Spiderman

Spiderman is a wonderful movie and an excellent job by the makers of staying true to what makes the Spidey story great...it is ultimately about Peter Parker, the guilt he feels over the loss of his Uncle Ben and the sacrifices he makes to live up to the last words Ben said to him: "With great power comes great responsibility." The movie works on many levels: as an action movie, a coming of age story, and a love story. It is exciting, it's funny, and most surprising of all, quite touching. Perfectly cast, it does a great job of suspending your disbelief for 2 hours. You will believe a man can swing thru the city on webs. Kudos to Sam Raimi and company for bringing Spiderman to the screen with such understanding of the Spiderman myth. The final scene has been the subject of much misunderstanding...those who don't get it weren't paying attention. Parker knows the pain he brings to those he loves even though he tries hard to help them, and to live up to the last words Ben spoke, he realizes he must make his ultimate sacrifice. Again, kudos to the filmmakers for not giving into conventional Hollywood happy endings and staying true to the myth. Highly recommended!

Ummmmmm this movie is GREAT ... I absolutely loved it! I can't really say that I found fault with any of it.


I think everyone is going to enjoy this film, whether you are a fan of the comic book or not. It surpasses every comic film before it, except maybe the original Superman, but it's right up there. It succeeds the way the original Superman did as well ... with a story that makes you believe an ordinary looking "anybody" can have great powers. That the "anybody" is inside of us all.


I thought the casting of Maguire was great. He played the 'geek' and the 'superhero' to their full potential. He showed his vulnerability and his I'm going to 'kick your sorry villain ass' side as well. Dafoe, despite being hidden behind a costume as well, was a great villain and even though out of the context of the movie his costume seems hokie, it played just fine in the film. Kirsten Dunst didn't have a whole lot to work with, but I thought she did a fine job. She's beautiful, witty and flirtatious ... you can see the glimmer in her eye. James Franco as Harry Osborne is wonderful as well. This kid is going to be a star, I predict. There are also a bunch of supporting roles which are very good as well.


The CGi was a little iffy at times and you knew where the reality and the CGI crossed each other, but it didn't really distract from the film ... you just 'go with the flow' and it all plays out well. I have to give a lot of credit to Sam Raimi who, from the very beginning of the 'comic book looking' credits, lets you know exactly what kind of film to expect. He tells you to sit back and enjoy the ride and to remember the films roots ... don't take it all too seriously and you'll have a good time. I think a lot of comic book films forget that or they try and make you forget. This is not a character you can do that with. This movie succeeds more than X-Men did because you don't have a bunch of characters whos origins need to be told ... you have just one and it's a simple story. What I liked most about this film was the fact that Spider-man is just like you and me ... he hurts, he crys, he loves ... he's vulnerable. They mixed just the right amount of 'geek turns superhero', 'geek gets girl' and 'the geek is just like everyone else' ... the geek is us.


It was a joy to watch and I loved it all. I'll be seeing it again this weekend and there are VERY FEW films that I can say I saw multiple times in theater ... this is one.


With great power comes great responsibility

You're right ... this movie has broad appeal ... and THAT is the reason that I think it has a good chance at beating out AOTC domestically. Think about it ... Phantom Menace had almost a 20 year build up giving it the big box office push, but when it was widely panned by a lot of people (critics, fans), except REALLY HARDCORE fans, I think it hurt it's chances for Attack of the Clones. Now don't get me wrong, Clones will be huge, but I know a lot of people who are not that excited to see this movie based on the poor showing of Phantom. In fact, if I wasn't such a hardcore MOVIE fan and a fan of seeing films in the theatre, I might actually pass on AOTC and wait for the dvd. I know a lot of people who are not that interested in this movie this time around. In fact, I was surprised to hear a few of my co-workers say that they NEVER SAW PHANTOM (and these are 25 year olds) because of the poor reviews. They definitely won't be standing in line for AOTC either.


Spider-man will play to both crowds for a while I think and ATOC, unless it is really good, is not going to do it this time around. I can honestly say that the buzz among my friends for AOTC is almost non-existent and 90% have no idea even what the release date is !!


Anyways, I could be completely wrong because you can never underestimate the power of the force, but I think Spider-man is probably going to be the better movie this summer and I think it has a good shot at winning the box office race. Now if AOTC is good, all bets are off ...

Saw it for the 2nd time last night. 7 PM showing in a very good theater that never sells out (too many other theaters near by) and I was shocked to see it packed. I mean really packed. I have not seen so many people at this theater since TITANIC. And there was a 6:30 showing before it!


Word of mouth is out and spreading fast. People love this film. The crowd last night was very diverse and they embraced it. When Peter Parker discovers his powers, the audience was so excited and into it that they cheered three times. I have not witnessed a crowd reaction like this since GLADIATOR at the Ziegfeld. When the film ended, there was massive applause and cheers. That is very rare.


Me, I think this is the best comic book film since SUPERMAN. Better than BATMAN, BLADE or anything else. It has a real sense of joy and wonder, characters you can relate to and root for, actors that play them well and a story that is very accurate to the original comic book. There is no p*ssing on the source material by Sam Raimi, God bless him.


The movie isn't perfect and some of the CGI is clearly cartoonish, but who gives a rat's arse? I don't. I loved the film and will see it a 3rd time if I can find the time. Expect this film to hit 250 to 300 million.


As for EPISODE II, I know people who have seen it. I can see it tonight if I want (I've decided to wait, since I want to see it at an hour meant for humans and also because my fiancee will not sex me if I go without her ). CLONES is going to do major business. But remember that it will be in far less theaters than SPIDERMAN and HARRY POTTER and with good reason. Lucas wants the best screens. So the opening won't break any records.

Industry analysts predict a weekend take of ~$109 million to make Spiderman the first movie ever to break the century mark on its' opening weekend....well on its' way to become the top-grossing comic book film ever!

EDIT: Make that $114 Million. Read it here !

"Friday's intake of $39.3 million and Saturday's even bigger $43.7 million are now the top two single day grosses ever. The three day total earned by the favorably reviewed movie, which also stars Kirsten Dunst, James Franco and Willem Dafoe and numerous CGI effects, meant it ran over all obstacles to become the fastest ever flick to surpass $100 million, beating both the Potter tale and Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace which needed five to reach that mark.

The audience was evenly split between males and females, and between viewers aged over and under 25, Blake said, and exit polls were bullish. The critics were also enthusiastic.

"It had all the bells and whistles and latest technology, but it also is a movie with a lot of heart and a real romance at its core."

Teen-age girls considered the film more of a romance than a superhero film, while boys were drawn to Dunst and older audiences to the special effects and drama.

Its wide-ranging appeal echoed that of "Titanic," the 1997 hit that ended up with $601 million domestically. Columbia Pictures President Amy Pascal declined to predict whether "Spider-Man" could approach those levels.

Matt


U convinced me . I think also people, in these "particular" times ( terrorism, the economy, the stock market) need a HERO, something to cheer for...


one could maybe draw some conclusions as to SUPERMAN (1978) and BATMAN (1989) release dates (second oil shock? 1987 crash ?


if SPIDERMAN enormous success so far signals something, good ( better than Warren Buffet and most "truth" tellers say: 2007-2008 for better times... ).


estimates say $114M for this weekend: jaw dropping !


as for AOTC, Lucas is shooting himself in the foot: different cut for the few (19) 3DLP equipped cinemas, only selecting the best theaters ( doh ! ) as you reminds us. And the dvd SO close by, as compared to the TPM dvd.


I wish AOTC would do $500M as it seems to derserve it.

I saw Spiderman and quite liked it. Don't know if it will be a classic. Normally I don't give a damn about box office - most of the best films I've seen have made the least money. But I'm happy that, for a short period of time the best film of the past year is on the top ten moneymakers:


1 Titanic - 600.8

2 Star Wars ($322.7M + $138.3M from 1997 SE) - 461.0

3 E.T. : The Extra Terrestrial ($399.8M + 2002 SE) - 434.5

4 Star Wars Episode I : The Phantom Menace - 431.1

5 Jurassic Park - 357.1

6 Forrest Gump - 329.7

7 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - 317.3

8 The Lion King - 312.9

9 Return of the Jedi ($263.7M + $45.4M SE) - 309.1

10 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - 308.1


...and knocked one particular stinkbomb off the list:


11 Independence Day - 306.2