Hey folks, Harry here... Dragging his feet... looking all mopey... Seems a billion people will see SPIDER-MAN before me... sniffle. The evil bastard (aka MORIARTY) saw it tonight and is working on his review... I'm never gonna see this film, I just know it.... sniffle... Must keep courage up... Patience is a virtue and all that... sniffle... Waaaaaaah, it is ok, I be calm. Waaaaaah... Here ya go... beware of spoilers
Hey Harry,
Long time listener, first time caller! I just got back from a press screening of "Spider-Man" here in L.A. Let me just say THIS FUCKING MOVIE ROCKS! As a long time reader of the Spidey comics, I feel Raimi did an excellent job of capturing the true essence of the Spider-Man saga. He has blended the comic mystique with a dose of realism. It definitely has that comic book feeling, yet it somehow seems like it could be feasible in the real world.
Maguire, Dunst, DeFoe, Franco, et al. do an incredible job of bringing these comic icons to life. I sort of question Flash Thompson now being an NYC guido though, and why the fuck is Macy Gray in there, but I digress. I must admit, at first I wasn't thrilled with the photos I had seen of the Goblin, but in the context of the movie, it really works. Dare I say it, I think this is a better film than Tim Burton's "Batman" and Brian Singer's "X-Men". I can't wait for part two. I guess I'll just have to bide my time with repeated viewings of this bad boy.
-Mr. Pemberton
Hey folks, next up is Eye-Spy... he's written AICN for years, but takes huge vacations between scoops to protect himself, but I can confirm that his girlfriend is much prettier than yours. MUCH cooler and cooks way better ta boot. Yes, I am jealous. And you would too.
HARRY-
It's been ages since I've had a bit of tid worth writing you about, but this one certainly deserves a mention...
Just got back from the first press screening of SPIDERMAN at The Grove here in the land of LA. The screening started late of course due to late arriving Sony big-wigs, but the theater was packed and the crowd was a-buzz as the lights finally came down...
The titles began with a bang but soon became a bit boring and repetitive. Sure they were cool but this is Spiderman for Parker's sake. Gimme sumpin' to charge me up! Cook me in my seat and set my blood a boil! We've been waiting YEARS for this!!!
But anyway...
Hmmm. The movie starts and we're in New York and there's Peter and Harry and Mary Jane...and we slog through a bunch of boring character development...and Peter's been in love with Mary Jane for years...and Harry Osborne's his only friend...Mary Jane's got domestic problems...and Aunt May's worried about Peter...and...ho hum...
To be honest, the first 20 minutes left me scratching my head wondering what in the holy Evil Dead II happened to Sam Raimi?! The camera hardly moves...the scenes linger and plod and linger some more. It's like Kevin Smith came in and sat on the dolly and said "Thou shalt not move and thou shalt not cut away until many are tired of looking at my shiny, disgruntled characters..."
Slog? Linger? Plod? Am I in the right theater? In the right universe? Character development?!?!? Who needs bloody F*&%king character development?!?! This is Hollywood, goddamn it! Being invested in story and emotions and everyday feelings is for pussies and English hanky films. Blow something up! Somebody die, quick!
And then something happens... I won't go too into it, but suffice to say that with the first tingle we get of Spider Sense, Raimi reminds us what movie we've come to see...
Harry, it's the first 20 minutes of this film that allow Spiderman to become...okay, deep breath...can I really say this...hell yes, THE BEST COMIC BOOK ADAPTATION EVER.
From there the film takes off on a rollercoaster where we're pulled along not by the set-pieces, but by the CHARACTERS!!! Granted, Spidey has always been (to me) the best drawn of the super superheroes, and it's this web of conflicts that make this the film it is. His problems are human problems. We can relate to his hampered love for Mary Jane. We understand why he remains shy. And why he loves his aunt. And why (I won't spoil it for you) a guilty conscience turns him into a force for good. Without the first 20 mins, this would be a good, fun film. Chuck in an understanding and empathy for our peoples and you've got something 99% of Hollywood is too afraid to make.
The characters are wonderfully cast - hey kids, we've got real actors in a superhero movie (all due respect to Gene Hackman and Jack Nicholson). Tobey Maguire is perfect as Spidey/Peter. He's reserved and shy and innocent and likeable and we're with him all the way as he experiments and finds the joy in his new powers. Willem Dafoe plays every beat of Osborne the father with maniacal relish, channeling his Nosferatu without the makeup. James Franco needs a new hairdo if he ever wants to not look like such a dead ringer for James Dean (yeah, yeah Golden Globe, I get it), but he delivers what I think is the best performance in the film. This kid's the real deal and his implied role in the sequal promises to be really something. Kirsten Dunst is charming and does a nice job as Mary Jane. Myself, I'm not a huge fan to begin with, but we do understand why Peter loves her.
One part that certainly bears mentioning is J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. He's got the best lines in the film and he spits them out like machine gun tracers repeatedly hitting the target. There's all sorts of fun Raimi-regular cameos which I won't ruin - watch the end-credits because I definitely missed a few.
The photography is great - this is the real world, not Gotham. She sun is bright by day and the shadows are long by night. I particularly admired the blacks in this film which do a very subtle job of setting off the judicious use of comic-book colors.
The editing is beautiful in terms of knowing when to speed up and slow down the pacing - though I will say that there are moments of excessive cutting in the action scenes that made me yearn for a good long Spielberg action-reaction shot with no cutting in the middle (I had the same issue in spades with the opening battle scene in Gladiator, but I digress...). I should say that a few of the scenes feel stunted and crammed into the plot, but they do serve the story which covers an impressive amount of ground - over a year in Spidey-time.
As far as the effects, there are a few cracks here and there, but all is forgiven by the webslinging scenes that are easily my favorite moments in the film. The last 10 seconds alone are worth a "Slap my ass and call me Judy!" Raimi has had some hits and misses in my book, but Spidey is (for me) the perfect combination of his sense of camp, story and most of all, his understanding of what an audience wants from a film. Studio execs should bring a note-pad and crayons.
As the movie ended, there was one of those great (and increasingly rare) unanimous audience applauses that lingers over a minute after the film is over. I left feeling charged and wishing for a radioactive, genetically engineered eight-legged-freak of my own to have me for dinner.
For the record, I ain't no shill nor studio plant. Just an independent filmmaker whose grateful for the rare occasion when I can actually be jealous of a studio film. Let's all light a candle for Episode II.
Eye-Spy
And finally we have a review from The SuperHeroHype Guys, that have dedicated so much time to covering SPIDER-MAN in such amazing detail over the last several years... What did they think? Well go check it out!
