man story, it is the tdk of the spidey films.

 

[Figs]

Not even close. More like the Batman Forever of them, IMO.

I still think it's not at that level. Just underneath it maybe but not quite there yet.

 

[SpideyK]

I alot of ways I feel like this is more the Batman Returns of the Amazing Spiderman Franchise. It has both positive and negative qualities which some fans really praise and some fans really hate. Has some great characters moments like Batman Returns but also alot of bad moments and missed opportunities like Batman Returns has. Although ASM 2 is much Spiderman better film than Batman Returns is a Batman film imo.

It's been a loooooooong time since I saw Batman Returns, so I don't even know if I agree or not. I was real young when I last saw it, hah.

 

[Mikelus]

Sorry to the ones that love the movie, but most fans seem to prefer other Spider-Man films so far (my favorite is Spider-Man 2):

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/53609/results

http://www.cleveland.com/moviebuff/index.ssf/2014/05/best_spider-man_movie_ever_vot.html

I don't think TASM2 is going to win many polls this year, except for worst superhero movie of 2014 (only Guardians of the Galaxy could be worse). When movies are really good, it doesn't matter what the critics say, people will vote for their favorite like they did with MOS last year:

MOS Best Movie of 2013 in ScreenCrush’s 2nd Annual Fan Choice Awards: http://screencrush.com/man-of-steel-best-movie-2013-screencrush-awards/

Man of Steel Best summer movie: http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie...movie-poll-man-steel-saves-day-222445002.html

Best cbm of the summer: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=poll&id=177

MOS among the best four superhero movies according to AMC poll:

1) Avengers: 12,722
2) The Dark Knight: 10,105
3) Man of Steel: 6,365
4) Iron Man: 3,748

https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-n...-four-for-the-best-comic-book-superhero-movie

 

[spiderman2]

for me batman returns is the only batman movie I hate but I didn't really care for the batman movies in till the dark knight trligy.

 

[The Joker]

I still think it's not at that level. Just underneath it maybe but not quite there yet.

They both have a good emotional story for the hero (Bruce Wayne dealing with the traumatic nightmares of his parents death, and connecting with Dick Grayson over the similar emotional pain/Peter plagued with hallucinations of Capt Stacy, dealing with some emotional trauma about his parents' deaths).

Goofy villains, one of them obsessed with the hero character. Good emotional supporting character (Alfred/Aunt May). A movie consisting of serious scenes mixed with downright cheesy scenes. There's a few little similarities to Batman and Robin, too.

Nerdy, creepy, obsessed guy (Carrey/Riddler) is obsessed with the hero to an unhealthy degree. He falls into a vat of convenient villain-giving powers (Schwarzenegger Mr. Freeze) and he terrorizes the city. The hero stops him and then the B-villain (Thurman Poison Ivy) springs him from his campy prison cell with cartoonish jailors/psychiatrist to fight the hero. The villain then holds the whole city hostage when he takes over a convenient plot location.

 

[webhead731]

They both have a good emotional story for the hero (Bruce Wayne dealing with the traumatic nightmares of his parents death, and connecting with Dick Grayson over the similar emotional pain/Peter plagued with hallucinations of Capt Stacy, dealing with some emotional trauma about his parents' deaths).

Goofy villains, one of them obsessed with the hero character. Good emotional supporting character (Alfred/Aunt May). A movie consisting of serious scenes mixed with downright cheesy scenes. There's a few little similarities to Batman and Robin, too.

Nerdy, creepy, obsessed guy (Carrey/Riddler) is obsessed with the hero to an unhealthy degree. He falls into a vat of convenient villain-giving powers (Schwarzenegger Mr. Freeze) and he terrorizes the city. The hero stops him and then the B-villain (Thurman Poison Ivy) springs him from his campy prison cell with cartoonish jailors/psychiatrist to fight the hero. The villain then holds the whole city hostage when he takes over a convenient plot location.

Spelled out as clear as a children's book for everyone. If you cannot see the similarities to Batman and Robin or Batman Forever after this...

 

[The Joker]

Spelled out as clear as a children's book for everyone. If you cannot see the similarities to Batman and Robin or Batman Forever after this...

Another one I thought of. In the finale blond Batgirl figures out how to save the city from Freeze's freeze ray. Gwen figures out how to stop Electro.

 

[spider-neil]

Being the 'Dark Knight' of a series implies that is what a movie is striving for. Personally for me I just want Spidey to be Spidey and keep me engaged for the entire movie. For the record I was not engaged for the entirity of TDK even though I thought it was a great movie.

As for differences/similarites between ASM2 and B&R/BF. I loved ASM2 and hated (HATED!) those Batman movies so to me the movies are different. While watching ASM2 I wasn't thinking of Batman, not once, because I was engaged the entire time.

This argument really is going around in circles now as if one side is trying to convince the other side. No one is going convince to have an opinion other than I thought the movie was great regardless of how many times B&R/BF is brought up.

 

[spideykk]

Being the 'Dark Knight' of a series implies that is what a movie is striving for. Personally for me I just want Spidey to be Spidey and keep me engaged for the entire movie. For the record I was not engaged for the entirity of TDK even though I thought it was a great movie.

As for differences/similarites between ASM2 and B&R/BF. I loved ASM2 and hated (HATED!) those Batman movies so to me the movies are different. While watching ASM2 I wasn't thinking of Batman, not once, because I was engaged the entire time.

This argument really is going around in circles now as if one side is trying to convince the other side. No one is going convince to have an opinion other than I thought the movie was great regardless of how many times B&R/BF is brought up.

 

[spider-neil]

Also read Joseph Campbell's 'Hero with a Thousand Faces' many plots and themes are repeated over and over again. If ASM2 carried a similar plot structure to B&R (even though I didn't see it while watching the movie) so what? I still enjoyed the movie and that is ultimatelty all I care about.

 

[spider-neil]

Also there seems to be this snobbish attitude to CBM movies now. Personally, I'm more drawn to CBMs that know now what they are and don't take themselves too seriously. I want a CBM to feel like a comic book. I want them to take the comic book and put it on the big screen. I wasn't taken out of the movie ONCE with regards to the dialogue during ASM2. What some people term 'cheesy' I call 'comic booky'.

The exception to this is TDK (which I love) but to be honest that is more crime drama than CBM. Batman Begins bored the **** out of me. My favorite CBM lean more towards the comic booky style of film making with a lighter touch than the more serious, trying to be more than it is, take themselves too serious, dour CBM.

Each to their own.

 

[The Joker]

Ah spider-neil we can always count on you to come in talking about how much you enjoyed the movie when nobody was disputing anyone's personal enjoyment of it.

There is no snobbish attitude towards CBMs. Total opposite. CBMs are now highly respected, as opposed to the days when only the likes of Reeves' first two Superman movies and Burton's Batman got any kind of respect. Comic book movies are now the in thing to do and have been for years now. Nowadays the likes of Spider-Man, Batman, Captain America, an ensemble team of colorful costumed heroes etc can win over audiences and critics with ease.

Cheesy is cheesy. Not comic booky. If you loved cheese as a general rule then you'd love Schumacher's Batman. Some cheese works, some of it doesn't. It depends on what it is and how it's executed. For many people TASM 2's cheese didn't work by and large. That's just the way it is. The critic score is abysmal. The audience rating is dropping. Fans are very divided on the movie. To say TASM 2 didn't succeed in winning over the masses would be an understatement.

You loved it, nobody said you didn't. A lot of people, reviewers and professional critics, as well as casual movie goers and fans, noticed the similarities between it and Schumacher's Batman like the ones I mentioned above. Nobody said you did or didn't. So I don't know why you always come running in saying you loved it and never noticed these things as though someone had implied you had.

 

[spider-neil]

Cheesy is cheesy. Not comic booky.

Well I do think cheesy is comic booky or at least they read similar to me on the page. If you don't than good for you. Sure, there is a lot of mature comics like Vertigo but in the main that is how I view chesesy dialogue. I would probably be a harsher critic if this type of dialogue appeared in a drama but my expectations change for CBMs like my expectations change for comedies, or action, or Sci-Fi. I didn't have a problem with the dialogue at all.

 

[thomass]

Ah spider-neil we can always count on you to come in talking about how much you enjoyed the movie when nobody was disputing anyone's personal enjoyment of it.

There is no snobbish attitude towards CBMs. Total opposite. CBMs are now highly respected, as opposed to the days when only the likes of Reeves' first two Superman movies and Burton's Batman got any kind of respect. Comic book movies are now the in thing to do and have been for years now. Nowadays the likes of Spider-Man, Batman, Captain America, an ensemble team of colorful costumed heroes etc can win over audiences and critics with ease.

Cheesy is cheesy. Not comic booky. If you loved cheese as a general rule then you'd love Schumacher's Batman. Some cheese works, some of it doesn't. It depends on what it is and how it's executed. For many people TASM 2's cheese didn't work by and large. That's just the way it is. The critic score is abysmal. The audience rating is dropping. Fans are very divided on the movie. To say TASM 2 didn't succeed in winning over the masses would be an understatement.

You loved it, nobody said you didn't. A lot of people, reviewers and professional critics, as well as casual movie goers and fans, noticed the similarities between it and Schumacher's Batman like the ones I mentioned above. Nobody said you did or didn't. So I don't know why you always come running in saying you loved it and never noticed these things as though someone had implied you had.

I'd say North America has had the biggest problem with the film. There is still a snobbishness towards CBM's from a lot of people, these people can often be critics.

I'm not attributing that to the fact it was badly reviewed (mainly in america) just that it still does exist.

 

[SpideyK]

I also feel like the overall opinion on this movie really dropped when it premiered in NA.

 

[thomass]

And I'm sure you do. The thing is, I haven't suggested anything to the contrary. I believe that everyone who likes this movie sincerely feels that way; that's not the issue. For me, the issue is when a select few from that group start making excuses for the movie itself, not whether they enjoy it or not. To use myself as an example, I'm a sucker for Van Damme's early action movies. I have no shame in declaring that, but what you won't see me saying are any of the following:

"Oh, nobody really hates these movies. In 30 years, they'll widely be considered classics!"

"People aren't giving this movie a chance because they're too stuck on Van Damme's older movies." (The Raimi fanboy excuse)

Read these and let them sink in for a moment. How seriously could someone be taken after making such statements? Would they not seem more like someone who has an ax to grind rather than a genuine fan comfortable in their own skin? These are the types of fans that I consider to be apologists, because, as Anne Fan put it, they refuse to takes other people's comments and reactions at face value, and just assume that there has to be either an ulterior motive or some sort of contrivance responsible for a checkered reception.

Again, I never said, not even implicitly, that people shouldn't like these movies. I enjoy plenty of flicks from every end of the spectrum myself; good, bad, and everything in between.

Weren't you saying that assessing films or art in general isn't actually subjective in order to back up your opinions on this movie?

 

[DyeLorean]

The way I see it, the best Spider-Man version on screen stars in the least interesting, most convoluted, with poorly constructed villains of a Spider-Man movie. The fact that Garfield, Stone and Field made such a great job, makes everything even more frustrating. That's why the opinion is so divided: there's a big group of people that enjoyed it just because Spider-Man, as a character itself, worked. Nothing wrong with that. Is just that, at least myself, expected something more from the 'villain' portion of the film. The nemesis of a superhero has to be explored a little bit further than what we got with Max Dillon. It was a charicature of a character.
That's my humble opinion.

 

[Human Torch]

As I said before,the usual reaction to a mid-level movie like this is "disappointment",but whereas most people see the glass half empty,I see it half full.I'm just glad they delivered a Spider-Man that I could recognize.That doesn't mean I'm oblivious to the fact that the film has problems.

As far as the "cheese" argument goes,I personally need cheese on my hamburger.A superhero film inherently needs it IMO.All the MCU movies have a healthy slice,as did the Raimi films.

By contrast of going too far in either direction,Schumacher ended up covering his film in 5 slices of cheese in B&R and all the recent WB/DC films besides GL fancy themselves "filet mignon" to varying degrees of success.(BB,TDK did well with a limited amount,/MOS,not so much)

As far as TASM 2 goes,it's about a slice and a half of cheese.Probably an over compensation for TASM being a plain generic hamburger devoid of pickles,tomato and condiments.

 

[socool]

The way I see it, the best Spider-Man version on screen stars in the least interesting, most convoluted, with poorly constructed villains of a Spider-Man movie. The fact that Garfield, Stone and Field made such a great job, makes everything even more frustrating. That's why the opinion is so divided: there's a big group of people that enjoyed it just because Spider-Man, as a character itself, worked. Nothing wrong with that. Is just that, at least myself, expected something more from the 'villain' portion of the film. The nemesis of a superhero has to be explored a little bit further than what we got with Max Dillon. It was a charicature of a character.
That's my humble opinion.

Completely agreed. The villains were the worst part. They brought the movie down to such a lower level than it should've been. Really, really disappointing.

 

[Persistence]

As I said before,the usual reaction to a mid-level movie like this is "disappointment",but whereas most people see the glass half empty,I see it half full.I'm just glad they delivered a Spider-Man that I could recognize.That doesn't mean I'm oblivious to the fact that the film has problems.

As far as the "cheese" argument goes,I personally need cheese on my hamburger.A superhero film inherently needs it IMO.All the MCU movies have a healthy slice,as did the Raimi films.

By contrast of going too far in either direction,Schumacher ended up covering his film in 5 slices of cheese in B&R and all the recent WB/DC films besides GL fancy themselves "filet mignon" to varying degrees of success.(BB,TDK did well with a limited amount,/MOS,not so much)

As far as TASM 2 goes,it's about a slice and a half of cheese.Probably an over compensation for TASM being a plain generic hamburger devoid of pickles,tomato and condiments.

lol, great analogy.. and you're making me hungry

 

[Human Torch]

You can tell I was hungry when I wrote that.