The Amazing Spider-Man Reboot and New Superman Movie

So, after all the rumors, intrigues and fan speculation, here it is, ladies and gentlemen — the first official trailer of the nefarious Spider-Man reboot!



CineMax's Thoughts: Honestly, I don't even know what to think. On one hand, the whole 'Peter Parker — Troubled Youth' vibe of the first thirty seconds or so of the trailer was more than enough to set off my cynicism alert that this adaptation is going to be nothing more than a rushed, half-assed 'angstier' version to appease the Twilight-loving demographic, but on the other, what did this trailer exactly tell us, huh?

I mean, think about: We saw Peter's parents leaving his at his aunt and uncle's house (sad but what do they have to do with anything, really?), but there's not a single mentioning of whether or not Uncle Ben even dies in this one (you know, the most important aspect of any version of Spider-Man's origin!); we saw Peter snooping around and getting bitten by a spider (albeit it's not even implied whether the said spider was radioactive or even genetically enhanced like the one in Raimi's version), yet there was no mentioning of the Lizard (the supposed main villain of the story), Proto-Goblin (I dunno who the fuck that is, but allegedly he's going to be one of the big baddies as well), or any other important elements that would give us at least a hint as to what the movie is even going to be about!

Finally, there was the first-person wall-crawling scene, which, to be frank, I thought was a nice touch (I'm even going to say that it kind of reminded me of the last scene of the first Raimi's film in terms of excitement and spectacle), but is Spider-Man going to, you know, actually fight anyone in this film? Two minutes and thirty seconds, and yet the only thing we've seen so far is angst, angst, angst — oh, and did I mention angst?

I know, I know — this is only the first trailer, and they still have time to prove me (and every other fan of the Raimi trilogy, for that matter) wrong, but, if you ask me, it's kind of funny how this was a unique chance for the studios to demonstrate everyone that this film isn't just an uninspired, half-assed commercial project specifically made to appeal to the emo kiddies and Twilight-twats but rather give the fans what they want, and yet what do they do? Release a trailer that only solidifies the public's worst expectations that this isn't even going to be a Spider-Man movie!

So, what say you?

So the trailer basically tells us nothing we don't already know from the first 3 SUCCESSFUL movies (say what you want about SM3, it was still a huge hit). Tossed in is a Mirror's Edge first person POV of 'urban exploration' (see this link for a kickass example), and POOF we have a new Spiderman.

Now the big question is:

WHY? Why does Spiderman even need a reboot? Are the first two films not 'edgy' enough? The first two Spiderman movies were spot on with the cast, and the stories, and the general lighthearted atmosphere. So is Spiderman trying to take a new edgy approach like The Dark Knight? Let me explain something everybody can understand: Spiderman is not Batman. Batman is SUPPOSED to be dark and edgy, dodging gunfire from gangsters and a cast of openly homicidal lunatics who kill people by the dozens. On the flip side, Spiderman is damn near the exact OPPOSITE of Batman. Sure, Spidey's parents 'die' too, but he deals with it all in a completely different manner as he battles giant lizards and people who dress up like rhinos to rob banks. Oh yeah, Spiderman is hardcore, just like the Punisher...

Spiderman cracks jokes when Batman cracks bones, and the atmospheres for their previous respective movies reflects their unique styles.

OR, are they just rebooting the series because Tobey Maguire doesn't want to do a fourth after the third turned out to be a turd?

On a final note: Do we really want to see an Edward Cullen emo in red and blue spandex? I think not.

EDIT: Right after I posted this there was a Google Ad for the official Amazing Spiderman Soundtrack. The irony.

@LaughingMan



You know, I find it kind of ironic how this parody video by Michael Agrusso (the creator of "Hi, I'm a Marvel...and I'm a DC" series), which merely made fun out of the massive fan overreaction, ended up being pretty much 99% spot-on in regards to how this new project looks like.

Also, if their original intent with this version was to make a dark and gritty Spider-Man story a-la The Dark Knight, then I'd highly suggest those greedy, ignorant swines at Columbia look up those words in the dictionary, 'cos all I'm seeing here is petty, irrational "Woe is Me" teen angst, not proper tragedy and drama.

If they really wanted to present a serious, mature (a film doesn't need to be dark or edgy or mature, by the way) story about Spider-Man, then why didn't pick up David Finscher's original project he presented to the studios even before Sam Raimi was assigned to direct? For those of you who don't know, Finscher wanted to skip the Peter's origin and school years, and instead adapt the "The Night When Gwen Stacy" dies ark that would feature a) a grown-up and competent Spider-Man; and b) sufficient amount of drama without going overboard (you know, Osborn figuring out Spider-Man's identity, kidnapping Gwen, throwing her off the bridge to her death, etc.).

Tell me, if they've already done the origin story (meaning that the film-going audience already knows who the fuck is who), why not adapt an already complex and tragic story from the comics with an auteur film director with his own vision, instead of, you know, going back to the first Raimi film, and doing everything contrariwise (i.e., In Raimi's version Spidey had organic webbing, in Webb's version he'll use web-shooters; In Raimi's version he dated Mary-Jane, in Webb's version his love interest is Gwen Stacy, etc.)

Finally, just like you yourself have already mentioned, Spider-Man (or any other super-hero, for that matter) doesn't need to be like Batman, 'cos a) each hero is unique in their setting, powers, villains, morals, themes; and b) tell me, if everyone's all dark, gritty, and realistic, then what makes the naturally hard-core heroes like Batman, Punisher, or Rorschach so unique?

A-friggin-men

Here's the thing, and I say this as a Spider fan from the age of about 3.

Spider Man is about the tragedy being juxtaposed by the humour.

Now I don't mean humour like the Rami movies. For some reason Rami decided everything BUT Spider man was going to be comic relief, forgetting that the only real comic foils were JJJ AND Spidey in the mask, not spidey out of the mask. Humour was spidey telling the rhino that one joke about stupidity while worrying about his wife's cousin's brithday, it was Spidey fixing a guys car while stressing about picking up his aunts pills and fighting the Shocker before he levels a building, it was telling the Goblin he was a cut rate con artist while secretly begging that he didn't detonate a bomb that would kill his beloved family. It was Spider man's way of staying sane, it defined the character and made him so identifiable and loveable, and ultimately a bright spark in an otherwise grim world.

And then the fucking Ultimates happened.

A lot of people pin the blame on Batman, but the Ultimates is just as much to blame. The Ultimates was Bendis' wild idea that kids could identify with a more amoral kid who didn't really crack all that many jokes, and if he did, he'd slip an f bomb in there, cutting off any wider audience appeal beyond comic book nerds and young tweens at the time. He was edgey, grimmer, more high school, more badass, instead of the gentle geek who fantasized about being an outgoing clown. And suddenly everyone had to get on the same fucking page.

The Green Goblin was supposed to be a symbol of everything Spider Man is not- he's the complete opposite of spider man. While Spidey dresses like a hero to gain responsibility, the Goblin puts on a childs costume to brush any responsibility away and to lie and cheat in his own underground organisation, as opposed to spidey having to lie and cheat as peter in order to protect people. But no, now in the ultimates, because everything had to be more fuckin badass, he becomes the hulk and just hulks out when he feels like it. Venom went from being a lethal anti hero to a suit designed to heal cancer. That's really, really fucking stupid.

And Bendis has his claws all over this movie. Apparrently they got him in (instead of some of the original source material maybe? Fucking ingenious, these hollywood directors, going to the wrong fucking source) and of course everything's about taking it more seriously.

And yet...I don't completely hate the idea. The casting isn't as bad as the originals (Kirsten Dunst clearly wanted out, and I wish she had because she certainly couldn't act her way out) but I feel that Pete's going to be even more apathetic in this version than he was in the original, or the ultimates, which was very new when the original movies came out. And that's a shame. Pete was supposed to be about light heartedness in order to emphasise the serious nature of what he protects, which never had to be outright acknowledged to exist. But not anymore, now everything has to be spelled out for the audience, and everything has to take itself seriously...forgetting that the more it does that, the less serious an audience can truly take it.

I mean it's like going into a candy store and everything is cadburys chocolate. What would the point be? Where's the selection?

If this film tanks, the Mouse gets the rights and Marvel studios reboots it a third time. If this film wins and is maybe good...we'll see from there.

But fuck it man. Why can nobody get it right? Why is spider man so hard to get right? Why do we have to kiss the feet of the ultimates?

@B-mask
Good thing you mentioned Brian Michael Bendis and the Ultimate Universe, 'cos, frankly, I totally forgot to mention how instead of consulting J. Michael Straczynski or, in fact, anyone else who's had experience working on the 'proper' Spider-Man, they decide to go with the guy who decide to kill his Peter Parker at the age of sixteen (i.e., only a year after the lad became Spider-Man, and only a couple of months after people started to look up to him). Why did he do it, you ask? To boost up the sales, obviously! (In other words, don't be surprised if this one dies in one of the sequels if this movie gets one, that is).

Also, excellent summery of what makes Spider-Man so enjoyable (blimey, am I sperging out over Spidey right now, or what?) The reason why millions of readers like him so much is 'cos, well, he's just like anyone of us, really. He didn't come from another planet, only to become some ridiculously overpowered demigod that anyone in real life would more likely fear than admire (i.e., Superman); he didn't inherit his parents' fortune in order to built himself an entire arsenal of weapons and gadgets to fight crime (i.e., Batman) — he had to cope with everything himself.

He always has his friends, family, job, etc. to constantly worry about, yet he continues to put on the suit every single date, and go fight crime. He never had the luxury of being a crime-fighting celebrity; in fact, if anything, he's always been an outsider both to the general public and his colleagues. You see, that's what always made Spider-Man so great — the fact that despite all of his powers, he's still just a normal person with the same fears and problems as everyone else!

Say what you want about Raimi's films, but at least he tried to present his Spidey as the same insecure, flawed, yet benevolent nerd who desperately tries to cope with both his real-life problems but still continues to be Spider-Man, no matter how hard it is. Yet, what is the new movie trying to do? They're trying to turn Peter from a lovable, every-day jokester into an introverted, angsty emo-kid who doesn't use his newly acquired powers to help people, but rather to heal his own mommy and daddy issues, and in order to make his balls feel big. Sure, why not? The Twilight kids are into that sort of a thing these days, so who gives a rats ass if he's not likable, or more importantly, doesn't set up a good example!

Exactly bro, that's exactly whats going on here. I mean it just makes me feel like they never read the original comics or got any of the jokes. It's very depressing.

@B-mask
Oh, but wait: it gets better! According to this report from Comic-Con, it seems like the death of Uncle Ben and the whole 'With great power comes great responsibility' theme aren't even going to play such a big role in the film, 'cos from the looks of it, the main focus of the film (and the reason why Pete decides to don the Spider-Man costume) is to investigate the sudden disappearance of his parents when he was a kid.

First thought that comes to mind, "Goddamnit! They're really trying to turn Spider-Man into Batman, aren't they?" Second thought that comes to mind, "Hey, didn't that god-awful cartoon from the 90s and the Ultimate comics already try to explore the idea that there might be more to Peter's parents' death? Oh yeah, they did! In the first case it turned out that they were secret communist spies or something, while in the second one they got bludgeoned by the Incredible Hulk right in front of Peter's eyes... Gee wiz! I can't wait to see how they're gonna fuck-up this time!"

Also, it's still a year before the film's release, yet you're already labeling this as the best and most dynamic Spidey film up to date, completely disregarding the fact that what we've seen so far has only vague connection to any of the actual Spider-Man stories, and that instead of fights, action scenes, and web-slinging all the trailer showed was angst, angst, and even more angst? You know what, fuck you, IGN!

When I saw they had made Gwen Stacy the love interest, I thought they were going to take inspiration from the recent "Spectacular Spider-Man" animated series, which I find to be the best screen interpretation of the character (seriously, watch their Venom storyline, which was done much better than in Spider-Man 3).

But, if Cine-Max is any way accurate, then that's somewhat disappointing. That said, I'm still waiting for the film to come out before making any massive judgement. I do like that Stacy is the love interest, the casting of Andrew Garfield and the choice of Lizard as the villain (massive shame that Dylan Baker didn't get to make the transformation, though).

I'll quote LaughingMan once, and I'll do so a million more times:

You can't spell ignorant without IGN.