Amazing Spider-Man 2

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Not gonna say too much as I don't want to spoil anything for anyone so..... I thought the first in this new series was better then the first three and I think this one was as well. Nicely paced with great action and effects, my only real problem is that watching Peter Parker emotionally tormented by his gift in EVERY Spider-Man film is getting old.

Oh and also would have liked to see more of the Rhino.

 

[Batman]

LIGHT SPOILERS!

I was underwhelmed. What was good, was really GOOD. What was bad was pretty bad. That said, I rank it 3 out of all 5 films. I did not hate it and found myself laughing (in a good way) at the appropriate times. I just thought the main villian's brief backstory was lame and cliché. And the other secondary villian was underdeveloped and shoehorned into the story. I do understand that the studio is setting up something bigger, but they made some bad decisions in order to do so even going back to the first film in this series. I also found the action sequences overly choreographed and too video-game-y. Felt like I was watching a boss battle in most of them. I also didn't care for how they handled the Spidey-sense effects. Despite all that it was the acting and chemistry between Garfield & Stone that lifted it to an above average level on the whole and I really enjoyed the very well placed humor, and the heart-felt scenes were emotional.

 

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The more I thought about it I think I've changed my mind a little and would place this one third after the second in the original three.

The spider sense thing was a MAJOR flaw IMO as it is supposed to be one of his main powers. I was fine with the backstory of electro as really, how much more could they have done? In order to keep it all in one tight package and keep it moving IMO it paced itself well.
I already commented on Rhino, I agree completely that it wasn't needed and felt very forced. Although the thought of seeing the entire sinister six is exciting, for me anyways.

 

[Batman]

LIGHT SPOILERS!

^ for me it was the pacing of Harry's story that was rushed, awkward and forced. They didn't even introduce their friendship in the first film, so I didn't "believe" their friendship meant anything in this one. And Harry's whole role in the film was just uncomfortable at times. And OMG the itsy, bitsy, spider sequence at the power station was so cheesy! it just lowers the replay value exponentially (the way the lights on all the towers fluctuated like an EQ :roll: ) SO BAD....

 

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Yeah but..... Dammit.... Your killing this for me.

Still, I think it's worth a view and better then most of what came before it. And honestly, you had to enjoy THIS Harry as Green Goblin right? Kind of like how the latest Batman films made the Joker an actual maniac killer, which I LOVED, this adaption of Green Go Lin seems to be on that path.

 

[Batman]

LIGHT SPOILERS!

Well yeah I think, I'm gonna dig this portrayal of the GG much better than the other "armored" (sigh) version. I prefer this look and origin more, I just wanted more time and energy put towards it. To be honest I think the original series hasn't aged well, at all. Maybe it's the world of Spider-Man, his world tends to be more "colorful" so maybe for me that ups the cheese factor on film. I think SM2 from the first series is far and away the best from that arc. But I don't care much for watching them anymore, and still, I put this new movie just behind it at #3, with The Amazing Spider-Man in first by a mile. I loved most of what they put together in that one, the tone, look and feel, except that, since they rebooted so fast they blatantly tried to avoid things. "With great power, comes great responsibility," boy they really danced around that line, they avoided Norman and Harry Osborn and changed some things to make it original. So they missed an opportunity to lay any foundation at all with the characters they introduced in TASM2 that were meant to be an integral part of this movie. They got away from the tone and feel of the last film IMO. BUT like I said, the good parts and the Garfield/Stone tandem raised it above what could've been an utter train wreck. Don't get me wrong, it was entertaining and I love Spider-Man (he's my second favorite super hero while a distant second to Bats) and I WANT all comic book movies to do well. I really believe the success or failure of any of them can help or hurt the genre whether it's Marvel or DC or whomever. As far as comic based films go I don't have a horse in that race, I want them all to do well. So when I say I was underwhelmed, it's from the standpoint of a fan, not a hater. And I certainly have no bone to pick with those that do or may enjoy it. I'll probably see it again before it leaves theaters...

 

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Totally agree with everything you have said about the first three films, they sit on my shelf and pretty much never get watched. Of course I also have all of the Batman films and they don't get viewed much either.

I really hope these films keep doing well, I'm totally excited for Guardians of the Galaxy and can't wait to see more titles like this one come down the pipeline.

I think part of the problem you are having with This film is that you are a comic fan and know the story, so IMO you were wanting more of what the characters are about. But keep in kind that the majority of people that see these films don't have shelves lined with books like you and I.

 

[Batman]

Yeah after the Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy, I have a hard time watching the Burton/Schumacher series, like you. I definitely realize that us fans are a very minuscule percentage of the overall viewership of these movies so they have to appeal to the masses, including kids. So I try really hard to critique these movies from the standpoint of: I just want a good product. I don't care how much the filmmakers take cinematic liberties with these characters. Whether it's the origins, appearance/look of a character, etc. BUT just because I accept that these characters and stories aren't flying right off of the pages of the comics and that changes will occur, that doesn't mean I'm gonna like everything that hits the screen. But if the final product is good then I'm fine.

Nolan, tweaked a ton of things about the world of Batman in his trilogy (a discussion I could have endlessly in another thread) but it was clear that he cared for, and respected the character. I love THAT more than anything else about those movies. I don't think in the case of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, that they disrespected the character or the viewer, but that they a) got away from the formula that worked SO well in the the first, and b) tried to do too much. Which hurt the final product IMO....

 

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I think you hit the nail on the head with them trying to do to much, a lot of the movie seems forced so it doesn't jive. But again for the general public the pacing is good and thatS really what matters to the studios.
I love Spider-Man in the books much more then in any of the films, and I feel the same for Batman.
Nolan did a great job with the first two but the third film is just so..... Long. I never bought into Hardy as Bane and quite frankly Nolan's Version of Bane was not menacing and just, well, plain. Hated the voice, hated the costume, lol, just didn't care for him.

So what do you think of the upcoming Batman vs. Superman then? I'm hoping it's just a setup film for JL myself. I thought the newest Superman was the best of them all, I know I know, but I HATED every film prior to it. And I also think Afflec is gonna be great as Batman.

 

[Batman]

I'm hopeful, but not entirely optimistic. To me Zach Snyder is a much larger concern than the casting of Ben Affleck. Aside from the movie he did with Justin Timberlake, BA has done some pretty damn good stuff, especially from a directorial aspect. But to me Snyder is only a notch above Michael Bay, except that Snyder doesn't require a bunch of toilet humor to generate laughs. Snyder has been hit or miss, loved Watchmen, MoS was good but not the home run I think it needed to be. (And yes I do think it's the best Superman flick) but some of his other projects were just "meh." I'm past the point where all I want to see is shit get blown up or destroyed. I want more substance and story to go along with the action (which is very obviously required). In the end it's gonna have to have a good screenplay/script and have a story that makes some sense. It's a MoS sequel but is also a bridge to something bigger in regards to the DCU. As Wonder Woman has been cast and an actor who may or may not be Cyborg has also been cast with several more characters rumored...

 

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I thought his Dawn of the Dead was fantastic as well as 300 and Watchman. I think he will do fine, he does tend to blow stuff up, lol, but he has also shown that he can spin a nice web as well.
The DCU needs this to be good, quite frankly aside from Nolan's Batman films DC's stuff has generally been nothing more then popcorn fodder unless you consider the "underground" titles like The Losers and Constantine which don't get credited as DC films anyways, hell I bet 75% of the people that saw Vendetta didn't know it was DC.
Do you watch any of the animated films? Now some of those are just plain fantastic.

 

[Batman]

Yeah if you're talking about the animated DC stuff, I have pretty much all of it, and yes it's mostly top-notch material. Esp The Dark Knight Returns, and Under the Red Hood...picked up Son of Batman on my way home last night at midnight but fell asleep about 15 mins in, so I'll have to check it out another night.

 

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Under the Red Hood was my favorite so far, haven't seen DKR yet but have it on my shelf. Do you watch any of the Marvel stuff? The Hulk vs. films are great.

 

[Batman]

No I haven't check out the "Hulk vs" stuff. The kids keep asking to pick up the Avengers animated movies and they pretty much suck, all of them :happy-smileygiantred: so I've been apprehensive to grab the other Marvel titles. Maybe someday, I just keep finding myself short on time.

 

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The animated Avengers films are garbage but check out the two Hulk films and the Wolverine one, they are really good.