The Amazing Spider-Man
Jul. 7th, 2012 12:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ishtar79*checks previous post date*
Wow, I've been neglectful with updating this thing. One of these days I should make a RL update post (I'm still here, London hasn't swallowed me up whole yet), but in the meantime, my Amazing Spider-Man thoughts:
.
-I was surprised at how much I liked this one. It's not quite the Avengers because let's face it, nothing is, but a definite improvement on the previous Spider-Man films. I wasn't a huge fan of Toby Maguire, either visually or in terms of the whole vibe he brings to the character. Andrew Garfield wasn't exactly my Head!Peter, which was expected, because you never quite get who you pictured for a comic book character (not everyone can be RDJ, who might as well been genetically engineered to be Tony Stark), but he came pretty damn close and what's more, he captured the character's essence. The film was much better at capturing the character's humour-Spidey is just not Spidey without the constant wisecracks.
-I liked that the plot was a very different take on the character's origins, while still referencing enough comic book canon to keep hardcore geeks happy. I'm by no means an expert on that time period in comics, as I skimmed most of the 60s era Spider-Man issues, but there were enough moments of recognition in it even for me.
-Emma Stone essentially was Gwen Stacy. As mentioned above, I'm not super familiar with her character, but every thing about her -appearance, styling, characterisation- made her seem ripped straight out of a comic book panel. Flawless casting is flawless.
-And speaking of casting, I was slightly weirded out by aunt May and uncle Ben. Both actors did a stellar job, but I kept thinking "What the hell are Jed Bartlett and Sally Field doing in Peter's kitchen?" during all their scenes.
-The science continued to be silly in this one, which I suppose is unavoidable (still a step-up from "radioactive spider"). I did enjoy the parallels between Peter and Dr Curt Connors. I wasn't sure how tying in the Lizard to Spidey's origins was going to work onscreen, but I thought the cross-species genetic engineering thread tied their stories together nicely, especially since the spectre of Norman Osborn was never far.
-Most genius use of Stan Lee's cameo EVER!
-So I spent most of the movie waiting for Gwen to die, and being pleasantly surprised when she didn't (I guess they have to save something for the sequel and Norman's appearance). I had actually forgotten about Captain Stacy's canonical death until I saw it happen onscreen.
-Garfield and Stone have mad chemistry. The scene where Peter grabs Gwen on his web and pulls her against him was the most sizzling big screen comics couple scene since Charles and Erik's neverending eyefucks in First Class.
-As potentially cheesy as the scene where all the crane operators helped Spider-Man, I appreciated its inclusion in the movie. As a street-level superhero, Spider-Man is a lot more likely to engage with the regular people than the Avengers or the X-Men are.
-For once, I didn't mind the 3D. If there was ever a character perfectly suited to the format, it's Spider-Man with all his swinging. The suit was perfection too, though to be fair, Spider-Man's costume is a lot easier to translate into live action without looking silly than some superheroes *coughCaptainAmericacough* And on a shallow note, I really enjoyed the focus on Spider-Man's iconic ass (seriously, read some comics. Between the spandex and frequent spread-eagled poses, Spidey is one of the most visually objectified male superheroes, and as a female reader, I do appreciate that)
Between this and the Avengers, this has been an excellent summer for comics fans. Now they only need to do a decent Daredevil reboot, and my life will be complete.
Wow, I've been neglectful with updating this thing. One of these days I should make a RL update post (I'm still here, London hasn't swallowed me up whole yet), but in the meantime, my Amazing Spider-Man thoughts:
.
-I was surprised at how much I liked this one. It's not quite the Avengers because let's face it, nothing is, but a definite improvement on the previous Spider-Man films. I wasn't a huge fan of Toby Maguire, either visually or in terms of the whole vibe he brings to the character. Andrew Garfield wasn't exactly my Head!Peter, which was expected, because you never quite get who you pictured for a comic book character (not everyone can be RDJ, who might as well been genetically engineered to be Tony Stark), but he came pretty damn close and what's more, he captured the character's essence. The film was much better at capturing the character's humour-Spidey is just not Spidey without the constant wisecracks.
-I liked that the plot was a very different take on the character's origins, while still referencing enough comic book canon to keep hardcore geeks happy. I'm by no means an expert on that time period in comics, as I skimmed most of the 60s era Spider-Man issues, but there were enough moments of recognition in it even for me.
-Emma Stone essentially was Gwen Stacy. As mentioned above, I'm not super familiar with her character, but every thing about her -appearance, styling, characterisation- made her seem ripped straight out of a comic book panel. Flawless casting is flawless.
-And speaking of casting, I was slightly weirded out by aunt May and uncle Ben. Both actors did a stellar job, but I kept thinking "What the hell are Jed Bartlett and Sally Field doing in Peter's kitchen?" during all their scenes.
-The science continued to be silly in this one, which I suppose is unavoidable (still a step-up from "radioactive spider"). I did enjoy the parallels between Peter and Dr Curt Connors. I wasn't sure how tying in the Lizard to Spidey's origins was going to work onscreen, but I thought the cross-species genetic engineering thread tied their stories together nicely, especially since the spectre of Norman Osborn was never far.
-Most genius use of Stan Lee's cameo EVER!
-So I spent most of the movie waiting for Gwen to die, and being pleasantly surprised when she didn't (I guess they have to save something for the sequel and Norman's appearance). I had actually forgotten about Captain Stacy's canonical death until I saw it happen onscreen.
-Garfield and Stone have mad chemistry. The scene where Peter grabs Gwen on his web and pulls her against him was the most sizzling big screen comics couple scene since Charles and Erik's neverending eyefucks in First Class.
-As potentially cheesy as the scene where all the crane operators helped Spider-Man, I appreciated its inclusion in the movie. As a street-level superhero, Spider-Man is a lot more likely to engage with the regular people than the Avengers or the X-Men are.
-For once, I didn't mind the 3D. If there was ever a character perfectly suited to the format, it's Spider-Man with all his swinging. The suit was perfection too, though to be fair, Spider-Man's costume is a lot easier to translate into live action without looking silly than some superheroes *coughCaptainAmericacough* And on a shallow note, I really enjoyed the focus on Spider-Man's iconic ass (seriously, read some comics. Between the spandex and frequent spread-eagled poses, Spidey is one of the most visually objectified male superheroes, and as a female reader, I do appreciate that)
Between this and the Avengers, this has been an excellent summer for comics fans. Now they only need to do a decent Daredevil reboot, and my life will be complete.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-07 09:58 am (UTC)I wasn't too hot on Maguire either, I think Garfield has more of the look and if the film follows through on what the trailers promise, then he's got good dialogue. Which really IS essential for Spidey.
Love your points about his arse *G* It's true, he does get a lot of nice, em, exposure ;-) Though I do also appreciate Cap on the big screen - now we're talking about nice bodies in spandex.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-07 09:31 pm (UTC)Maguire, bless him, tried, but he just wasn't Peter.
Oh, Spidey's ass is legendary. Though I hear you on movie!Cap-the recent comics adaptations are definitely great for eyecandy.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-08 04:46 pm (UTC)He had the insecure geek part down - the rest, not so much.
the recent comics adaptations are definitely great for eye candy.
This, yes. Very much!