...and in More Superhero News: SPIDER-MAN 4 SUITS UP!

[Mike LoManaco]

Sam Raimi has apparently leaked info about at least two more films in the franchise under his direction, inbetween doing "Drag Me To Hell," and has even admitted that there were mistakes with Spidey 3, and that it won't happen in this one -- the nemesis choices for Spidey are still up in the air for this one, but I think they're toying with Morbius or The Lizard...

Spider-Man 4
Release Date: May 2011

Director: Sam Raimi

Cast: Tobey Maguire

Summary: With the phenomenal record-breaking success of the Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 movies, fans can look forward to future installments in the adventures of Marvel comics webslinging hero. In fact, Marvel Entertainment heads have confirmed that they have plans for at least 6 Spidey movies!
Morbius May No Longer Be the Villainous Frontrunner for Spidey 4
Producer Todd Black rules out the vampire for the 4th installment...or does he?

[Knucklehead]

also...Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk Star Trek) will be playing Thor in 2011.

[cfrizz]

I will probably pass, Spidey 3 rotted!

[everpress]

I will probably pass, Spidey 3 rotted!

Yeah; "Emo-Parker" bothered me.
And I know that even in comic books Peter Parker plays the part of a whiny lil' b!tch... But he was also a bit smarter and more of a smart @$$ in the books too.

I'm digging the idea of a "Thor" movie, however...

[cfrizz]

The emotional conflict he had in 1 & 2 was just right. But the 3rd really took it over the top, & was bad.

[Ron-P]

I will probably pass, Spidey 3 rotted!
As did #2. None were very well done and with the same director behind the wheel, no thanks. Replacing Toby would be a plus as well.

[zombie boy 2000]

Sam Raimi is obviously in it just for the cash at this point, which is really a shame. He's extremely talented. Just go watch A Simple Plan or The Evil Dead series and you'll see what I mean. It's usually the finer touches that he excels at - most notably in regard to his cinematography.

The Spider-Man franchise is just too Hollywood to allow him to shine.

[Ethancf]

I actually liked S3.

[Monster Jam]

I actually liked S3.

So did I.

The villains were cool. The jokes were funny.

The dancing I could have passed on, BUT Spidey 3 did what George Lucas wanted to do but failed miserably at: convince the audience that the hero goes bad for a legitamate reason. The scene where Parker is driven to the black suit out of revenge against Harry Osborn was IMO a very good scene - and again, what Lucas wished he could have done with Anakin.

[Mike LoManaco]

Okay, here's the deal with Raimi and his sensational Spidey franchise...

The first film set off a flurry of rush-to-the-screen Marvel adaptations including Fantastic 4, Daredevil, Hulk...it was also responsible for the re-interest in Chris Nolan re-imagining Batman; it was an amazingly taut, exciting comic book film adaptation where even on multiple views on DVD when it was first released, it caused jaws to drop watching Spidey and Goblin duke it out on the big screen. That final fight sequence in the first film was probably the best hero-nemesis battle moment in the history of comic film...

UNTIL Spidey 2 came along, and in my opinion, this film knocked excellent sequels like Richard Donner's Superman II out of the box. It is still to this day considered the best superhero film ever put to celluloid, and Raimi just nailed it with Doc Ock -- the look by actor Alfred Molina, the fight sequences between him and the wall crawler...it brought the comic to life, big time.

Then, 3 came along and you know something? I just pulled the BD off the shelf the other night to re-examine and it kind of gets cheesier and cheesier every time you watch it; first of all, a HUGE amount of time could have been cut from this film just by eliminating the absolutely IDIOTIC dance and jazz club sequences where Parker's cracking up from the symbiote attachment; his behavior with wanting to get revenge on Brock was cool, but the fact that Raimi rushed three villains into this (including Harry's "New Goblin" which should have been the Hobgoblin and not that stupid surfboard thing he created) and made everything WAY too complicated caused the film to end up a mess. There was just too much going on here...Sandman was cool, and the fight sequences were wild with him, but then suddenly Venom arrived, and it was like "whoooa! What just happened? And HOW?"

There were pacing mistakes as well...when Venom suddenly "arrives" in the alleyway to find Sandman and makes him the offer to team up on Spidey, this was head-scratching...you mean, Brock/Venom was just "swinging" around NYC and happens to "find" Sandman in the alley, AND he knows EVERYTHING about his daughter and how Spidey won't let him help her? It was weak and felt rushed just to get these two enemies together.

From what I have read, Raimi is going to go back to the drawing board and try and create a new installment that relies more on what made the first film so charming.

[mantis]

I found Spiderman 3 to be the worse of the 3 but I still liked it. Yeah they went a little to far here and there but overall a good movie.

Tobey I think is the perfect match for that role. Look at the comic's and Tobey is all over it. he really works. I have been a Spiderman fan since the 70's . I have read most of the comic books over the years. I have not lately but I really enjoyed the stories.

I was afraid that 3 was going to be the last but I'm so into a a new movie coming. NICE!!!

I really love how all the Superhero's from my childhood are coming to the big screen. These are good times for movies.

Dan

Dan

[Mike LoManaco]

I found Spiderman 3 to be the worse of the 3 but I still liked it. Yeah they went a little to far here and there but overall a good movie.

Tobey I think is the perfect match for that role. Look at the comic's and Tobey is all over it. he really works. I have been a Spiderman fan since the 70's . I have read most of the comic books over the years. I have not lately but I really enjoyed the stories.

I was afraid that 3 was going to be the last but I'm so into a a new movie coming. NICE!!!

I really love how all the Superhero's from my childhood are coming to the big screen. These are good times for movies.

Dan

Dan

Dan,

I feel the same way about most of what you say here; Raimi makes you think at the end of 3, with Mary Jane and Peter dancing, that it was going to be the last installment...but the news of a new one is indeed exciting!

It is a great time to be a comic fan with all the adaptations that have come and are coming; some challenges would be Captain America, Sub-Mariner and maybe a Hulk sequel...

Also, with Iron-Man 2 coming, I wonder where they're going to go with the suggested "Avengers" project, as hinted at in Hulk and Iron-Man...

As for Tobey, I'm trying to imagine someone else playing the role, and I can't even think of suggestions; Topher Grace was a HORRIBLE choice for a super villain, but who else would play Peter? There MAY be someone that could look EVEN MORE like Peter in the comics if they really wanted to get psychotically investigative with it I suppose, but who would it be?

[Mike LoManaco]

also...Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk Star Trek) will be playing Thor in 2011.

Interesting...not that much of a Thor fan though.

[Mike LoManaco]

I will probably pass, Spidey 3 rotted!

Give "4" a chance though; supposedly, Raimi's going to "fix" what went wrong with the cyclone of plot holes and such in 3...

[Mike LoManaco]

As did #2. None were very well done and with the same director behind the wheel, no thanks. Replacing Toby would be a plus as well.

That's not so. 1 and 2, for the reasons I outlined, were extremely well-made; Raimi has a feel for the material, so why replace him? And who else would you see instead of Maguire?

[Mike LoManaco]

Sam Raimi is obviously in it just for the cash at this point, which is really a shame. He's extremely talented. Just go watch A Simple Plan or The Evil Dead series and you'll see what I mean. It's usually the finer touches that he excels at - most notably in regard to his cinematography.

The Spider-Man franchise is just too Hollywood to allow him to shine.

I'm hoping to see Drag Me To Hell directed by Raimi when I get a chance; we'll see if he still has what it takes since the Evil Deads to shock the audiences...;)

[Ron-P]

I put the Spider Man and X-Men films a the top of the comic book crap movie list.

[everpress]

I put the Spider Man and X-Men films a the top of the comic book crap movie list.

I agree. And it's a shame because I don't even have a problem with plot-accuracy in comparison to the books themselves. They were both just lack-luster eye-candy with no true depth.

Mildly entertaining, but nothing at all special.

[nooshinjohn]

UNTIL Spidey 2 came along, and in my opinion, this film knocked excellent sequels like Richard Donner's Superman II out of the box. It is still to this day considered the best superhero film ever put to celluloid, and Raimi just nailed it with Doc Ock -- the look by actor Alfred Molina, the fight sequences between him and the wall crawler...it brought the comic to life, big time.


Imho, The Dark Knight is the best comic book adaptation...

[ChrisD]

Spiderman should've ended with 2.

[Mike LoManaco]

They were both just lack-luster eye-candy with no true depth.

That's absolutely not true, especially in terms of what the first film stood for, and the on-point, tactile feel the second film had.


Mildly entertaining, but nothing at all special.

The first one opened the door for a whole re-imagining of comic adaptations and really was, at the time, the best representation of a comic come to life on celluloid.

[MacLeod]

I loved SpderMan 1 and 2 and while I did like 3 I had a few problems with it.

In the comics, the symbiot black suit was with him for a long time and he gradually started turning bad because of its influence and eventually gets rid of it which is where Venom, my alltime favorite villian, comes in.

If I were Rami, I wouldve kept Spiderman in the black suit like normal for the whole movie and used the Sandman and maybe Harry and thats it. Then bring Venom in for the 4th. Venom is a f'ing AWESOME bad guy and just a monster. It sucked big time to me that he was barely more than an honorable mention on 3.

One thing is for sure - they are getting weaker.

I like Tobey as Parker, he looks the part of a science nerd that accidentally got super powers. Kirsten Dunst though.....eeyuck.

[danz1906]

Thats great news!

[Retro152]

The Film adaptation of comic's IMO, has been absolutely awful over the past 20 years. Starting off with the Batman serie's (Michael Keaton???), Daredevil, (Barf), Fantastic Four, Punisher, and sorry, Toby Mcguire is the worst choice in the role of the webslinger. Hollywood has been way off course trying to capture the excitment, and imagination, of these very timely and classic storyboard's. Plots, Sub-plot's, Character interaction, Villans. Hope i haven't offended anyone, just my .02 cent's. Sadly, i guess all Stan Lee saw was $ sign's.:(

Pat.

[kevhed72]

I cannot agree more with the previous post, especially all the Batman flicks. None of them came close to a decent adaptation of the comic. As far the the Spiderman series, I bought the Blue Ray set and after viewing numerous times, IMO this series, along with the first 2 X-Men movies, were the best adaptations of comics out there. I think the problem with all these comic-based movies is as a kid, you grow up with these super heros built up in your mind as the coolest thing ever, because reading comics forces you to use your imagination on some level (vs. just sitting in front of a screen not thinking and have all the information fed to you). When the movie ends, you find yourself saying 'That's not what Batman looks like', or "That's not what I expected...' based on what you learned or experienced from the comics. Maybe I'm over-thinking this, but I still think the Batman character and stories from the comics I read as a kid are way cooler and more interesting than any of the movies. And no, I don't live in my parents basement and work at a comic book store.

[Ron-P]

The Film adaptation of comic's IMO, has been absolutely awful over the past 20 years. Starting off with the Batman serie's (Michael Keaton???), Daredevil, (Barf), Fantastic Four, Punisher, and sorry, Toby Mcguire is the worst choice in the role of the webslinger. Hollywood has been way off course trying to capture the excitment, and imagination, of these very timely and classic storyboard's. Plots, Sub-plot's, Character interaction, Villans. Hope i haven't offended anyone, just my .02 cent's. Sadly, i guess all Stan Lee saw was $ sign's.:(

Pat.

Agreed, even the latest Batman installs have been horribly boring. They both were hard to sit through even once. Bale as Batman, no way...and what is with that god awful batvoice he has?

I did enjoy the Daredevil DC, hands down much improved over the theatrical, but still bad casting shows it's ugly face.

I'd have to say the best comic book film todate, Iron Man. That film captured just about it all, sans the poor choice for a villain.

[Retro152]

Agreed, even the latest Batman installs have been horribly boring. They both were hard to sit through even once. Bale as Batman, no way...and what is with that god awful batvoice he has?

I did enjoy the Daredevil DC, hands down much improved over the theatrical, but still bad casting shows it's ugly face.

I'd have to say the best comic book film todate, Iron Man. That film captured just about it all, sans the poor choice for a villain.

Yes! agree with you 100%. Think Hollwood remained true to the storyline, and character of "Iron Man", done quite well. As in past comic adaptation's to film, your right, choice of Villain leave's something to be desired.:rolleyes:


Pat.

[Mike LoManaco]

You know, you guys HAVE to be like the only Batman revival critics who think Bale was "bad" in his role as Wayne on the whole planet; most everyone agrees that he played the role perfectly, save for the ridiculously gutteral, slapped-on voice under the mask -- not even worth comparing in the same breath as Clooney or Kilmer...

I will say this regarding the Batman franchise: The one actor who got the whole "under the mask" thing down out of all who played this character was Michael Keaton -- now before you throw tomatoes and eggs at me, let me explain: Sure, his "look" as Bruce Wayne was questionable (compared with the comics) but can you all remember the part in Burton's '89 Batman when he's holding Nicholson up and Bobby demands he let him down before Gordon gets shot? When he puts Nicholson down, Jack says to him "nice outfit..." and Keaton sneers at him from beneath the mask -- that was absolutely SPOT-ON as a "Batman sneer" if you've read most of DC's run with the character; it was perfect.

I actually like Burton's two takes on the story, but compared with Nolan's, Burton's Gotham and villain rogue gallery looks campy and almost dream-like; however, to say Bale doesn't fit the Wayne character in the new versions just doesn't make sense to me. :confused:

[everpress]

Batvoice is terrible. Other than that.... Uber-accurate Batman.

[MacLeod]

I do think Bale is an awesome Batman and while the voice is a little over the top my main gripe with him is when he's in the mask, he looks like he's chewing his face when he talks. After a few minutes of this it starts to bug the crap out of me. Still, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are just flat out superb!

[Monster Jam]

OK, so I'm going to catch serious flak for this, but here goes.

I completely recognize the high-quality flick that was Dark Knight. Ledger was creepy evil, and the acting was wonderful. But I found the movie a bit "heavy" to be the kind of movie I'd pop in the PS3 and watch "for fun". Now Iron Man is fun.

Further, the original 4 Batman flicks - even the cheesy ones - were fun. My personal favorite was #2. I'd more likely watch #2 (who didn't love Christopher Walken?!) before Dark Knight. And how about this gem of a one-liner.

Evil Clown is told of the nefarious plan to kidnap and kill all first born children in Gotham City and asks Penguin: "Uh, isn't that a little..."
Penguin shootshim dead in cold blood and angerly says "No, its a LOT!"

[dorokusai]

I'd rather glimpse Rotten Tomatoes than read Mike LaManaco reviews....simple percentages work for me and IMBD covers the rest.

[Mike LoManaco]

But I found the movie a bit "heavy" to be the kind of movie I'd pop in the PS3 and watch "for fun".

That was Nolan's point to Dark Knight; there were a great deal of underlying themes going on here, most of which dealt with dark, ugly subjects and tensions and such.


Now Iron Man is fun.

Totally different kind of comic adaptation though...


Further, the original 4 Batman flicks - even the cheesy ones - were fun. My personal favorite was #2. I'd more likely watch #2 (who didn't love Christopher Walken?!) before Dark Knight. And how about this gem of a one-liner.

Evil Clown is told of the nefarious plan to kidnap and kill all first born children in Gotham City and asks Penguin: "Uh, isn't that a little..."
Penguin shootshim dead in cold blood and angerly says "No, its a LOT!"

That was indeed a great line by Pengun's henchman; how about "I'd love to teach her my French flipper trick!!"

While Batman Returns was good, Burton's original was much more tactile and effective. As I said, watch carefully Keaton's gestures under the mask...

[Mike LoManaco]

I'd rather glimpse Rotten Tomatoes than read Mike LaManaco reviews....simple percentages work for me and IMBD covers the rest.

What's your problem? You didn't even get my name right because you were in such a rush to type your witty reply of how you don't need to read my reviews...I'm not in competition with IMBD or Rotten Tomatoes, so why even come in here and make a statement such as this? :rolleyes:

[dorokusai]

I dunno, felt like it. I never said you were in a competition and it's a free speech area here. Rock on Mike, review your butt off.

[Mike LoManaco]

I dunno, felt like it.

But damn, man. That's just rude.


I never said you were in a competition and it's a free speech area here.

But there are those -- not just me -- that are contributing to the enjoyment of the site by providing reviews of certain titles and who are working hard to do so; sure, there's a freedom of speech that can be argued just about anywhere in this country and in its online community...but should that freedom be abused to the point that you feel it's merely "okay" to say this about someone because it's a "free speech" issue? I know the others who provide reviews wouldn't find it "nice."


Rock on Mike, review your butt off.

I'll try to separate myself from the structures in the likes of Rotten Tomatoes...:cool: