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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: Spider-Man 2
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Aaron Garman
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1470
From: Toledo, OH USA
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 06-30-2004 03:27 AM
In a word, WOW! This was a spectacular couple hours of fun that stayed true to the original film. As many critics have been saying, the special thing about both these films, and especially this one, is that we can all really feel for the Peter Parker character. He's a human, just like us. He has trouble at work, school, and with love. We want him to prevail at everything, but we know it will be tough. Sure, he has superpowers but they come with a price. What a great story and character.
Also, Doc Oc was one great villain. The visual effects with his tentacles are seamless and really do frighten the audience. I heard that Christopher Walken and some others were considered for the role, but I think Molina nailed the part. He had the perfect balance of likability and the essence of a villain we want to root against.
The sound mix was also great. Everything was very spacial and there was a nice use of low bass to rock the house. The only thing I found lacking was the opening credits music. In the first film, it seemed louder and more pronounced. In this film, it was too subdued and a tad boring. Maybe it was the SRD mix. Any thoughts?
The opening credits overall though were great. I liked the fact that they kept with the same theme and style as the first film, with the addition of the artwork. Very nice touch.
I highly reccomend this film...to EVERYONE!
AJG
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Scott Norwood
Film God
Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 07-01-2004 06:03 AM
I was a bit disappointed. It wasn't a _bad_ film, but it felt a bit too perfunctory and didn't have enough quite as much as excitement as I would have hoped. It could have been edited a bit more "tightly" as well. Not that it was a bad film, just that it didn't live up to my (high) expectations.
For a truly crappy presentation, I recommend seeing this in cinema 2 at the NA Circle Cinema in Brookline, MA. This is the right half of what was once a large auditorium; in the current incarnation, the seats are still oriented toward the (now nonexistant) larger screen rather than the current smaller screen, with a (now) center aisle, which makes watching the film uncomfortable from many of them. Other "fun" aspects of this house include: scope lens misaligned, lackluster optical Dolby sound (optical Dolby can sound very good, but it didn't here), opaque splices, lab splices not removed, mix of flat and scope NCN ads, pre-show slide projector way out of alignment, horizontal and vertical keystone distortion of image, minor print damage on opening day (lab errors?), and a crowd of People Who Will Not Shut Up.
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Eric Hooper
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 532
From: Fort Worth, TX, USA
Registered: May 2003
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posted 07-01-2004 01:01 PM
quote:
This is the right half of what was once a large auditorium; in the current incarnation, the seats are still oriented toward the (now nonexistant) larger screen rather than the current smaller screen, with a (now) center aisle, which makes watching the film uncomfortable from many of them. Other "fun" aspects of this house include: scope lens misaligned, opaque splices, lab splices not removed, mix of flat and scope NCN ads, pre-show slide projector way out of alignment, horizontal and vertical keystone distortion of image, minor print damage on opening day (lab errors?), and a crowd of People Who Will Not Shut Up.
LOL. Are you sure you weren't at the UA Stonestown Twin in San Francisco?
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Ron Yost
Master Film Handler
Posts: 344
From: Paso Robles, CA
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 07-02-2004 01:02 PM
For the record, I'm pasting here what I think is an honest review of this film .. found on BoxOfficeMojo:
“Shudder Bug”
by Scott Holleran
©2004 BoxOfficeMojo, Scott Holleran
"An interesting theme about the role of choice in man's actions is lost in a dull, slow-moving sequel that reduces Stan Lee's Marvel Comics hero to the level of a traffic cop. Action movie addicts wait a long time to get their fix and, like the plot, the conflict is familiar stuff.
Director Sam Raimi, who appeared to enjoy explaining Peter Parker's story in the pleasant Spider-Man, returns with a determination to depict Spidey as flawed. This time, Parker (Tobey Maguire) is a struggling student, freelance photographer and pizza delivery man who can't afford to pay the rent. Riding his bicycle through New York's clogged streets, Parker strives to bring pizza to a city of rude, snarling people who aren't worth saving.
This movie's notion of humor is a homeless woman singing Spidey's theme song off-key -- twice. The slice of life posture pervades the movie, except for a few minutes of ballet-like movements through Manhattan, which keeps Spider-Man's feet encrusted in clay.
Even New York City's skyline -- which provided Spider-Man's better scenes -- is muted and downsized, with clipped shots of Spider-Man gliding through the air between skyscrapers; he spends more time falling off walls, getting knocked around and slamming into buildings.
Deprived of both a world worth saving and a heroic hero, Spider-Man 2 relies on Alvin Sargent's script, which is threaded with an idea that holds the web together: volition. Each character faces a fundamental choice -- Parker must decide whether he wants to save the world, actress Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst, trying too hard) must choose between Parker and her astronaut boyfriend and Parker's best friend (James Franco) faces his destiny. Mr. Sargent's fragmentary theme of free will also applies to Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and the movie's villain, played by Alfred Molina, yet another mad scientist.
Theme, plot and characters are lost in ear-splitting action -- Spider-Man takes on mechanically-armed Molina in some nonsense about fusion -- and several diversions, including the movie's low point, a scene using Burt Bacharach's "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head." Saving New York as a burden more than as a favor, Spider-Man is stripped of heroic motives and, since his attempt to stop a runaway subway is perfunctory, it is boring. Heroes do not show up begrudgingly out of some vague sense of duty.
With a lackluster hero and villain -- Molina's lunatic can destroy the city yet he robs a bank to finance a project -- a girlfriend who can't act and a city that shuffles more than it bustles, all that's left to care about is how the choices play. Spider-Man gets some swoop in his swing late in the picture but, by then, things are awfully sticky. While it is not 100 percent anti-heroic, Spider-Man 2 works best for those who like to see their protagonists bloodied, humbled and unmasked.
Grade: C"
Ron Yost
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Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene
Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 07-04-2004 10:57 AM
Ron, that review was only honest in your opinion because it mostly and apparently reflected your own dissapointment.
To those that didn't like the film... Phooey on you!
I love movies. I love many movies. I really loved this movie!!!
It truly is one special flick that does hold a special place in my heart, and not becuase of the movie itself.
The troubled romance between Peter and Mary Jane is much more special in my eyes than any part of the film. Probably because it actually reflects a part of my own life, where I do have this person I know that for some reason actually looks A LOT like mary jane, and I fail at every job just like Peter, but I break easier that spiderman.
I have always been known by those that know me to be self sacrificeing to the point of having no personal joy, just making sure everyone else is taken care of to the detriment of myself. The other person in this personal story is with someone else simply because it is easier, but really doesn't enjoy it and would rather be.... elsewhere... if only I could open my own damned mouth and voice it... DAMN MY PERSONAL ETHICS>>>> DAMN THEM TO HELL!!!
SO for me it was rather poignant, and meant so much more. Maybe it will give me the personal courage to take a little enjoyment for myself, while not losing who I am in process.
Maybe there are more people who have lived this kind of story than meets the eye, or maybe there are more people who feel this way. Either way, this movie does speak on a more emotional level than an action level, a bit of a turn off for the true to form comic book geeks that think superman should wear those god awful colors or that batman really looked good inthe 60's.
Hey, it's raimi's movie, love it or leave it. Most loved it, and theaters are banking. Reviewers love it, 92 percent of the audience just loved it, and they will all pay out the nose for the next one.
Ciao
Dave
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Pravin Ratnam
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 844
From: Atlanta, GA,USA
Registered: Sep 2002
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posted 07-05-2004 07:05 PM
Loved the movie. Probably better than the first movie because the villain does not have the cheesy moments we had to endure with the Green Goblin.
RANT ABOUT THE PRESENTATION:
The presentation however was mediocre. It was in my favorite house - Auditorium 8 at Regal Perimeter Pointe 10. The trailers were out of focus and jittery. In my past experience, the sound and picture of the trailers didn't necessarily match the quality of the feature presentation. Why is this? Aren't the trailers on the same platter? Anyway, so I wasn't sure if things would go right when the feature came on ,so I complained just to be sure. The bored looking Asst Mgr lady and took my complaint. This theater management is horrible when it comes to the technical stuff. I had to complain about Kill Bill2's horrible projection in their best auditorium(there was a lot of jitter, obvious in the B&W scenes) and the general manager blew me off saying it was fine. In any case, Spidey 2 starts and the movie titles seem to be a little less jittery and more in focus(but not perfect) than the trailer credits. But one problem still remained. The sides of the movie had this debris like outline like the edges were frayed and loose fragments were lined up on the side. It took me a few minutes to tune that crap out of my view.
THE MOVIE REVIEW:
I don't know how much humor one needs in a movie. While I dont like a self important overly serious tone, I also don't want to see the tone be jokey jokey wink wink. It was not as dull and full of itself like some of the batman movies or any other comic book movies which have way too many nighttime scenes set in gothic set pieces and few scenes in the day. This movie had a nice balance of situations. The movie improved on the action in the first movie. It had nice melodrama. I was moved by the ending of the train sequence where spiderman is passed along to the middle of the train. I thought it was done very well.
Yes, Tobey can sometimes overdo the Andrew McCarthy school of acting when it comes to staring with bug eyes. But I liked it. I liked the casting. Molina is one of my favorite character actors and he didn't disappoint. I liked the casualness in the dinner scene with his wife and Peter Parker. Molina didn't ham it up. I liked some minor casting choices like the gawky skinny neighbor girl(And no, I am not talking about Kirsten Dunst ![[Wink]](wink.gif) ).
It is nice to see that despite all the fuckups Hollywood can engage in, they are getting some clue about hiring directors for comic book/genre movies a lot of the time these days. Sam Raimi, G Del Toro (Hellboy), Cuaron(Harry Potter), Bryan Singer (X Men), Peter Jackson (LOTR), Nolan(Batman Begins) are all choices to be commended and makes one forget choices like the upcoming C**twoman movie with Halle Berry.
By the way, if anyone has a question about Bale as Batman, watch Equilibrium, and you will know the guy fits the role.
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