Friends with kids is about two grown ups trying to have a kid together. The younger man is her best friend but is still chasing tail. She has just kind of been holding out and looking for some one more mature. Blah blah, That being said, This movie is fantastic. I don't even know what to talk about first.
The casting selection is to die for. If they couldn't have picked some of the best actors. Yes a lot of these actors are known for their comedic roles but to say the lines they say, I don't know how they couldn't of laughed. Maybe they did and they just had good edits and sound design but jeez. Each character is funny in their own right. Sensible characters, shallow characters, drunks, loud mouths, and really real characters.
The story is great. My only complaint is that it gets a little off the hinges when dealing with such an expansive timeline. It goes from 4 years where everyone is still kid-less. Then all their friends have kids and they don't want to be like them (who would, parents suck always.) Or that's the shtick. So they go for it and an emotional roller coaster ensues. Couples that have known each other for decades have to now go through trying to still love another when you have chaos in the way. To deal with such a broad cast and also have each character be so rounded, apologetic, happy, depressed and everyone in between (actually showing a spectrum of emotions) is epic.
Each scene is funny and the dialogue is spot on. It's very quirky, Apatow funny which I think is a good thing. You might not like the hilarious through duplication of reality but I personally love it. It ties us with what actually happens in our present day life. Even though this movie is set in time, I feel like it sets a mark for our new progressive generation (what ever that means.)
Pros
-All star cast
-Real
-So funny and spot on
-Teaches you about marriage (ha!)
Cons
-Massive time piece. Covers like 7 years in 2 hours.
If you deciphered my clever title, Yes, I am reviewing Sherlock
Holmes: A Game of Thrones. I mean Shadows. This was a movie toss up
between obviously this and Friends with Kids. The only reason my room
mate and I picked this is because we liked the first one and it was in
better quality. Really not that great. If you loved the first one,
this is not for you if you do not like clique, franchise whores. Yes I
am looking at you American "spin-off's."
Yes,
there are still really cool complex fight scenes that Sherlock figures
out. Robert Downey jr. or whatever is a really good actor. Not only is
he funny and it seems like every actor around him being in his presence
but he also isn't afraid to dress up in drag or put on a variety of
accents. He's amazing and always has been.
BUT, The
story is hackneyed. It has so many loopholes that my head can't even
process it all. I am always questioning what is happening and why did
it happen. They easily explain these things through simple
consequences. The next scene to the question is usually a slow mo-ed
fight scene that is pretty cool but starts wearing thin after an hour
when you are like, WAIT BUT WHY DID SHE DIE? Oh rare tuberculosis.
That sucks but why did it happen right after? Was she poisoned. I
still like she was poisoning by the creepy bad guy. Is he an
antagonist? Not really, Sherlock never changes. Watson becomes a
family man so maybe he changed. But that's what he wanted. Shoddy
story writing here folks.
YES,
there are action scenes. In slow mo. But if you do not have a 3-D
television these start to wear thin and they probably would wearing
glasses. I really liked the first few premonition scenes where he would
know each move but then it kind of gotten...obvious. We know he is
perfect in battle (or IS he?!) so seeing it after maybe two initial hey
he's good in battle fight scenes do I need to see it. Somehow main
characters in movies don't get hurt. They can't die and their
probability of living is God-Like. Is it fair? It is boring.
BUT
character loop holes are apparent. Why did that girl die and why was
it never explored? Who is this new girl, some gypsy that has a
brother? She is in every scene just being amused by Robert Downey jr.
or whatever that I feel bad. Give her something to say so I know she's
real. Also Watson's wife had a role in the movie at one point and then
left. She was badass. Also Robert Downey jr. steals the show in a bad
way. He's a great actor but there is no movie without the actor. We
hardly need the character. He is super smart, super athletic, and laid
back. It starts to get stale and any time he shows change as a
character it's annoying because there is no reflection period. It's
instant change.
Pros
-Sherlock Holmes is cool
-Watson's a good shot
-Rune Goldberg type plot twists and fight
Cons
-Blatant holes in plot
-Obvious holes in characters
-Promoted as a Franchise (?)
"Why Do We Fall Down? So We Learn To Pick Ourselves Back Up. Duh."
I'm a day late and a dollar short, since we have one review already, but man did they send our caped crusader off with a bang. Literally. So I figured hey, this movie is so good, it deserves another review.
First off, I just want to state, in writing this, our sympathy goes out to the victims in the Colorado shooting. You are in our thoughts. This review is strictly about the film and in no way coincides with the events of the midnight premiere that is a true low point in our nations history. Our apologies.
The Dark Knight Rises is seven years in the making, if your count from the time Nolanverse (Christopher Nolan) Batman first hit our screens, and man it's been a hell of a ride. I should know. I sat down with my girlfriend and a couple other friends the night before seeing this bad boy and watched the first two back to back. That was a long night, but it was by far the best choice I could make, because true to trilogy form the latest film recalls plenty from it's two predecessors, as it should. I mean, you have to come full circle otherwise, what's the point? So if you are still planning on seeing this TDKR in the near future, I'd suggest giving the first two a go. Not only does it put you into a great frame of mind, but it really helps give you the full experience when watching the final product.
Batman is by far one of the greatest, and most popular comic book characters of all time. Iconic villains, lots of money, sweet tech, and suits; he is just a boss. Plus he is so relatable, the tragedy in his life, growing up alone and taking care of himself. It's just great storytelling. People all over just want to go out and fight crime, do the things the law can not. Be the symbol everyone needs, and the franchise Nolan started is just that in flying, dashing, incredibly vivid colors.
Bringing back the bearded look are we?
TDKR takes place eight years after the events of The Dark Knight. Dent/TwoFace died in that fall. Gordon became a Hero/Commissioner/a troubled soul plagued by guilt for allowing Batman to take the blame and using Dent's death to catapult Gotham into it's golden age via a bill called the Dent Act that helped clean up the streets. Yes Gotham had it's darkness, but now it's dawn, and there isn't to much bad left on the streets these days. Batman/Bruce secluded himself away from the public in the farthest corner of the newly constructed Wayne Manor (It got burnt down in the first one in case you forgot).
Things are looking good. Just some minor dealing behind the scenes. Many of the Mob bosses are out of the game and Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (I don't think they actually refer to her as Catwoman in the film at all, just as a Cat Burglar), is running the game on a bunch of newbie high class baddies/stuck up rich people. That is until Bane begins to make his presence known. From there, things spiral well out of control and down the bat hole as Batman is forced out of retirement to try and save Gotham one last time from a city wide take over by Bane's militia.
Dark Knight Rises starts much like how The Dark Knight begins. It introduces our big bad and a elaborate plot to achieve a goal and understand just who this person is in the universe. That big bad as everyone has learned is Bane. Batman's/Bruce Wayne's equal mentally and physically. Born and raised in a prison, at least as the story goes, Bane was in a debilitating brawl that left him near death and the respirator he wears (his mask) is the only thing that keeps him alive.
Dammmmn!
As the film progresses David S. Goyer and the Nolan Brothers do what they do best. Create a series of interweaving, dramatic, character driven plots and stories that culminate in a fantastic climactic finale that really makes you stand and cheer. Some may say that the film lags a bit in the middle, but those people don't really care for the character work done within that time frame that allows our heroes to become who they are at the very end of the film.
Each scene, for the most part (there is a little fat), is tightly compact with story, call backs, and fan favorite spoiler moments that anything said outside of the main plot is a potential spoiler, so I will not be that guy. Instead I will say that Nolan and company does a wildly fantastic job building up the last film getting the most important details right, however some minute details and revelations come off a little cheesy and for me. There is a large amount of Flashbacks, much like Batman Begins jumped around a lot but in my opinion it adds more to the story than it subtracts, but in doing so I saw the "big twist" from half way through the movie. Though that doesn't make the film any less enjoyable.
Possibly my favorite part about The Dark Knight Rises is they have all the characters share the screen rather equally. It is not a singular story. We don't just follow any one character around the entire film. We jump all around Gotham seeing several perspectives and events that shape both the people and the world they live in. I believe in doing so they allow us to have more than one opinion on what is happening, who to believe and how things are going down. That makes the two hours and forty five minuets a bearable breeze. Unless you get that tall Coke with your popcorn.
Christian Bale brings his Bruce Wayne back from the dead with all the charm and quips that one can take from a man so mysterious, and once again his Batman holds as the best thus far in the line of Batmans. Yes, his groggily low pitch speaking voice is well in tact, and he even manages to keep it up in the more intense fight scenes, so Kudos to him on that.
Bale actually spends a bulk of the film as Wayne, much like Batman Begins, rather than donning the cowl nearly the entire time like he does in Dark Knight. This change really shows how Bruce has grown over the years. Starting off as a reclusive, breaking back out, and doing something he really hasn't done in any of the films, show Bruce and Batman are one and the same and they are not immortal. They will not last forever and Bruce finally comes to realize it.
Keep em above the waist Bruce.
Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman also return as Alfred and Fox respectively. They are both very involved in the decision Bruce makes for his life and his company, and play those two separate father figures to him quite well. Each with their own little piazza. Alfred wanting Bruce to go back into the world while Fox wants Bruce to help the floundering Wayne Enterprises. Their single scenes alone with Bale are some of the more memorable scenes of the film, probably because they are the only two who know of his double life and each character shows sides that we have not seen which is quite refreshing.
Gary Oldman as Commissioner Jim Gordon is amazing as always. He is the drive behind the entire film. Everyone kind of revolves around him and what he is trying to do for Gotham. In fact at one point he becomes the face of Gotham much like how Harvey Dent was in The Dark Knight. Only Gordon is reluctantly to pick up that responsibility because of how things ended with Dent and because everything they built from Dent's death is all a lie. Oldman brings Gordon a big heart who will give anything for the city he's helped rebuild and even with Oldman's age, Nolan manages to give him some great action scenes that suit his character perfectly.
I am Batman!
Speaking of Gordon, he becomes a mentor of sorts to Officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an ambitious and loyal cop who becomes intertwined in the fight in a very personal way. Honestly Levitt does well enough with the character, though he seems kind of tact on.
I'm not saying Blake's story isn't interesting, he is very action worthy and manages to unravel some serious plot points along the way, but when I was saying some of the scenes were cheesy, many of them were involving him. Especially one scene early on in particular where he goes to see the secluded Bruce Wayne and won't take no for an answer. I was kind of shaking my head and saying, really? That is kind of lazy. Even for me. I suppose he makes up for it in the ladder part of the film.
You smell that?
Selina Kyle aka Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) is far better. She starts off a little shaky, not sure who she is going to be, but she soon blossoms into one of the, if not the best Catwoman to date. She is sultry and independent, and constantly looking for a way to capture the upper hand in any scenario. Many were nervous about seeing Hathaway in the iconic skin tight leather but she holds her own against the senior cast and probably has one of the best arches in the film, in terms of change and understanding which garners her a new lease on a life that was crumbling. Oh, and I'm pretty sure she's bi (sexual), for those of you who are interested in that. If I'm not mistaken she did play both sides of the fence in the comics as well.
There is also Marion Cotillard, who is a board member with Wayne Enterprises working with Fox to try and produce a device that is capable of creating sustainable energy for an entire city. She plays the love inserts of sorts to Bruce and one of the reasons why things spiral out of control. She does a good job and eludes to something bigger later on, but who am I to ruin that for you.
Last but not least we have Tom Hardy rocking the awesome looking respirator as Bane. Many people are comparing Bane to the Joker. Who is better and what not... Well there is no competition when you're going up against the Joker with all his flare and showmanship, so when your watching Bane and you think man he's no where near as good as the Joker, then you don't know what you're talking about. Bane is just as, if not more ruthless than the Clown Prince. Killing men left and right, bursting in and out of buildings, taking hostages and just being cunning and fantastic with his slow drawl, and incomparable wit. He is truly unflappable, and Batman's equal.
Tom Hardy does a fanatic job being that wonderful character actor he has become known for. He gets the walk, the voice, the tone, and the look down to a T. He looks as though he stepped straight out of the comics. When he finally goes toe to toe with The Bat I promise you will be on the edge of your seat.
Cozy! Right?
Besides my problems I was discussing early on with Blake the only other problem I had wars trying to understand Bane. It was like they took audio on sight, while they were shooting, then did ADR with Hardy while he was wearing the mask and cranked the audio all the way up. It makes it very difficult to catch everything he's saying, especially in the early parts of the film. It also sounds a lot like the respirator is doubling ask a sparker as he talks louder than any other character in the film. Even when he sharing a scene. It's slightly distracting, and odd considering Nolan is a very natural director and doesn't really like to alter his actors performances.
The Dark Knight Rises takes the style of Batman Begins and mixes it with the set and action pieces of The Dark Knight. Nolan brings it home with beauty and spectacle and a story that brings all three films into a single entity. Watching Batman rise from the ashes like a Phoenix makes you want to stand and cheer and want nothing more than him to overcome the overwhelming odds. Nolan and company does a great job wrapping the film up in a tight little bow that it makes you sad and wish that their was going to be another, even though we all know their won't be.
That wish, that want, to see Batman take up the cowl one last time is something special, something that many films, many trilogies are unable to do. And to have Nolan behind the camera makes it something even more special, because you know the story is going to be priority and it won't fall by the wayside like many other action films. I'm going to miss Batman, and that is why we are giving Dark Knight Rises 4.8 out of 5.
So let's hear what you have to say. Agree? Disagree? Are you satisfied with how things when out? Do you want more? Are you disappointed? Just comment below! And as always, thanks for reading.
(I am referencing Christopher Nolan and Nolan Ryan.)
So let's get this out of the way as quick and clean as possible. I feel like I am treading through waves and waves of plankton here people and I guess that would make me a whale. Time to eat you. SO, The Dark Knight Rises hit theaters last week. I wasn't going to go (YET!) but extra tickets are extra tickets. So I go, take the handicap seats because no one else nabbed them, and watched the shit show explode around me. Billions of people acting like fools while I am waiting patiently to watch a movie, some entertainment, some art to be IVED into my veins. Bad stand up comics, bad gangsters, BADDDD girls surround me. Bad start.
Rises (because everyone knows what I am talking about) as an action movie is a 10/10. High budget explosions are everywhere. Also, I guess this is the spoiler alert, but I could be saying things that you might not like but you shouldn't be reading a review of a movie after it has come out. Sooo, big explosions, kind of big fights scenes, cool gadgets as always (the BAT! which really doesn't make any sense to me. Why would the rotors be below the cockpit?) The sound editing was amazing throughout the film and if this movie gets voted for any Oscars it should be sound editing and best supporting actor (Joseph Gordon-Levitt.)
But I am not here to give you some pity score just because this movie is popular throughout humanity. As a film, this movie gets a six. I probably shouldn't say this but Nolan gets a lot of cred for being a great director. I like a lot of his movies but that doesn't mean everything he puts out is amazing cinema.
There is way to much happening in the film to actually feel any emotional resonance coming from the plot points. Batman throwing down the rope after escaping the Pit. You see it out of the corner of the screen. The love connection between Cat Woman and Batman is completely just passed over. They hang out and try to trust each other (while Anne totally fucks with him) and then she tries to get him to NOT save Gotham and run off with her. This is crazy women mumbo jumbo that either makes no sense to me or just isn't clearly shown through the movie. Bane falls off track. He sounds like a dwarf from the Lord of the Rings and is totally bad ass. Not only is he smart, strong willed, and a killer but he also seems to get politics way more then the Joker ever did. But then he just gets shot with a gun (from the bat-cycle) and falls off the movie for good? And is easily replaced by some executive women gone crazy bitch? You think she would show some sort of sympathy for Batman because he was GOING TO COME BACK FOR HER BEFORE SHE GOT MURDERED. Here is this heightened, climaxical (made up) fight scene and she pulls out a fucking pocket knife and everyone gets all, lets talk this out. No way, no way, no way.
Then if we want to dig into this deeper. You know get to the gritty, critical film analysis or whatever, the thing literally does not stay on one thread at all. I feel like you could just say this movie is about politics after the internet and be done with it. Each note Nolan hits is really exceptional but then easily forgotten when the next scene pans in because the next "deep" thought is no where connected to the last. There is some interesting things going on in here though. Bane is basically New Government. Out with the old, in with the new (or the same old, same old.) I loved the scene where he broke into Wayne's armory because I think it shows the grasp on innovation through patents. There is all these hidden things that could be saving us but they could also be harming us (NUCLEAR, OIL, ANY RESOURCE) and look what happens when you give it to the "people" or a true democracy. Everything turns into Anarchy because what do you know, common folk don't know anything about running a country.
I also feel like Bane is supposed to be some take on an identity. He says he never meant anything without the mask (like every hero and villain ever) which could play into how we feel Invisible on the Internet because guess what, you can't harm me. Well you can hack me and take all my money but yah know, money doesn't buy happiness and all that metagarbage.
Anne Hathaway could of been way sexier. Only sexy moment with her is when she gets into the bat cycle. Boooooiiinnnnngggggg. But that's it. She's the main reason I wanted to see this damn movie and nothing.
The ending was really sloppy and must of been trying to cut 50 hours of footage into two in a half hour movie and eventually going, okay, okay, this thing is going to make money. WORST DEATH SCENE EVER by Miranda. She spouts off something about knowing the flood code (how? and how did she activate it remotely without any remote?) and then cranes her neck down and closes her eyes equals dead. Then Batman is like, I am there god and they will witness me perish, but then (spoilllerrrrrrssss) he is still alive? Oh he's a super hero, oh yeah. Batman isn't a super hero. He is just a hero with gadgets so he can fucking die if he wants to. Bane is AWOL. Gotham is somehow yet again fine after being treated like shit for 5 months and being in a state of actual totalitarianism with the false illusion of true democracy. The military looks dumb and I guess is Nolan saying "hey why you so dumb and not believe us?"
The butler blubbering or crying was hideous and almost looked like laughter. Morgan is and will always be a badass but he should of killed Miranda for being a bitch. The commish somehow goes from old, to looking literally a week after death, to running around and saving the day (SLAPSTICK STYLE.) There might also be some weird play into not thinking we need to be protected but cops isn't some profession but a way of life like after these guys were stuck in a hole for a few months and then come out to sacrifice themselves to a cause that they didn't really need to be at. Couldn't batman take the truck after the first few weeks and just throw it into the ocean basically mirroring the ending of the movie but without the heightened tension and he wouldn't have "died."
Also that bomb was supposed to be something like 1000x stronger then an a-bomb. Oh let's just put this over the ocean and be okay with it. That shit would of fucked up way more then just 12 million peoples lives. Also Gotham seems to be a shitty city anyways, axe them a long time ago like we did New Jersey. There should of been a tsunami from that blast that would probably kill off Gotham anyways but, hey look, END OF MOVIE!!! Let's all clap to the screen or to the projector or just...let's just clap for being alive to see THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.
Pros
-So much action
-Decent Acting
-Kind of Smart
-Nolan is done with the trilogy. Congrats man. Want to get a beer?
Cons
-Sloppy plot twists and plot points
-No connection with any character
-Not sexy enough
-Bane disappears?
First Final Distraction, probably the last. This is the first one I have ever seen and I am happy that I got it for free.
It's hard for me to write a review of a movie without revealing spoilers and this is a Final Destination movie so I am sure if you are familiar, unlike me, then you know what is to come. First off, the movie is ecstatically full of nail biting suspense. It runs off the general horror formula which is done primarily through cut edits. The tension builds up through scenary other then through character interaction and/or story progression. The reality of this movie runs off this strict structure of life and death. Souls are to be counted for. I don't know if there is a steady rate of death that needs to be followed or that if you should die, then you have to. It's very empirical and kept me on the edge of my seat or clutching the innerness of my stomach from raw, gruesome shots. Each death has to do with familiar fears. Fears that happen to anyone and everyone in the specific events they show. A laser (our inner fear of science fiction and doctors) scorches a persons eye off which makes her fall out a window and pop her eye out which gets run over by a fucking truck. I wish I got to write this thing. It's like saw and paranormal where everyone feels like they could of written a scene for this movie. That's a good thing.
But it all starts off with a premonition. Its just a boring story of people trying to escape death and finding out what they can know about the bullshit event they have been drawn too. But it doesn't matter what they know because none of it all helps even if they did what they were supposed to, or what they knew. What you come to see a movie for is not present in this film. A story. Not really. It's interesting to see that this all happens after a women breaks up with her boyfriend to not hold him back but he wants to be held back. Love pushes the story but then the relationship starts back up after he saves his 8 friends. They all work together too which shows you in modern society, friends are the only people you work with and date and talk too. Work mates are your everything so make the best of it or you ain't saving your life to eventually die anyway. What a revelation! The death scenes are amazingly shot. It's like watching a Rune's Goldberg machine of death happen to all of these bystanders of retribution or whatever. We fear construction for the healing process that could lead into destruction. AHH a bridge with nice water underneath. Keep on this falling apart contraption with a lot of metal. Don't jump off a swim to safety because, AAHHHHHH! Either these people are blinded by fear or just not animals. Where are you survival tactics when you need them. Shoved up your butt. There is so many fears here that it feels like some snuff fetish film I am watching. It's dark with love and deaths. It's almost a turn on.
I wonder why I would never watch the other four and I realize that they are probably formulaic.
711 Blips out of 1000
Pros -Awesome kill scenes -Suspenseful -Gory, Mushy, Classy Cons -Everyone dies -No story -Actions aren't controlled so no climax or character change.
I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of commercials laid about your
favorite television channels for Wes Anderson’s new film Moonrise Kingdom.
Sadly, those commercials don’t really tell you much about the film besides its
all-star cast of Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman,
and Frances McDormand (not to mention Harvey Keitel for the Tarantino fans). So
what is Moonrise Kingdom? To put it simple, Moonrise Kingdom is
wonderful. “Of course it is” you may say with a star list like the above, but
you’d be wrong there. The big names are hardly what make this film such a joy
to watch. Actually, it is first time actor Jared Gilman (Sam) and actress Kara
Hayward (Suzy) that really make this film so charming.
On a small island, off the coast of New England, live a boy
and a girl who fall in love at first sight (well, first awkward conversation)
with one another and decide to run away together, which prompt the children’s
parents, local police, and even Boy Scout troop to give chase and bring them
home. But it won’t be that easy. Sam is one of the best scouts in his troop and
between Sam and Suzy there is an unbreakable bound of trust and sympathy that
keeps them moving forward. Their sympathy for one another is brought on by
their cruddy home lives. Suzy’s parents have practically given up on her and
Sam is an orphan (and the adults didn’t even know). So being misunderstood they
fall in love and run away.
Still there is more, much more in fact. Wes Anderson packs a
lot of story and characters into this seemingly simple film. Captain Sharp’s
(Bruce Willis) and Laura Bishop’s (Frances McDormand) love affair behind the
back of a sad, pathetic Walt Bishop (Bill Murray) create a great parallel
between our child heroes’ own love. Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton) and his
troop of colorful Boy Scouts are determined to save Sam and Suzy at the cost of
a brutal/hilarious fight scene and even a deadly storm. Not to mention that all
the character arcs seem to cross and overlap one another in a beautiful weave
of story telling. Don’t let all the sappiness and eternal love fool you though.
This film moves at a mile a minute from the quick, snappy lines of dialog and
the constant “Wes Anderson Style” camera movements that tread across each
location as if they were a stage.
The best way to describe Moonrise’s tone would be to call it
a smash between Romeo and Juliet and
a Mark Twain adventure that was made into a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Yeah, it’s
that weird and entirely better for it. The only sad part is that the film is
rated PG-13. It is a little edgy for some younger audiences and not
“politically correct” at all times, but in a sense that is what makes it so
funny and whimsical. I could really see kids loving this movie to death as well
as their parents. Yes, I mean it. Take your kids to see this movie and skip out
on the grueling stupidity of another Madagascar film.
On top of the beautiful story and wonderful atmosphere this
film is a constant riot of laughter. Every two seconds there was at the very
least a chuckle in the audience from the quirky nature of the children and the
ridiculous, absentminded behavior of their roles models and parents.
So what’s wrong with the movie? The cast is great, the tone,
and the story. Is it not beautiful? No, the cinematography is gorgeous. There
has to be a problem. Well, actually no. I’ve never been a huge Wes Anderson fan
myself and I went into the film skeptical, but came out with absolutely no
regrets. Even after the loved Marvel’s The Avengers I had some problems,
but none here. I’d recommend Moonrise Kingdom to anyone. I really do hope more
people go out to see this film as it seems like it is slipping a bit under the
radar. You won’t be disappointed. In fact, you may discover a film you’ll be
adding to your favorite films list very quickly. 5 blips out of 5. Oh and if
that weren’t enough, someone gets struck by lightning.
Sometimes things work just as well the second time around.
People who haven't read a single comic or seen the original cartoon or any of the movies can probably recite to you the basic concept behind Spider-Man. And since Sam Rami's Spider-Man came out only ten short years ago it should still relatively be fresh in everyone's memory. So why reboot the thing? To compete with Batman, of course. Duh! Oh and try and make us forget about that Toby Maguire.
I mean how annoying is he? What's his crowning achievement again? MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss back in 2002? Yeah, it's no question that his star is diminishing. Thank god... But I digress. This isn't about Toby, this is about the newly re-imagined (sort of) Spider-Man.
The Amazing Spider-Man is basically a rehash of the origin story. Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), a brilliant, young, shy, loaner, goes to Oscorp and is bitten by a spider that turns him into a superhuman who can climb on walls and can sense danger. Only this rehash is something a little more conceivable as the film attempts to ground it's story into reality much like Christopher Nolan's current incarnation of the Dark Knight. Which in my opinion refreshes the old web head and gives him a greater emotional depth especially with Garfield at the reins.
There are many similarities about this film in comparison to it's predecessor, only The Amazing Spider-Man takes those similarities and does some Amazing stuff with them. For example, the webbing is no longer organic. It doesn't shoot out of the wrist with some stupid pressure point or a crappy catch phrase. No, No. It's back to the Peter Parker homemade webbing that he shoots out of a little canister attached to his wrist, just like in the comics. Or, how about the fact that Parker's abilities are explained through cross species genetics rather than just a simple spider bite giving him his powers. Just a few of the minute but grand details trickled into a rather powerful script.
Yes, the Amazing-Spider-Man did everything to be the original Spider-Man but still have it's own individuality. This film is all about family and acceptance and allowing maturity and growth after a hard life. But most of all it's about fathers and sons, as there is no shortage of father figures for the great Peter Parker. Over the course of movie, Peter has a slew of father types who all want something different or see the world different from him, allowing for some truly memorable scenes and high stakes of loss for Peter.
The film opens up with Peter at his school kind of alone, getting picked on, standing up for others, and pining after the beautiful Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). At home we find he is kind of a genius who is able to fix anything for his Uncle Ben and Aunt May Parker (Martin Sheen and Sally Field respectively). When Peter discovers an old box filled with his father's old research with, his partner Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), it forces him to ask the question, what happened to my parents? This propels him to go to Oscorp, meet Connors and GET BIT!
At first Peter, naturally, is confused and a little overwhelmed by his newfound abilities. Gradually he becomes more comfortable and is able use this new understanding of how genetics works and gives Connors an equation from his father's journal that "full proofs" the serum to allow tissue regeneration so advanced that it can grow back entire limbs, like lizards. Uh oh.
Needless to say things start getting a little out of control for Peter juggling, his love, school, family, secret vigilante work, a sort of apprenticeship with Connors, battling a giant Lizard hellbent on trying to save and advance his research to create the perfect being, and oh, being chanced by the entire New York City Police Department, led by Gwen's father, the unflappable, Captain George Stacy (Denis Leary).
The Amazing Spider-Man gets a lot right, and in many ways, as I said, surpasses the original. Garfield carries the weight of the film on his shoulders and that weight can be seen through the emotional conflicts that are running through him. And it's great to see the difference in character between Peter and Spider-Man. It's like he's a different person inside the suit. The wise cracking web slinger. Nothing like the brooding and overly complicated Toby Maguire Spider-Man. And not to mention, Peter isn't too afraid to show his face in this film, as he battles several times wearing the unitard without the mask. One of many great choices by director Mark Webb in his first big action film.
Then one of the most refreshing things was having Gwen Stacy, Peter's first true love be the tentpole leading lady instead of Mary Jane Watson. Casting a blonde Emma Stone couldn't have been a better choice as she really pulls her weight. Some of the best scenes are with Garfield and Stone just being a teenage couple, and her being the only one who really knows who he is, adds something more intimate unlike the original where Mary Jane hadn't the faintest idea the entire first movie and well into the second.
Rhys Ifans brings his own skills to the party, making Connors very likable, just as he should be, up until the unexpected transformation, and his later scenes as he loses his mind are great. Seeing his struggle to keep his work alive made me really root for him to succeed even though I knew it wouldn't end well. Many people are comparing him to William Defoe's Norman Osborn/Green Goblin from the original Spider-Man, which in my opinion was fantastic, but that's not fair. This story isn't about that part of Peter's life, not yet anyway. This is how it all starts. And Lizard is the perfect training wheels bad guy, with a realistic goal he is trying to achieve. He's not just trying to take over the world, well he is, but he's only trying to make it better, in his own deranged chemically enhanced way. He is also something more. He's one of three father figures that Peter has which makes it all the more powerful toward the end.
Then there is the unlikely hero, that is, Denis Leary's George Stacy. He's a no nonsense kind of guy who will defend his beliefs and wants nothing more than to do his job and protect his family by keeping the streets clean of any kind of threat, including Spider-Man. I have to say George Stacy is one of my favorite characters because I believe he has the greatest change in the film. His arc is something that helps not only move the story along and provide conflict but, gives Peter someone who has a completely different look on life.
Overall The Amazing Spider-Man takes great swings (Ha! Puns) away from the original; breathing new life into the characters and displaying great humor along with a grounded reality with just a hint of sci-fi fantasy. The story flows well, allowing for a significant amount of time with certain characters to make us care for them, multiple intersecting story arcs and a rather satisfying conclusion, that really makes the movie feel whole. The only downside is that there is a rather large corny sequence towards the end of the film that just feels kind of lame and out of place with the rest of the it and the Lizard looks a little too cartoony for my taste.
The film leaves several open questions and a killer mid-credit scene that I for one don't know what to make of, but allows you to leave with a sense of not only continued normality but hope for the characters. Therefore, I give The Amazing Spider-Man 4.5 blips out of 5.
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