The Amazing Spider-Man

[Bob Saget]

I'm assuming this goes here, since Disney now owns Marvel. But I read somewhere that Sony still owns Spidey, not Marvel. But isn't Spidey a Marvel character (??) My head hurts.

Anyhow, The Amazing Spider-Man. Saw a midnite showing on July 2nd. A few thoughts:

-I actually liked the new Peter Parker/Spidey actor (Andrew Garfield) better than Tobey's performances in the original film. And that's saying something, because Tobey didn't do a bad job at all of portraying the character. Garfield played a much darker, serious version of the protagonist. It worked.

-I couldn't STAND the villain...The Lizard. Too much CGI, and not good CGI at that. Remember that god-awful Hulk from the 2003 disaster of a movie? Yeah, it was that bad. When the Lizard spoke, it was almost laughable how cartooney his mouth looked.

-The film overall was allright, not terrible, but felt too much like I've seen this somewhere before. Too much deja-vu from the 2002 film. That film played out better than this reboot (imo), and while Spidey and his leading lady may have been cast better this time around, it was all too familiar. It didn't leave the audience (well, at least this audience member) with the "wow" factor that other superhero films like The Avengers, Iron Man, and Nolan's Batman Begins/Dark Knight have done.

There will obviously be sequels to this. What will they be named? The Amazing Spider-Man 2 would be too cliche and just sound corny, so I had a few suggestions. Since this one was titled The Amazing Spider-Man, you could have...
-The Spectacular Spider-Man for the 2nd installment.
-The Totally Fabulous Spider-Man for the 3rd installment.
The 4th film might be when Parker is having an off-year: The Mediocre Spider-Man.
And for the 5th and final Spidey film, it will end epically:
The Awesomely Orgasmic Spider-Man.

Thoughts? Oh, and (SPOILER if you haven't seen this one yet...)

Seriously, this is my one and only spoiler in this review...

Who was that man in the cell in the shadows talking to Connors after the credits? Me, and many others speculate it was Norman Osborne, meaning we will see Green Goblin in the next film?

 

[UberMouse]

After the Avengers I have a feeling everything is going to be a let down. There are already a few people associated with "The Man of Steel" production that now feel, after having seen "The Avengers", that they went about everything the wrong way and didn't improve upon what had already been done with the newest Superman movie. Time will tell.

 

[lazyboy97o]

When Marvel first got into films they sold off the film rights to various studios. Fox bought the rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. Sony bought the rights to Spider-Man. There were ways for Marvel to get the rights back, but that will not be happening. Fox plans to keep producing enough films to retain the rights. Sony and Marvel (Disney) came to an agreement where Disney now gets te merchandising rights in exchange for allowing Sony to keep making films without worrying about losing the rights.

Haven't seen the film yet, but I hope to soon. It's probably the superhero film I am most excited for this summer as it is the one that I am not sure if it will deliver.

 

[Disneyfanman]

We saw the film on Monday. It was OK, and held my interest throughout. Some parts were spectacular, with effects far exceeding the original (to be expected, since it's been a decade). It really felt like a new movie, even though it shared many plot points with the original. For some reason the villians in Spidey's universe never seem to be well conceived in the movies, other than Doc Oc. The Lizard fell kind of flat for me. I really liked Sally Field as Aunt May and Emma Stone as Gwen. Those changes worked.

I read a ton of explainations about Sony's rights to Spiderman when the sale to Disney happened. My understanding was that Sony had to make movies to retain the rights, and that's why they rebooted a series that is only a decade old. In any case, I also suspect sequels are on the way.

 

[Bob Saget]

For some reason the villians in Spidey's universe never seem to be well conceived in the movies, other than Doc Oc.

Agreed. Alfred Molina was superb as Doc Ock, and the character came across brilliantly.

 

[jt04]

As I said long ago it was too soon to reboot this franchise. That is why it is underperforming. The 2002 version dazzled with the new CGI and there just was not enough advances cinematically in the last 10 years to take the franchise to the next level. The only path to success would have been an amazing story and unfortunately with this character that is very difficult. However I will rent the DVD anyway.

Move over Spidey, there is a certain bat moving in.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I read a ton of explainations about Sony's rights to Spiderman when the sale to Disney happened. My understanding was that Sony had to make movies to retain the rights, and that's why they rebooted a series that is only a decade old. In any case, I also suspect sequels are on the way.

That was the case at the time the movie was made, and it lead to a lot of early negative buzz. Since then, Sony traded the rights to the Spider-Man movie merch to Disney in exchange for having the movie rights permanently. So now Sony gets to make the movies when it's right to do it, and Disney gets all Spider-Man related merch $$$. I think it's a good move. The original deal was no good, and this deal solves that problem while getting you something in return. Sony putting out movies just to keep the rights could've devalued the character long term.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Move over Spidey, there is a certain bat moving in.

IMO, The Dark Knight Rises isn't competing with any of the films this year. I think its biggest competitor is The Dark Knight.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I really enjoyed the film. Yes, there was similarities to Spider-Man, but that is going to happen with any origin story of Spider-Man because certain types of events have been consistent in all of the tellings of his origin. It is like watching a Batman origin and being put off that his parents were killed and that he inherited a billion dollar business and fortune.

The Amazing Spider-Man may not be performing as well at the Spider-Man films did, but it is not like it is doing horrible business. The mindset that a film need to be a huge tidal wave type event on opening weakness or else it is a failure is not a good viewpoint or a good long-term business model. The film has easily been number one at the box office since it opened. While some may be put off by a perceived reboot, I do not think it would be wrong to discount the possibility that any Spider-Man film following Spider-Man 3 was going to have difficulties overcoming the disappointment of that film.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I really enjoyed the film. Yes, there was similarities to Spider-Man, but that is going to happen with any origin story of Spider-Man because certain types of events have been consistent in all of the tellings of his origin. It is like watching a Batman origin and being put off that his parents were killed and that he inherited a billion dollar business and fortune.

The Amazing Spider-Man may not be performing as well at the Spider-Man films did, but it is not like it is doing horrible business. The mindset that a film need to be a huge tidal wave type event on opening weakness or else it is a failure is not a good viewpoint or a good long-term business model. The film has easily been number one at the box office since it opened. While some may be put off by a perceived reboot, I do not think it would be wrong to discount the possibility that any Spider-Man film following Spider-Man 3 was going to have difficulties overcoming the disappointment of that film.

If you make less money than your predecessors, that's a disappointment. Especially true when you consider the 3D and ticket price inflation. I'd say the exception would be something like X-Men: First Class, where it was aiming to be a smaller movie than the tentpole trilogy that it followed. Amazing Spider-Man wanted to be a huge movie, though. No matter to me; all part of my plan to get Spider-Man as a cameo in Avengers 2.

 

[lazyboy97o]

If you make less money than your predecessors, that's a disappointment.

This mindset can lead to disaster. It's part of what happened to Feature Animation at Disney in the mid-1990s.

all part of my plan to get Spider-Man as a cameo in Avengers 2.

I too hope this happens. With Sony and Disney being on good terms it is not something I currently rule out as a possibility.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

This mindset can lead to disaster. It's part of what happened to Feature Animation at Disney in the mid-1990s.

I think it's a mistake to say "The Incredibles made less money than Finding Nemo did the year before, so it must be terrible.", but if you can say this Spider-Man movie made less than the last Spider-Man movie and it came out relatively recently, I think that's a fair comparison. Especially with 3D ticket prices now.

I too hope this happens. With Sony and Disney being on good terms it is not something I currently rule out as a possibility.

Sony and Disney do seem to have a good relationship regarding Spider-Man, so that's important and positive. I think it all hinges on how Iron Man 3 does, comparing it to Iron Man 2 and the Avengers. Iron Man 3 could go three ways that I see: same as the other Iron Man movies, significantly better than the other Iron Man movies, or possibly even significantly worse. If IM3 gets a big bump from Avengers, I think Sony would be stupid to not volunteer Spidey for Avengers 2. It would work for Disney and Sony: Sony would get free advertising for their next Spider-Man movie, and Disney would get a big "hook" for the second movie and they would get to make Spider-Man Avengers toys. Spider-Man wouldn't have to be a main character; if they can just put that "circle around the heroes" shot from the first movie in the second trailer but SPIDER-MAN is there with the rest of the Avengers... that would get butts in seats.

 

[Bairstow]

Saw it. Thought it was OK. Not a terrible movie, just an unnecessary one.
Certainly not as good as Raimi's first two Spiderman movies.
Its biggest problem is that it takes itself too seriously. Spider-Man is not supposed to be Batman- it needs to be a little goofy and corny or else it's just not fun.

 

[jt04]

IMO, The Dark Knight Rises isn't competing with any of the films this year. I think its biggest competitor is The Dark Knight.

Whoops!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dark-knight-rises-pacing-box-office-346576

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Whoops!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dark-knight-rises-pacing-box-office-346576

I really think The Dark Knight was lightning in a bottle: all of the buzz surrounding Heath Ledger's death and the fact that it was a Batman/Joker movie... I think it was an amazing movie, but I'm just trying to read the box office tea leaves. If Dark Knight Rises really does better, I will be greatly impressed and I can admit I was wrong.

EDIT:I finished reading and the tracking looks really good. We'll see...

 

[jt04]

I really think The Dark Knight was lightning in a bottle: all of the buzz surrounding Heath Ledger's death and the fact that it was a Batman/Joker movie... I think it was an amazing movie, but I'm just trying to read the box office tea leaves. If Dark Knight Rises really does better, I will be greatly impressed and I can admit I was wrong.

If this movie is as good as the last it will crush the second installment. Especially globally as so many more people are up to speed through DVD rentals.

Should be close to the Avengers if the story is compelling.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

If this movie is as good as the last it will crush the second installment. Especially globally as so many more people are up to speed through DVD rentals.

Should be close to the Avengers if the story is compelling.

I think the foreign market is growing every year, and you're right about DVDs and "franchise awareness" or whatever you want to call it. Still, I'll be surprised if this movie beats the last one domestically, either opening weekend or overall. I'm leaving myself several avenues to be wrong. I don't have anything against Bats, I'm just not sold on the new movie.

 

[Bairstow]

I really think The Dark Knight was lightning in a bottle: all of the buzz surrounding Heath Ledger's death and the fact that it was a Batman/Joker movie... I think it was an amazing movie, but I'm just trying to read the box office tea leaves. If Dark Knight Rises really does better, I will be greatly impressed and I can admit I was wrong.

EDIT:I finished reading and the tracking looks really good. We'll see...

I think you're dismissing just how good Christopher Nolan's movies usually are.
Take something like Inception for instance, with no franchise or comic-book tie-in.
It debuted big, but with word of mouth and people wanting to see it multiple times (I did) the 2nd week drop-off is much less than with other movies- in some markets, particularly big college towns, it actually made gains the second week.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I think you're dismissing just how good Christopher Nolan's movies usually are.
Take something like Inception for instance, with no franchise or comic-book tie-in.
It debuted big, but with word of mouth and people wanting to see it multiple times (I did) the 2nd week drop-off is much less than with other movies- in some markets, particularly big college towns, it actually made gains the second week.

I really like Dark Knight and Inception, but I'm just not "feeling it" with this movie. It's just my personal opinion based on some of the circumstances surrounding Dark Knight. Like I said, I am prepared to eat crow once the box office numbers come out.

 

[Bob Saget]

Edit. Ignore this.