The Amazing Spider-Man 2 The Less Than Amazing Spider-Man

[Khonshu]

Hate to come across as a troll here, but I have to rant a bit.

After watching the Evian "High-Steppin' Spidey Baby" commercial, I realized that my love of Spider-Man has been reduced to a faint ember. I have been a Spidey fan since early childhood, and hold fond memories of the 60's cartoon, the Nicholas Hammond Spidey live-action shows of the 70's (best intro music... ever), and the Saturday morning "Amazing Friends" cartoon. I then enjoyed the 90's Spidey cartoon for a while, and took a day off for opening day when the first Raimi movie was released.

I think the problem started when Marvel Studios started making high-quality superhero movies that paid homage to the true essence of the character and attention to the details. Suddenly I realized that Sony has been running a naked cash grab instead of giving us the Emperor's new Spidey threads, and this realization bums me out.

Now, every time I'm subjected to another lame "Spidey-Doo Saves the Plutonium" clip, or have to watch "The Incredible Goal-Post Bending Football", or see the really lame efforts that involve lining up all of the cranes in NYC or the "Hidden Subway Car Spidey Cave", it makes me die a little more.

I am NOT looking forward to this next Spidey film, and here are my main issues:

1. The costume and webslinging look GREAT. Makes me hopeful that they FINALLY have the character right!

2. Spidey's using his trademark quips! Even better! This film might make me forget how much I hated "The Amazing Spider-Man" reboot...

And then...

3. My hopes get dashed by a clip of Parker and Gwen in a closet, talking about how cliche it is to be in a closet. They are commenting about how bad their own movie is by addressing the cliche THAT THEY ARE USING. Where's Deadpool when you need him?

4. Parker web-lines an apparently UNSPILLABLE cup of coffee and pulls it across an elevator lobby.

5. Pete skips a stone 548 times across a pond and Harry doesn't ask him to do it again, or even try?

6. Again... the Spidey Cave? Seriously?

I can't wait to read about the part of the film where all of the city electricians band together to help Spidey out by disconnecting the city power lines at specific points, all at the same time, so that Electro travels into some kind of MacGuffin Containment unit.

I would be willing to go back in time and undo the Raimi films if it meant that somehow Marvel Studios could have regained the property rights to Spidey.

Sigh...

 

[JOE]

"I am NOT looking forward to this next Spidey film, and here are my main issues:

1. The costume and webslinging look GREAT. Makes me hopeful that they FINALLY have the character right!

2. Spidey's using his trademark quips! Even better! This film might make me forget how much I hated "The Amazing Spider-Man" reboot..."


I stopped reading after this, why are those your first two point? You're already contradicting yourself?

 

[JOE]

Points 3, 4, 5 and 6 are making me shake my head. What part of "this is a movie" don't you understand? If you nitpick that hard you could tear any movie apart... He swings around in red and blue spandex fighting crime with enhanced superhuman abilities from a radioactive spider. Close this thread.

 

[Khonshu]

Because by getting two elements of the character down correctly, the production team shows that they have the ability to do things well. These two items raised my hopes that we could actually get a well-crafted Spidey flick... finally.

It's like a really terrific-looking version of your favorite dessert that gets you excited to bite into it because damn, it looks so good... only to learn that the taste is awful and makes you puke.

 

[Khonshu]

Points 3, 4, 5 and 6 are making me shake my head. What part of "this is a movie" don't you understand? If you nitpick that hard you could tear any movie apart... He swings around in red and blue spandex fighting crime with enhanced superhuman abilities from a radioactive spider. Close this thread.

"This is a movie" is a bad reason to support a bad movie.

 

[Eggyman]

Sorry to hear that. I'll get mine, though.

 

[zipzip]

Hated this one, too - for the same reasons. We go from an overall good film in Spider-Man 2 to a rotten cut-and-paste mash of Sandman, Venom, Emo Spidey and a Brit TV announcer who narrates the action of the film to us?

I was hoping that the reboot could improve the product - after watching all of these ASM2 clips recently, I'm convinced that it has become almost worse. At least Raimi had his tongue firmly in cheek...

So you going to go see it lol ?

 

[Khonshu]

So you going to go see it lol ?

Definitely not, and it really bums me out. I skipped TASM in the theaters, too, and I was really glad I did. Again, it had some cool elements - LOVED that they used the mech web-shooters, and the practical web-slinging was fantastic - but they mistook Spidey "quips" for Spidey *****ery, and they absolutely butchered Uncle Ben's death and its ties to Peter's guilt complex.

So, no... WILL SKIP. DO NOT WANT.

 

[smidders]

Maybe you're just getting too old.

 

[eLPAtitoyUPI]

But... You came to this forums to say that you're not going to see this movie?

Why? lol

 

[LEVITIKUZ]

Nomis, is that you? I kind of hope it is but it sounds unlikely it is. You Nomis over at CBM?

 

[FN Spider-man]

1 I grew up on all those that you stated
2. I'm a spidey fan in general
reasons 3,4,5, and 6 are to me very nit picky
Well that's fine if you don't want to see it everyone has their opinion whether it be completely ridiculous or reasonable

 

[Khonshu]

Maybe you're just getting too old.

HA! Maybe I've just been around long enough to recognize crap when it's wearing a cool costume.

Maybe I'm the only one out there who thinks that the Sony Producers sat down and said, "Hey, Transformers and Pacific Rim are trending well. Let's make Rhino a giant mech. Oh, and this whole multi-film universe thing is working out pretty well for Marvel Studios. Let's cram a Sinister Six thing in there. Who are the six guys in there, again?"

 

[Khonshu]

But... You came to this forums to say that you're not going to see this movie?

Why? lol

Getting this off my chest - I came to these forums back in 2002 to say how excited I was that we were FINALLY getting a Spidey film. I'm hoping that there are others out there who are ready to see this property go back to the hands of a team that will do it the right way.

 

[Hcmarvel]

Well, just to, if not support the 1st post but offer my reasons for reduced excitement, I'll repost something I wrote in another thread -

Well I'm here to eat a bit of humble pie.

I had not seen the most recent and "final" trailer until last night.

I had been worried about this film. I was charmed by The Amazing Spider-Man but not won over. I loved the pieces (the cast, the potential Webb had shown in 500 Days of Summer, the human moments like Flash consoling Peter) but something about the production on the whole struck an odd note for me.

I didn't even mind the reboot nature of the thing. I'm a comic book fan, been reading them since I was 5, lord knows how many renditions of Spider-Man's origin I've read/seen/etc. It was more that I just thought TASM just didn't offer me anything new, Spider-Man wise at least, which I really felt it had to after Raimi's trilogy. The action scenes were just kind of there. They were competent....I really liked the scene where Spidey saved the kid in the falling car...but none of the fights with the Lizard stood out as the kind of thing I'd like to pull up on youtube every now and then.

Also, I am quite connected to Spider-Man 2. I love that whole film, but that clock-tower fight with Doc Ock was kind of a seminal moment in my movie viewing/comic reading life. It was the first time I ever really saw on screen what a live action version of all those fights I'd read in the comics would look like. It had a huge impact on me. And most of all it just made me so happy.

So I was open to TASM but I kind of had the attitude of "Okay guys, whatta ya got?" And I wasn't fully satisfied with their offering.


But there was enough good in TASM, and knowing the leap that Raimi had taken between Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, I was very hopeful for the sequel as soon as I heard Webb was coming back. But then my hope started getting chipped away at.

"Jamie Foxx? I have no problem at all with changing Max Dillon's look/origin, but I just have never particularly liked Jamie Foxx as an actor. Wait, and Rhino? K...I mean I always wanted a Spider-Man movie to open with a James Bond type pre-credits sequence where he just takes on a random Spidey opponent so if it's something like that....Oh wait Paul Giamatti is the Rhino? So he must have a pretty sizable part too. Hm.

Wait Norman Osborn? Okay. Okay. As long as they're just introducing the Osborn's into the world to layer them in for the third film. Maybe they're building up to the Green Goblin for the third one, sort of the opposite track then the first trilogy. OH WHAT THE HELL! HARRY BECOMES THE GREEN GOBLIN? DID THEY SEE SPIDER-MAN 3?"

And I think a lot of people here have been snarky when people have expressed concern about TASM 2 having too many villains. "It's 2.5 hours man. They have time to address all the characters!" Obviously they could pull it off, but I would remind these folks that those of us who are worried about villain overload are not just pulling this out of thin air. When you think of Super-Hero films that feature just a single hero, the movies that have overdone it with the villains have mostly suffered for it. Obviously Batman Begins (kinda) and The Dark Knight (definitely) pulled it off (though I'd argue that Two-Face is only really a factor in the last 20 minutes). But, and of course all the following films had more problems than just "too many villains", a lot of films have been hurt by the desire to over-stuff their antagonists -

Batman Forever
Batman and Robin
Daredevil
Iron Man 2 (kinda)
Green Lantern (kinda)
and of course, SPIDER-MAN 3

I think a lot of us are kind of haunted by Spider-Man 3. And again, that movie had issues beyond too many villains. But it is so obvious that the film should have just been Sandman and the resolution to the Osborn story. Venom being in the movie completely torpedoed the film. And, at least how I perceive it, Venom's inclusion was a studio mandate.

So back to TASM 2. What has me nervous still, is that there is a degree to which it feels like the studio is again demanding their director put as many foes in there as possible. Because they are trying to build their own little Spider-Man Cinematic Universe ASAP. And I'm not saying Webb is doing this against his will, it's just that it recalls Spider-Man 3 in some troubling ways.

But. As I said. I had not seen the final trailer for TASM 2 til last night.

And while I'm still a little weary, and I definitely will keep my expectations low, I must admit...

I was pretty damn impressed.

I do worry that some of that Spider-Man action looked a lot more like the best graphics I've ever seen in a Spider-Man video game (in other words, there is something a little weird about some of the shots of Spider-Man. I wouldn't say that it lacks weight, that's not quite the problem...maybe it's the lighting? I'm not sure. Maybe I'm worried the fights will only include a CGI Spider-Man. That Doc Ock fight works because they throw in some close-ups of a real Spider-Man punching Alfred Molina)

And I still just do not care about Richard Parker. At all. And I do worry that they will lean in some direction that Peter was always destined to become super-powered, which would completely go against what the character is about.

And, the part that had me most concerned was that shot of Electro telling Harry something about "Lets go catch a Spider." Because it could not remind me more of that scene in Spider-Man 3 where Venom finds Sandman.

BUT

There was a lot, a LOT, to love in that trailer. The fact that, after Man of Steel's indifference, it seems like a major part of this film will be Peter going out of his way to save lives at any cost.

The fact that Garfield seems to be playing things slightly less awkward and stuttery, but still funny and charming.

The fact that it seems to be offering me some Spider-Man action I've not seen in any movie, show, or game before.

And then there's that last little clip at the end. That's what really sold it for me.

Spidey going right at Ultimate Rhino, in the middle of a very realistic looking version of Park Avenue (I know it might very well be real thing given how much they filmed in NYC) and doing that thing with the manhole covers. HO-LEE-SHI*

Okay, I'm in. Not jumping out of my skin to see it. But definitely in on opening weekend.

 

[Eggyman]

HA! Maybe I've just been around long enough to recognize crap when it's wearing a cool costume.

Maybe I'm the only one out there who thinks that the Sony Producers sat down and said, "Hey, Transformers and Pacific Rim are trending well. Let's make Rhino a giant mech. Oh, and this whole multi-film universe thing is working out pretty well for Marvel Studios. Let's cram a Sinister Six thing in there. Who are the six guys in there, again?"

You can legitimately look at it like that, but why bother? It just seems a little tiresome. I'm not telling you to leave, but I would if I was so unsatisfied with a franchise. I love the X-Men, but not the movie franchise. I don't post there. Why would I bother?

I'd have nothing constructive to say if I went to those forums. I'd just be that downer guy who annoys the sh** out of everyone who's getting pumped about the new film. I don't want to be that guy.

 

[Khonshu]

1 I grew up on all those that you stated
2. I'm a spidey fan in general
reasons 3,4,5, and 6 are to me very nit picky
Well that's fine if you don't want to see it everyone has their opinion whether it be completely ridiculous or reasonable

Being a huge Spidey fan, didn't it kill you when the Lizard was turned from a tragic "Jekyll and Hyde" figure into a smiley-faced Koopa "bad guy"? That character was so damn cool in the comics, and ASM turned him into a standard Hulk-smash villain.

I guarantee - Rhino will be comedy relief (a shame), Electro will be like Arnold's "Mr. Freeze" (gah), and Green Goblin will be in there only as a way to do some kind of "fan justice" to Gwen Stacy's death. And we will all groan and hate it because we'll know that it could have been so much better.

 

[smidders]

TASM 2 will be the best spider-man movie ever made.

 

[SikeMullivan]

I'm still missing why we're supposed to care. Take your self indulgence elsewhere, OP. No one is going to weep because "wah, I don't think the movies are being handled right because I've seen a trailer or two and predetermined that the other 110 minutes of the movie will suck". Boo****inghoo.

 

[Khonshu]

TASM 2 will be the best spider-man movie ever made.

You mean "up until this point".

Because I'm really hoping - with what I've seen so far - that one day we get a Spidey film that gets the action, the character, the villains, and the comedy, and how these work together to make Spidey the best comic superhero of all time. I haven't seen it yet.

 

[FN Spider-man]

Being a huge Spidey fan, didn't it kill you when the Lizard was turned from a tragic "Jekyll and Hyde" figure into a smiley-faced Koopa "bad guy"? That character was so damn cool in the comics, and ASM turned him into a standard Hulk-smash villain.

I guarantee - Rhino will be comedy relief (a shame), Electro will be like Arnold's "Mr. Freeze" (gah), and Green Goblin will be in there only as a way to do some kind of "fan justice" to Gwen Stacy's death. And we will all groan and hate it because we'll know that it could have been so much better.

No, I didnt like it too much but I knew what it was based or where it was goin from but the only thing missing was the lab coat but thats also how the Lizard was to me because the Lizard part always wanted to take over completely and his motivations were just like his motives in the comics or cartoon.

Rhino was always comic relief (at least to me) he didnt start getting development till later on in the 90's. His design is based off Ultimate Spider-Man, but everything goin on is service to the story they're telling, think of it as another interpretation of the comics (speaking of comics)Spidey has a good bit of different ones.(USM for instance,Spectacular,and TAS (the animated series)
To me all that matters is if the characters are intact and from i've been seeing matches up to me

Electro's design is also based of Ultimates and his character is how is character should be a nobody

 

[LEVITIKUZ]

Honestly, who cares about Rhino? He's never been an A list Spidey foe.

 

[Khonshu]

I'm still missing why we're supposed to care. Take your self indulgence elsewhere, OP. No one is going to weep because "wah, I don't think the movies are being handled right because I've seen a trailer or two and predetermined that the other 110 minutes of the movie will suck". Boo****inghoo.

Thanks, Sike. I think you're trying to convince me that the clips I've seen aren't an accurate representation of the film. Is this right?

 

[Khonshu]

Honestly, who cares about Rhino? He's never been an A list Spidey foe.

Agreed. But by making him into a total buffoon, it cheapens the success that Spidey has against him and it drops the stakes of the scene. As a result, we get a 2 minute CGI-on-CGI fight that plays out exactly how we expect and then move on to the next scene. I would consider this a wasted opportunity for compelling storytelling.

 

[SikeMullivan]

I'm sick of the asinine amounts of divide this franchise needlessly creates. People are either overly positive or overly negative. While I will admit I am a fan of this franchise and think TASM2's promotional materials have been promising, I will also acknowledge that Spider-Man 3 looked awesome in its clips and promos as well.

Saying a movie will undeniably be awesome before its released is just as stupid and ridiculous as your post, OP. There are two ends to this dumb spectrum and they're mutually stupid. Why can't you people just sit and wait to see a movie before making up your minds one way or another? Jesus Christ this board man.......