Amazing Spider-Man 2 Minimates

[TM2 Dinobot]

Does your like or dislike of a movie determine whether you buy the minimates or not?

No.

[Twisted Two-Face]

Just to add to the debate, the only parts of ASM i enjoyed were Uncle Ben, Aunt May, and Captain Stacy, and more because of the actors than the characters. And that is NOT what i should be enjoying from a Spider-man film.

I'll see the new one eventually, out of obligation. But from what i've seen, i'm not going to enjoy it. I will give them that the new costume is the absolute best Spidey has looked on-screen, and the CGI looks very solid.

The Minimates, on the other hand, were fantastic. Very happy with those. Curious to see who actually makes this wave, though.

[youbastards]

Doesn't sound like TRU will be getting an exclusive line from Zach's comments, so here is my LCS ASM 2 line-up speculation:

- Battle-Damaged Spidey (New Suit) & Electro

- Max Dillon (Scientist) & Gwen Stacy

- Harry Osborn & Peter Parker

- Spider-Man (New Suit) & Aleksei Sytsevich

Yep, my line-up assumes that we won't get a Norman Osborn, Rhino or Green Goblin.

Edited December 8, 2013 by youbastards

[Trekker 42]

Doesn't sound like TRU will be getting an exclusive line from Zach's comments, so here is my LCS ASM 2 line-up speculation:

- Battle-Damaged Spidey (New Suit) & Electro

- Max Dillon (Scientist) & Gwen Stacy

- Harry Osborn & Peter Parker

- Spider-Man (New Suit) & Aleksei Sytsevich

Yep, my line-up assumes that we won't get a Norman Osborn, Rhino or Green Goblin.

I sincerely doubt we'll get Max Dillon honestly. If we do he's gonna probably be an alternate look for Electro. Why waste the space when Norman CAN make it in?

[undeadpool]

sorry, i still think ASM is the only worthy live action interpretation of the character that has existed so far. I strongly suggest you all go watch Spectacular Spiderman as well

this movie is gonna be awesome and these mates are gonna be awesome

[youbastards]

I sincerely doubt we'll get Max Dillon honestly. If we do he's gonna probably be an alternate look for Electro. Why waste the space when Norman CAN make it in?

[sameoldsonganddance]

Lack of reference material?

[/sameoldsonganddance]

- aerosmithheadsmate

Edited December 9, 2013 by youbastards

[VulcansFury]

At least we actually don't want Gwen to die. Can't say the same for Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane.

Awww. Kristen Dunst was my most wanted Star Wars figure growing up. I'm sure we all had the shoeless red variant, but I really wanted the Sears exclusive taller blue version of her with silver boots.

[youbastards]

[TENIME_art]

When I got into the character of Spider-Man at the tender age of 8, I HATED the mechanical webshooters. I just couldn't suspend that much disbelief that anyone, let alone a teenager, could build something like that.

Organic webshooting just makes sense to me as one of the powers he'd get (yeah, yeah, it'd shoot out of his butt instead, stop trying to bring logic into this discussion about comic books).

And I've heard the excuse that "Andrew Garfield's Spidey wisecracks", as if Tobey's didn't (maybe we watched different movies, but I sure as heck remember him cracking wise), and the reality of it isn't that Andrew's is a jokey Spider-Man, but an @$$hole. His "jokes" aren't funny, they're snide, with a real sh***y attitude behind them. I chuckle at Tobey's jokes. Andrew's makes me want to punch him in the mouth.

Edited December 10, 2013 by TENIME_art

[DSTZach]

I kinda liked that Garfield's Peter is a bit of a jerk. He grew up without a dad, he hated criminals, he's not popular at school... When you give him that power, couldn't a teenager become insufferable? Wanting to use his power to stop crooks doesn't take away his anger and his desire to show the world he's cooler than everyone else? I think that was there in the early comics, even after Ben's speech. I would have been equally happy with an adult Peter, grown up and working a job, but I can see how a teen Peter might be better for the box office.

I'm not going to put down Tobey's Peter, but I don't think he would have come back for a fourth go-around without Raimi, and I'm not sure he should have. And once you make the plan to re-boot, I think you can have a different "take" on Peter that still embodies the ideals of the character, while introducing new elements (or emphasizing lesser ones) that might give him more depth and make better use of a talented actor, as well as provide a fresh take for audiences that saw and enjoyed the originals.

[WookieFodder]

Garfield seemed too cool to play Peter Parker.

Tobey was great, although I think him creating his own webs was gross.

What does that even mean, like when he gets older he can't produce as many webs?

I like him creating web shooters, plus bc he's damn near unbeatable, creates suspense when he runs out.

[DSTZach]

...I will admit that him losing confidence and being unable to shoot webs was a little unsettling.

[Zexion_Armando]

Garfield seemed too cool to play Peter Parker.

Tobey was great, although I think him creating his own webs was gross.

What does that even mean, like when he gets older he can't produce as many webs?

I like him creating web shooters, plus bc he's damn near unbeatable, creates suspense when he runs out.

It stopped being suspenseful back in the 80's, where it would happen every other issue.

[VulcansFury]

I kinda liked that Garfield's Peter is a bit of a jerk. He grew up without a dad, he hated criminals, he's not popular at school... When you give him that power, couldn't a teenager become insufferable?.

The Insufferable Spider-Man! I've only seen ASM once, got bored and wasn't impressed. Tobey wasn't exactly the greatest either, he was a bit of a creeper. I think Raimi's Spiderman 2 was the best, if only from a lack of Macy Gray or Dancing Peter. And Dunst is no "Jackpot". I've resolved to never getting a Spider Man movie meant for our generation, but one aimed at the kids. At least ASM had no Nickleback, so maybe I'll give it a second viewing before ASM2 comes out. But thanks, Zach. I now dub Garfield as Insufferable Spiderman

[DSTZach]

I'd watch ASM again just for the C. Thomas Howell cameo.

[Valo487]

Anyone who enjoys the Raimi movies more than the Amazing Spider-Man is entitled to their opinion, but I for the life of me cannot understand how you can feel that way. And if you say that Andrew Garfield's interpretation of Peter Parker is invalid or wrong, you and I have nothing more to say to each other. After Raimi's crying and dancing Peter Parker, I would have rather never seen Spider-Man on film ever again than seen one more minute of that.

[undeadpool]

you're right...Garfield looked nothing like Peter Parker....oh wait

[Zombie Shakespeare]

I'd watch ASM again just for the C. Thomas Howell cameo.

You should definitely check out Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood.

[pappymojo]

Raimi 2

ASM

Raimi 1

Raimi 3

I put them in that order. What I felt the second Raimi movie got right was the villian and the special effects. My biggest complaint with ASM was the CGI Lizard.

[MisterPL]

My biggest complaint with ASM was the CGI Lizard.

Are you implying that if the Lizard had been done with practical effects, you'd have been okay with it? Because I'm picturing a blend of huge guys in giant rubber suits with R/C servo operators puppeteering the thing from head to tail and it looks pretty 20th century.

...I will admit that him losing confidence and being unable to shoot webs was a little unsettling.

In all fairness, he was losing all his powers (even his eyesight) when he lost his mojo. At the time I thought it was a clever way to work in the old "Oh, no! I'm out of web-fluid!" dilemma.

I still think organic web shooters are more logical than "spider sense."

[youbastards]

My biggest complaint with ASM was the CGI Lizard.

Are you implying that if the Lizard had been done with practical effects, you'd have been okay with it? Because I'm picturing a blend of huge guys in giant rubber suits with R/C servo operators puppeteering the thing from head to tail and it looks pretty 20th century.

I think Pappy means the design choice of the CGI Lizard, to which I have to agree, ASM Lizard was pretty generic. Edited December 10, 2013 by youbastards

[bigvis497]

Anyone who enjoys the Raimi movies more than the Amazing Spider-Man is entitled to their opinion, but I for the life of me cannot understand how you can feel that way. And if you say that Andrew Garfield's interpretation of Peter Parker is invalid or wrong, you and I have nothing more to say to each other. After Raimi's crying and dancing Peter Parker, I would have rather never seen Spider-Man on film ever again than seen one more minute of that.

I wouldn't take a scene where Peter acting out of character as a deliberate plot point as Raimi getting his character wrong. A couple scenes in one movie doesn't overturn all the good work that was done prior.

[youbastards]

Neither franchise has completely gotten right the Spider-Man I want to see on film, but so far Raimi's films are closer to what I want than Webb's ASM. It really took Peter a long time to come into his own in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man. Reading those old issues you truly saw this awkward teenage boy experience tragedy after tragedy on his way to becoming an adult (who also just happened to have super powers). The emphasis on him going to school and trying to make ends meet working for the Bugle, while caring for his elderly aunt, fighting super-villains, keeping his girlfriend happy all while trying to live a normal life with normal everyday problems is what really established Spider-Man as Marvel's premiere character.

Raimi knew and understood that, and that's why I think his vision of the character clicks with me. Spider-Man is about an everyman at the wrong place at the wrong time coming to terms with his place in the world while trying to maintain the balance of a normal life while occasionally having to fight for his life or the lives of the people he loves.

Webb's ASM, so far, seems to have glossed over a lot of that turmoil. The Bugle and JJJ were completely omitted from the story making one of Peter's biggest problems (money) a non-issue while at the same time choosing to change back from organic to mechanical webshooters (something of which money would definitely be a factor), and it also implies that Peter stole the materials from Oscorp to make his web fluid, which again, is a huge character flaw.

After Uncle Ben dies there is little in the way of showing the guilt that affected Peter and influenced his decision making. That guilt over Ben's death should have directly influenced Peter's decision to keep the promise to Capt. Stacy about not seeing Gwen any longer. Remember, in the comics Gwen didn't know that Peter was Spider-Man, and she hated Spider-Man for being responsible for her father's death, so once again Peter was torn between his responsibility as being Spider-Man and his love for Gwen, but because Webb chose to ignore that piece of the story. Now will that choice of refusing to honor Capt. Stacy's promise come back to bite Peter by resulting in Gwen's death? It's too soon to know for sure, but if Gwen's death is the catalyst for Peter's guilt instead of Ben's death, well then that's just further trivializing the role that Uncle Ben played in Webb's ASM origin.

Some of the best character driven moments from Raimi's movies came from Peter interacting with Aunt May. Rosemary Harris played a wonderful Aunt May, doting but supportive. The scenes between her and Tobey really showed the impact on the loss of Uncle Ben in both of their lives. So far, we haven't seen anything close to that level of relationship between Andrew Garfield and Sally Field.

Spider-Man 3 was just an unfortunate movie. The studio's insistence to shoe-horn Venom into story was just something they didn't plan out in enough time, and Raimi's unfamiliarity/disinterest with the Venom material really shows with that portion of the Spider-Man 3 story. Think about it, they just spent part of Spider-Man 2 referencing ASTRONAUT John Jameson as a rival love interest for Mary Jane, but when the ALIEN SYMBIOTE arrives on Earth, it is through the landing of a meteorite??? You just had a person in SPACE that is in love with the girlfriend of the protagonist! Now I'm not saying fans would have liked a version of Venom that was John Jameson instead of Eddie Brock, but at least the arrival of the symbiote on Earth was already accounted for with the story of the second movie.

The Sandman story, while being an unnecessary change to the origin of Spider-Man, was by far the best part of the film, but again a huge opportunity to bookend the "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" theme was wasted. At the end of the film when Peter confronts Flint Marko and forgives him, instead of escaping/dissolving into the wind, Marko should have turned himself into the police. Even though he has the ability to escape anytime he wanted, choosing to face justice for his crimes would have truly rounded out that character as an "everyman at the wrong place at the wrong time", just like how Peter got his powers.

Anyway, Spider-Man rant over.

I'm looking forward to seeing if ASM2 attempts to make up for any of the things that I think ASM1 was lacking.

Edited December 10, 2013 by youbastards

[MisterPL]

I think Pappy means the design choice of the CGI Lizard, to which I have to agree, ASM Lizard was pretty generic.

Beyond the Gorn and Sleestaks, I'm not familiar with a lot of live-action lizard men. I just for the impression that they were staying away from the miniature Godzilla Lizard and sticking closer to his first appearance.

I can understand not liking the look but that doesn't really have anything to do with how it's rendered.

[DSTZach]

The Sandman story, while being an unnecessary change to the origin of Spider-Man, was by far the best part of the film, but again a huge opportunity to bookend the "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" theme was wasted.

]

I'm not sure how they could have possibly bookended it, since the movie technically negated it.

It's my biggest qualm with SM3 -- if Sandman killed Ben, then Peter had no opportunity to stop the murder. Yes, he let a criminal go, and that criminal jostled Sandman's arm (?), but that criminal didn't kill his uncle. So even with great power, your loved ones may still be shot by someone you have never met. I thought it was odd they chose to make Ben's murder the reason for Peter to go dark, instead of simply letting the costume change him.