Alan Reviews 'The Amazing Spider-Man'

Starring

• Andrew Garfield
• Emma Stone
• Rhys Ifans
• Denis Leary
• Martin Sheen
• Sally Field

Original Theatrical Release Date: 07/03/2012

Running Time: 136 mins

Synopsis: The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.  --From Rotten Tomatoes

Review: It's very hard not to like this movie, especially if you liked 2002's 'Spider-Man', because they are extremely similar. While the film didn't tread much new ground, it was good enough to see what the future of the franchise is in store for. 

So let's start with what's familiar. Boy gets bitten by spider. Boy likes girl. Scientist trying to test his experiment on himself ends with him turning into a green bad guy. Uncle Ben still dies. The main difference with the characters is the switch up of Mary Jane Watson with Gwen Stacy (who in Raimi's series, did not show up until the 3rd film). Also, like the comics, in this movie, Peter makes his webshooters. 

The action sequences were great. The CGI on Spider-man, like the previous movies, was just stellar. The 3D was actually good. Most of the cast I really liked them in their roles. Andrew Garfield pulled off a slightly different version of Peter Parker. Emma Stone shines in just about any movie she's in. Rhys Ifans was also a very good bad guy.

While I think Andrew Garfield was a good Peter/Spider-Man, I still don't think he trumps Tobey Maguire. As much as  I like Sally Fields, I don't think she, nor Martin Sheen, were the right choice for Uncle Ben and Aunt May. The dialogue to me was slightly cheesier in this movie than the others. The original trilogy was a bit more campy, which I liked because Spider-man is kind of campy himself. The score for the movie fell flat. The music in Raimi's 'Spider-man', done by Danny Elfman, was powerful and added intensely to the movie. James Horner does the score for the new Spidey flick, and it falls short. 

So I know there's a lot more negative that I have here than positive. And that's because it's hard not to compare it to a movie that is so great, that wasn't made that long ago. But despite me preferring the originals, this was a solid movie, one that I thoroughly enjoyed and excited to see what's next for our favorite wall crawling superhero.

Score: 

Alan Reviews Nolan's 'The Dark Knight Trilogy'

Starring

• Christian Bale
• Michael Caine
• Liam Neeson
• Katie Holmes
• Gary Oldman
• Cillian Murphy
• Morgan Freeman

Original Theatrical Release Date: 06/15/2005
Running Time: 140 mins

Synopsis: Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city. --From the 'Batman Begins' website

Review: I first attempted to watch 'Batman Begins' in the theater. And truth be told, I fell asleep. I was bored out of my mind. I remember coming out thinking that it was a two hour training montage that FINALLY got to where it was going in the last 30 minutes. I bought the Blu Ray, since I did enjoy The Dark Knight so much, and am sort of a completist when it comes to series of this nature. (You can't have the second one and NOT the first one.) So after seeing 'The Dark Knight Rises', I finally decided to give this first installment another chance. You know what? I came to the conclusion that I must have slept more during the movie than I had initially thought because I saw stuff this time that I didn't even know existed. I missed out on almost the whole plot line. And this go round, I actually really enjoyed the film. 

That doesn't mean that I think the film was perfect. Though may not as slow as I had originally made it out to be, it does still start REALLY slow. While I do not mind Katie Holmes, I do not think she was a good fit as the love interest for Christian Bale, as there was really no chemistry there. Also, the villians were not boring per-say, but they weren't overly exciting either. 

Now, the good of 'Batman Begins'. As far as Christian Bale as Batman, this was probably his best performance of him. (I'll get to some of my qualms about his Batman in the latter reviews.) The cast was very solid. The tone of this movie was much more serious and darker than the previous Batman films were. Gotham wasn't comic book colorful like in Burton's films (though it did work for Burton, and not so much for Schumacher). Burton's movies were made more to fit the comic book style of Batman, which was great. Nolan's made it real, which was great in it's own way too. Batman is a gritty comic book character, with a painful past. So this is one hero where a darker toned movie isn't such a bad move. 
Score: 

Starring

• Christian Bale
• Michael Caine
• Heath Ledger
• Gary Oldman
• Aaron Eckhart
• Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Morgan Freeman

Original Theatrical Release Date: 07/18/2008

Running Time: 152 mins

Synopsis: The follow-up to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight reunites Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in his continuing war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon (Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart), Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal (Ledger).  --From 'The Dark Knight' website

Review: I feel like 'The Dark Knight' became as heavily anticipated as it was mostly due to the unfortunate and unpredictable death of star Heath Ledger, who starred as the Joker. I remember reading reviews about how diabolical he was in it, and how it was one of his greatest performances. I took it with a grain of salt as I figured it was mostly just publicity. Besides, at that time, I had such a low opinion of 'Batman Begins', I wasn't expecting to have high standards for this second entry. But, due to all of the buzz surrounding it, I naturally went and saw it in theaters. And when I left the theater, I felt like I had been put in my place. Heath Ledger's performance wasn't the highlight because of his death. It was the highlight because it was just that good. 

In almost every aspect, 'The Dark Knight' surpasses it's predecessor. The story line was much more interesting. The Joker was just plain evil. He was a psychopath, and as Alfred the Butler (Caine) mentioned, "Some people just want to watch the world burn". And that's what the Joker was. He didn't care about stealing money for the money. His motives were not revenge of some sort. He just wanted to witness the eruption of chaos. Casting was great. Maggie Gyllenhall replaces Katie Holmes as the love interest Rachel Dawes. Though there seemed to be a distance between the two characters in the movie, it wasn't due to lack of chemistry. It was part of the story. Rachel fell in love with someone else and was tired of waiting on Bruce to give up his secret life. She just happened to fall in love with Harvey Dent (Eckhart), the new DA in Gotham. Deemed Gotham's "White Knight" his goal to clean up Gotham seems genuine and pure. That is, until something happens that changes his perspective a tiny bit...

I do have a little bit of critique as well. Despite me loving this movie and leaving the theater wanting to go see it again right away, there were still a few pacing issues, which was something that heavily plagued the first installment. However, it wasn't bad enough to make the film bad. Also, as Batman, this was Christian Bale's WORST performance of the Caped Crusader in my opinion. He overacted a little bit. In the first movie, he did tend to disguise his voice by talking deeper, so no one would recognize it. But in this movie? On came the cowl, out came the growl. It was a bit annoying. Come on. His voice isn't THAT distinct. And really, that was my BIGGEST complaint about the movie. Batman sounded stupid. 

Score: 

Starring

• Christian Bale
• Michael Caine
• Gary Oldman
• Anne Hathaway
• Tom Hardy
• Marion Cotillard
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt
• Morgan Freeman

Original Theatrical Release Date: 07/20/2012

Running Time: 165 mins

Synopsis: It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar (Hathaway) with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane (Hardy), a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane. --From 'The Dark Knight Rises' website

Review: A third entry was inevitable after the ending of 'The Dark Knight'. The thing is though, could they pull off another great Batman flick? I started doubting my confidence in this movie once Anne Hathaway was announced to play Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman, though she is not once referred to this name in the film). Don't get me wrong. I like Anne Hathaway. She's a great actress. But she's never struck me as a sex symbol. And I kept making comparisons between her and Michelle Pfeiffer, who played an amazing Catwoman in Burton's 'Batman Returns'. This is another situation where I have to put my foot in my mouth, but I'll get to more of that in a second. 

Again, we have timing flaws. Truthfully, 30 minutes or more could have been cut and it probably would have been a more enjoyable movie. Bigger isn't always better. And that's one reason I don't think 'The Dark Knight Rises' was as good as 'The Dark Knight'. Well, that, and the fact that I didn't like the main villian Bane as much. That isn't saying he wasn't cool. I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley way for sure. And he was a great villian. But the motives between him and the Joker were so different, and the Joker's (in my opinion) was much more diabolical. But let's get real here for a minute. And that's where I have to give this movie it's just dues. There was no way TO top the Joker. They had created one of the best villians in all of movie history. I went in knowing that, and feeling like it probably wouldn't be as good, and I got what I expected. An awesome movie, that just didn't QUITE reach the power of it's previous entry. 

Good news is that Christian Bale did turn down the dial a notch or two on his Batman voice disguising. His acting was better in this movie that it was in 'The Dark Knight'. Though I liked the villian and story better in 'The Dark Knight', I also have to admit that, the cast ensemble as a whole was the best of the series. Bane isn't the best villian, but he was a great one. Joseph Gordon-Levitt joins the franchise in it's last installment as John Blake, one of the few good cops left in Gotham, who works hand in hand with Commissioner Gordon and Batman. 

The biggest surprise for me was Anne Hathaway. She always plays "cute" in movies. I didn't think she'd have the charisma to pull off such a demanding role. I can't say she was better than Michelle Pfeiffer, because the two movies are so different, as are their portrayals of the character. But she was not disappointing in the least bit. And for the first time in the series, you could tell there was definite chemistry between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. 

Like I stated, it's not my favorite of the trilogy. That title will continue to belong to 'The Dark Knight'. But this movie is no disappointment and is a perfect ending to the saga that Nolan started taking us on 7 years ago. 

Score: