Spiderman 2 - Save Your Money

POSTED BY: SHINYGOODGUY
UPDATED: Friday, May 9, 2014 23:07
VIEWED: 5967
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SHINYGOODGUY

Tuesday, May 6, 2014 4:02 PM

It wasn't that it was that bad, no Spiderman 2 tries to do too much in giving the Webslinger something to do besides frolic among the skyscrapers of New York.

A barely recognizable Paul Giamatti as one of the villians, used a very bad Russian accent and who's talents were wasted in this mess. Marvel must have paid a goodly sum to convince him and Dennis Leary to cameo because both gifted actors had very little to no screen time. Academy Award winner Jaime Foxx played second banana to a young actor named Dane DeHann, Harry Osborne, son to the dying Norman Osborne (Chris Cooper, who was uncredited) barely has 2 minutes of screen time. A Waste.

Car chases, explosions, building collapses and the obligatory public in danger scene, all by the numbers and what you come to expect from a Marvel superhero movie. But here's where they could have had fun with it. Don't get me wrong, there were some funny and snappy dialogue sprinkled throughout, but here's where I feel they went wrong. They took themselves too serious, then too cartoony, then too melodramatic. It didn't know what it wanted to be. In one scene, where a bad guy threatens the lives of innocent bystanders, about 20 cop cars show up in mere milliseconds. Why didn't they make a joke out of that. Maybe even a sight gag or two. Sprinkle those throughout, then maybe you got something.

Dennis Leary, as Gwen Stacy Police chief dad, shows up, courtesy of Spiderman's troubled conscience, and gives him a disapproving look, causing our hero all manner of anguish (by the way, Andrew Garfield, the star, was erratic in this role - as Spiderman he delivers, but as Peter Parker, you could actually see him "acting"). In one scene with his main squeeze, both in the movie and in real life, he contorts his face in response to a dilemma
with girlfriend Gwen Stacy. It looked rather painful and so contrived, that I heard snickering in the movie theater.

That made the 2 and 1/2 hour running time seem longer. A young kid sitting next to me asked his mother "is it gonna finish soon?" It felt like it was plodding along at times, especially during the overly dramatic scenes between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, discussing their doomed relationship. There was only one dramatic scene in the entire movie that had any kind of resonance with the audience, and proved to be a key scene, but i don't want to spoil it. I must say that Emma Stone does a fine job and acted circles around Andrew Garfield, smoothly transitioning between the dramatic scenes to the action sequences, to the lighthearted attempts at humor.

Well, you get the picture. I'm going to stop here because there are just too many to name. I was somewhat surprised at the end credits to see the name Robert Orci, as one of three screenwriters. He's the co-writer of the new installments of Star Trek, and of one of my favorites from TV, Fringe.
Maybe he's not cut out for movie script writing, or maybe there were too many cooks that spoiled the pot.

SGG

MIKER

Tuesday, May 6, 2014 7:11 PM

Not a very encouraging review.

ECGORDON

Tuesday, May 6, 2014 8:33 PM

Didn't really need your warning. I still haven't seen Raimi's third installment, nor the first of the reboot, and have no interest in changing that situation.

MIKER

Tuesday, May 6, 2014 8:53 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
Didn't really need your warning. I still haven't seen Raimi's third installment, nor the first of the reboot, and have no interest in changing that situation.

Sounds like a yes vote, and you can't wait to see it?

ZEEK

Tuesday, May 6, 2014 10:16 PM

If only you told me sooner. That movie was a disaster. Even some of the things you liked didn't work for me. That "dramatic scene" had me in stitches. I was fighting to keep from laughing too loudly in case people were into it. It was so full of over the top cheese that it didn't ring true to me in the slightest.

The villains were a mess in this film. I'd read that they were shooting for sympathetic villains. Well maybe if they acted in any way human it would help. Instead we have these contrived characters who leave a lot to be desired.

The editing on the film seemed to be non-existent. There were long pauses where we just stare at electro. I'm guessing we're supposed to be feeling something in those scenes but his CGI face shows little to no emotion. So, there's basically nothing going on. Then there are scenes where dangerous stuff is happening that spiderman can effect but he's not actually aware of the danger. So, there's no tension. It just serves to waste screen time. They also bring up a plot involving Peter's parents that never seems relevant and by the end they just wipe it away anyway. All of that stuff could have been snipped right out to cut this thing down. Maybe then I wouldn't have been checking my watch every 15 minutes.

Ugh I went in with low expectations just because of how many villains they were cramming in the film, but since I liked the first Amazing Spider-man I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I think I'm done with this incarnation of Spidey. Call me when they reboot again.

SHINYGOODGUY

Wednesday, May 7, 2014 2:07 PM

Didn't think you would have any interest whatsoever EC, the "warning, as it were, is for those that may want to take the kiddies, or those that want to go with a group of friends (like I did). I didn't think there would be one worse than Raimi's, but I was mistaken.

Still though a good time was had by our little group as we counted the times Denis Leary appeared to frown at our "hero." Now that was truly hilarious, "poor" Denis Leary must be laughing all the way to the bank. Marvel spared no expense - Leary, Giamatti, Cooper - all for naught. There were several unintended cringe-worthy moments that I won't bother to list here, that's how bad it was.

My guess that the comic book/superhero phase will run it's course (Hollywood tends to beat a trend to death, and the flogging is far from over).

SGG

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
Didn't really need your warning. I still haven't seen Raimi's third installment, nor the first of the reboot, and have no interest in changing that situation.

SHINYGOODGUY

Wednesday, May 7, 2014 2:24 PM

I went to see it on Sunday with a group of friends and my son, but I agree, this was a total mess. Afterwards we had fun picking apart the various goofy parts throughout the movie. Leary's disapproving stare won the Booby Prize hands down. What didn't surprise me was Garfield's acting, it was all over the place. How do you go from The Social Network to this fiasco?

The one saving grace: Emma Stone, she's easy on the eyes.

SGG

Quote:
Originally posted by Zeek:
If only you told me sooner. That movie was a disaster. Even some of the things you liked didn't work for me. That "dramatic scene" had me in stitches. I was fighting to keep from laughing too loudly in case people were into it. It was so full of over the top cheese that it didn't ring true to me in the slightest.

The villains were a mess in this film. I'd read that they were shooting for sympathetic villains. Well maybe if they acted in any way human it would help. Instead we have these contrived characters who leave a lot to be desired.

The editing on the film seemed to be non-existent. There were long pauses where we just stare at electro. I'm guessing we're supposed to be feeling something in those scenes but his CGI face shows little to no emotion. So, there's basically nothing going on. Then there are scenes where dangerous stuff is happening that spiderman can effect but he's not actually aware of the danger. So, there's no tension. It just serves to waste screen time. They also bring up a plot involving Peter's parents that never seems relevant and by the end they just wipe it away anyway. All of that stuff could have been snipped right out to cut this thing down. Maybe then I wouldn't have been checking my watch every 15 minutes.

Ugh I went in with low expectations just because of how many villains they were cramming in the film, but since I liked the first Amazing Spider-man I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I think I'm done with this incarnation of Spidey. Call me when they reboot again.

ZEEK

Wednesday, May 7, 2014 8:45 PM

Is saying something doesn't happen a spoiler? Bah I'll spoiler tag anyway.

Select to view spoiler:

So, I heard a good idea for the Dennis Leary cameos. They were saying it would be redeemed if they were actual illusions being created by Mysterio. Granted he'd have to somehow know who Spider-man is and have overheard the conversation between him and Captain Stacey. Still it would make those scenes far less cheesy if they're actual emotional sabotage. That would take decent writing though.

Emma Stone did a good job acting, but I felt like she didn't look as good this time around. Seemed like they really caked on the makeup this go round. Not my favorite look. Felicia was easy on the eyes though.

MIKER

Wednesday, May 7, 2014 9:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Zeek:
Is saying something doesn't happen a spoiler? Bah I'll spoiler tag anyway.

Select to view spoiler:
So, I heard a good idea for the Dennis Leary cameos. They were saying it would be redeemed if they were actual illusions being created by Mysterio. Granted he'd have to somehow know who Spider-man is and have overheard the conversation between him and Captain Stacey. Still it would make those scenes far less cheesy if they're actual emotional sabotage. That would take decent writing though.

Emma Stone did a good job acting, but I felt like she didn't look as good this time around. Seemed like they really caked on the makeup this go round. Not my favorite look. Felicia was easy on the eyes though.

I'll wait to see it when it is the movie of the week.

SECOND

Thursday, May 8, 2014 12:50 AM

Rex Reed peed on The Amazing Spider Man 2: “It is not a sequel, just another retread of tired material in a franchise that is more than ready for the big comic book bonfire. And why the title? There is nothing amazing about it.”

What is wrong with The Amazing Spider Man 2? It only got a 53 metacritic rating, which is the weighted average of opinions from the world’s most respected critics. That means the movie is neither good nor bad; it is “mixed” or “blah”.
www.metacritic.com/movie/the-amazing-spider-man-2

How bad can the average Hollywood movie be? “Maybe every generation gets the Spider-Man it deserves, but must every micro-generation? . . . The project as a whole conveys a drab sense of bureaucratic necessity, a "let's get this over with" wheeziness.” -- www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2014/04/the_amazing_spider_man_2_st
arring_andrew_garfield_and_emma_stone_reviewed.html

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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