Saturday, July 03, 2004

Best movie ever

Let me just put something to rest in case some people are doubting the critical praise: Spider-man 2 is the greatest superhero movie of all time, the greatest sequel of all time, probably the greatest big budget action movie of all time and possibly the greatest movie of all time. Granted I'm a bit biased, as I've had a Spider-man poster on my wall since I was like 10. But still.

And if anybody disagrees, I challenge the cunt to a fistfight.

Comic book writer and Portlander BM Bendis weighs in

5 Comments:

At 1:14 PM, Blogger Zackataca said...

I loved it too. One beef: Where are the wise cracks?
One of my favorite things about Spidey are all of the smart ass comments he makes while fighting, whether he's winning or losing. It seemed like there were a couple of cracks here and there, but nowhere near as many as there should be.
But that's my only beef.
Definitely better than X-Men 2.

 
At 9:03 PM, Blogger Mr. Chair said...

yeah, no wise cracks. there were like two or three, but that was a major difference from the feel of the comic. I cite two reasons: 1. It doesn't really translate to film. The sheer joy of comic books is that you can ogle a page for minutes, rolling it around like a sip of wine, examining the frames and words and how they play together. Film moves fast and the viewer would be hard pressed to take in several wise cracks during a complex spidey action scene. 2. It was a dark chapter in spidey's life, modeled roughly after Amazing Spider-man's "Spider-man No More" storyline. Parker wasn't a happy guy through most of the movie. That's all I can figure.

Didn't you really get the sense that Sam Raimi had proven his chops so well in the first that he just cut loose with his style in the second? He had carte blanche and a massive budget and knocked it out of the park.

 
At 7:46 AM, Blogger Zackataca said...

Stylistically it was beautiful. For some reason he really seems to be the only guy who can bring the spirit of a comic book to the screen. Which seems odd because I think that there are a lot of similarities in the way that comics and movies are pieced together. I think that it really just boils down to an understanding of the character and really good looking action scenes.
Sidebar:
I've been reading Understanding Comics. Have you read it? It's pretty interesting so far. A full opinion will be released once I finish it.

 
At 10:45 PM, Blogger Catfish Vegas said...

I loved Spider-Man 2 as well, but I'm hesitant to throw so many superlatives that way.
My personal favorite for all-time best comic book movie is X-Men.
While I love the humanity and the spirit of Spidey 2, what really draws me to a comic book world is the intertwining back stories, the mythologically derived explanations about how everything go to the present.
The first Spider-Man had that, obviously, but the second barely touches on it. Once in showing Doc Ock's emergence as a force of madness, if not pure evil. And second, in foreshadowing the Green Goblin's son's emergence as a much greater antagonist for Spidey.
Great movie, but I want more of the back stories...

 
At 8:40 AM, Blogger Zackataca said...

Dearest Catfish,
I hear you man. I hear you. The only thing that I can say is that I already know all the back story. It you really do like that stuff I suggest you read comics. It's really the only medium where a character can be so well developed. They are also amazing because as well as you think you know a character, they can always be interpreted in a different and brand new light.
Old tv serials came close and shows today like oh, um Buffy, and the occasional successful film run (Indiana Jones, Star Wars). But these comic book characters blow everthing else out of the water in terms of duration of run and volume of work. And back to the point...
The characters I know (and I probably know the X-Men a little bit better than Spidey) were more accurately portrayed in the Spider-Man movies. The X-Men ones were good, but the spirit wasn't captured. And I really think that that is because there are just too many X-Men. The movies have barely scratched the surface because they can't. There is just too much information. Spidey is one man, so it is easier to see who he is: one of the greatest fictional characters of all time.
Blah, blah, blah....
Read comics.

 

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