Since several of my f-list were lucky enough to see the movie today (why, Sony, why?) - I am inviting everyone who wants to tell me their opinions, no holds barred, over in this thread.
Beware, anyone who hasn't seen it and doesn't want to be spoiled - STAY AWAY.
I won't see it until 7pm-ish EST on Friday, May 4th. If you see if before that, come say your piece! :D
- Current Mood:
curious
Comments
*is insane, and knows it*
7:00 PM EST!! Me, too!!
You should call me from your theater and squee in my ear! *LOL*
And I saw all your userpic updates... LOVE that icon. SM2 randomness ahoy!
I'll have to email you my number again, so you'll have it just in case you'd like to randomly fangirl at me before the movie starts! ;) *squee*
Saw it twice yesterday.
Best lines:
...And we all see the melancholy, picturesque scene with MJ and Peter almost silhouetted against the orange and red sky...
Have fun watching! :)
Truly, the stuff with Harry is... I think I'll have to make sure I have tissues ready...
Hoping to god we get some fanfic out of it.
I personally loved Sandman, the actor playing him was really great. And Peter was his loveable dorkish self.
I did miss some scenes that were in the novellisation, but I guess they can't put in everything.
And poor Harry... at least he went out a hero.
Now I will wonder which of the novelization scenes didn't make it in. You're right, they can't use everything.
Yes, poor Harry. On another note, I wonder how much "Harry didn't really die" fic there might be?
Oh God, don't remind me. I'm mostly worried for the "mysterious young girl finds symbiote and gains spider/venom-powers"-fics.
To not even start on what some people would do to either Penny or Gwen...
Or God, the idea of all the 'Eddie Brock wasn't that bad' fics that will be coming our way...
I do hope that we'll get some 'Harry didn't die' fics, but that's just me*g*
One thing I do wonder after seeing the movie, is how with all the reporters at the scene, not a single one of those camera people, manages to catch a shot of Peter with his mask off...
Almost makes me want to write a fic where they did...
I do hope that we'll get some 'Harry didn't die' fics, but that's just me*g*
(Waves hand in the air) Me! Me! I'll so write an AU if I think it's good enough.
I do have a few Harry fics on my LJ, one called Brother: Love and Adversity, it's still not done, and it's set just after SM2, which now would be an AU to SM3 since I had no idea about the movie at the time I wrote it. Another fic, if you want to read it, is a young Harry fic Nothing Gold Can Stay, long before SM1. But the painting from the SM3 book gave me inspripation as well as a scene from the SM1 book.
My only real problem with it was some inconsistent writing or acting (or both, I couldn't tell) about the issue of what exactly Venom does to one's personality. Peter wavered between sexy-hot-badboy and emo-scary-dude (some reaction shots you see of people have them all like "*swoon* he's so manly" and other have them like "yipes, he's kind of creepy"), which was very frustrating to me, considering (as a Superman/Spiderman fan) I'm very sensitive about times they're written as "So much cooler when they're evil." Sometimes Peter was "cooler"--you know, the one-liners and "oooh, I've always wanted to give in to the urge to do that," and sometimes he was just scary-mean (which I preferred). The capping scene where he realizes things are out of control--I assume you've read it? At the jazz bar? Was such intense ritualistic humiliation that I almost fled the theater--but I don't know exactly if that's good or bad, actually.
It had the usual flaws most superhero action movies have to me--jamming too many bad guys and subplots in, action scenes where just too much is happening to figure it out.
Maguire and Dunst are both great again, I thought, though I do think Maguire is kind of pushed to (beyond?) his limits to play "bad boy." Emo bangs do not a bad boy make. :) Even if he is adorable with them.
The conclusion was great for the Harry stuff, for me. I really like what they did with his character, and the team-up at the end was very awesome. Mary Jane is sadly mostly limited to hanging around and squeaking at the end, darn it, although she shows as much ingenuity and spunk as one can in such a scenario.
There are some beautiful intense emotional scenes. I thought the scene where Mary Jane breaks up with him on the bridge, coerced by Harry, was wonderfully powerful...watching her break up as persuasively as possible, knowing that it was breaking her heart and his...and Franco really makes the most of his role here, the conflict and redemption of it. The scenes between him and Peter were very intense and well-done, I thought.
I actually ended up debating with my husband on it because he felt the relationship between Peter and Harry had much more resonance and depth than that between Mary Jane and Peter. I'd be curious, as a Peter/MJ fan, if you'd agree when you see it. It does sometimes seem friendships come across stronger than romances...Dan claims that's because men can write both sides of a friendship with equal intensity but are often at a loss on how to write the women's side of a romance. *frustrated face* But that would seem to imply *no one* could write a romance well...
Ooops, I have Japanese lesson very soon and this has gone on for some time. In short: IMHO, it had some great and powerful scenes in it, some that were over the top in terms of cramming too much in, but in general I liked it a lot. I'll be anxious to know what you think!
the issue of what exactly Venom does to one's personality -- This is a point that differs from the comics. In the original, the symbiote didn't actually change Peter's personality. It affected his powers, gave him a suit that could appear and disappear at will... but it wasn't until Peter (with Reed Richards' help) realized it was alive that he tried to get rid of it. Then it fought him like crazy, making him do things he didn't want to, but Peter was fully cognizant.
When he did get rid of it in the bell tower, it was angry - bonding to Eddie, who was also angry with Spider-Man, gave it the Venomous attributes.
The 90s cartoon is the one that made the suit affect Peter by bringing out his darker qualities. As far the the embarrassment scene - yeah. That's going to be cringeworthy for me, as much as I can't wait to see it. In the novelization, I think the symbiote-enhanced scenes are very well-written. He's angry, wants revenge, and the symbiote makes him lose his sense of responsibility. In his hurt over "losing" MJ, he throws all caution to the wind, and just does whatever he feels like. I LOVE the fact that he is not that cool when bad. A nerdy guy like Peter wouldn't instantly turn awesome - the skewed idea he has of coolness is probably more likely.
You're absolutely right - there is TOO much in there. They should have focused on Harry/Sandman or Harry/Venom. But I can see why Raimi made the decision. He needed to give Peter a reason to turn vengeful. *shrugs* I'm sad for the non-comics fans of Spidey, who will not have the background I do.
And yes, MJ definitely doesn't get the screen time I wish she did. There's a lot more in the novel... but as
he felt the relationship between Peter and Harry had much more resonance and depth than that between Mary Jane and Peter -- I agree with him. In this movie, that is absolutely true. In fact, I am more drawn to it as well. But this Harry/Peter storyline is canon, and really the defining relationship in this part of Peter's life. The Peter/MJ relationship got the focus in the first two, I think it's natural that it take a lesser importance this time.
Thanks for commenting! *hugs*
The Harry "arc" is very well-done here, although the romance does have its developments. I started off the movie kind of annoyed at MJ for not giving Peter enough credit in my mind, but then when he kissed Gwen like that I was just like, "Oh, man, you're going to have to pay for that." :) And I thought they ened up the movie in a very realistic, if rather melancholy, place. It wasn't the focus of the movie, but I thought their relationship did some realistic deepening and testing.
That club scene...the punch was almost a relief in the sense of "at least now no one can pretend he's not entirely out of control."
I saw Spiderman too yesterday.. awesome! They say the second movie is much more spectacular compared to the first.. well.. they've taken it up a notch again. Especially the sandman/sandstorm bits looked really good, but Peter also seemed to fly through NYC more souple.
Well... I adore Dark!Peter. His walk was just too funny, even if it WAS over the top (and scaring all the girls away) and his dance in the jazzbar was just... Gasp!... so great. But evil too... very VERY nasty move there.
I loved Harry too in it, and I never thought I'd say that after the last movie. His amnesia had be frowning a bit... talking about cliches... and they could have handled bringing the news better too. But it worked out pretty good after all... It was so great to see Peter and Harry as the friends they truly are.. without the 'you killed my father-thing'.
Gwen was good, though I would have liked to see more of her. To me she was like a bit of a bimbo... but a decent one. The way she left at the jazzbar and apologized to MJ for Peter's actions.
MJ... as you can read in my entry I wasn't too impressed with her. There is no real critique.. she didn't do anything wrong.. but between everything that was going on at the same time... she just didn't shine. On the other side... I just read jen_in_japan's comment and she has a point too. She was mostly reduced to the screaming damsel in distress... so maybe she didn't get too much opportunity to shine.
Then: somethings I frowned upon: Why the hell did Peter kiss Gwen at the celebrationparty? Especially since he knew MJ was there too. And it was THEIR kiss. why? why? why? It was before the symbiote so that couldn't have been it. And then he's all confused when MJ is angry.. come on Peter.. you're not stupid!
Flint Marko's explaination at the end: shooting your uncle was an accident. The moviemakes were probably trying to have him tug on our heartstrings with his sick little daughter.. but it didn't quite do the trick for me. OK, so killing Ben was an accident... how about those numerous other things you did? Like killing the drivers on that truck..like causing a million car crashes.. like teaming up with venom and beating Peter to a pulp... all accidents? hmpf... [/sarcasm]
Same problem with Harry, the moment his butler told him his father got killed by his own glider. Before that, Harry was ready to kill Peter is the most horrible of ways.. but then his butler says something Peter has said a million times before.. and suddenly they are back to best friends for life. Forgiveness is given too easily in this film... imo.
Well.. JJ johnson had some really funny scenes. like the pills-scene with the loud buzzer. It was quite stand-alone and didn't have too much of a connection with the rest of the storyline.. in fact it was kinda obvious they only brought the scene in for the laughs, but that didn't really bother me. The camera-scene with the little girl was good too. :-D I did miss Spiderman2's subtle humor though. I think it's safe to say 3 is more spectacular.. but a little less funny.
One more comment before it quit my.. already too long, comment (and let's home LJ doesn't eat it): I have to say there was a little much going on at the same time: trouble with MJ/Peter... Peter having to deal with the symbiote...the rise of Sandman... the ongoing battle (and brief amnesia) with Harry... the short mentionings of Peter/Gwen and Harry/MJ... the rise of Venom. My head was buzzing at some point.
Conclusion: dazzling and spectacular... but obviously written by a man. The emotional aspect could have been better.
well.. they've taken it up a notch again -- I'm really glad to hear that because there was a lot of talk of the third installment curse floating around...
his dance in the jazzbar was just... Gasp!... so great -- I am going to die if I don't get some screencaps of that dance VERY SOON. :P
His amnesia had be frowning a bit... talking about cliches... -- To be fair, this is what originally happened in the comics, and Harry was back to square one for years. They basically sped up his arc - discovery, battle, amnesia, remembering, battle, fighting together - into this movie. His death is canon, too. They were battling another villain in the comics, and that combined with a bad formulation of the Gobin formula did him in.
To me she was like a bit of a bimbo... but a decent one -- The book really does Gwen justice. She's sweet, innocent, unassuming... but she knew immediately that she was being used in the jazz bar. I really respect how she left Peter and apologized to MJ! I ♥ her now.
so maybe she didn't get too much opportunity to shine -- See what I said to Jen about that. I don't think this movie was about her, and them's just the breaks.
The moviemakes were probably trying to have him tug on our heartstrings with his sick little daughter -- Another thing the book did well. I'm sad to hear it didn't come across in the movie! Eh, oh, well.
Forgiveness is given too easily in this film... -- Harry may have heard it from Peter a lot, but he couldn't trust him. He's kept this secret from Peter for years. But he must have hoped in his heart that Peter was telling the truth, so when Bernard explained what happened... I can see him having a change of heart. But, hey, I guess I'll have to see when I see it!
I love Jonah - glad the funny bits stayed in! And yes, way too much going on. I totally agree. But if this is the last one, maybe this is why. They say over and over there might be another. I'll believe it when they start filming it!