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May 13, 2002 - 11:33
P.M.
So I watched that Spiderman film the other day.
Well! I must say! That was easily the best superhero
film I've seen since the first couple of Superman movies way back
in the Seventies! Hurrah!
Things they got right:
1. SUNLIGHT, AND LOTS OF IT! I don't mind
dark & gritty when it's appropriate, (Alien/s, Bladerunner),
but Burton's Gotham city was just too much for me. --And frankly,
I'm fed up with the blue and grey filters with which so many new
feature films seem to come equipped. Dark and gritty makes me feel
sick. I have such a short fuse when it comes to Hollywood these
days, I'll avoid a movie based on an art director's choice of colors.
Anybody who wants to immerse me in misery for two hours isn't going
to get my ten bucks. I'm an Adam West and lots of primary colors
kind of guy, thank you very much. And Sam Raimi's Spiderman film
took place in exactly the kind of world where I didn't feel oppressed
simply by the art design. Lighting! Thank you Sam!
2. This film had a basic sense of class when dealing
with ugly subject matter. I didn't have to watch some villain
licking a girl's face just to prove his depravity. Darth Vader
was one of the meanest villains in film history and he wouldn't
stoop to such gross depths. This principal was understood in Raimi's
film; they didn't blow more than a second or so of screen time
on thugs making dog sounds and leery expressions. I HATE that
kind of thing. It's fake and ugly and debasing. The editors cut
this film really well. --And in the same vein, they didn't force
us to watch a lot of uncomfortable tongue play in a PG film when
lovers kissed! In this day and age, that's practically a miracle!
Call me old fashioned, but it really seems misguided that producers
should think they're actually satisfying some sort of public demand
for overly-graphic imagery.
3. They didn't completely re-vamp Spidey's costume!
--While the black rubber webbing thing had me worried from the
movie posters, it was quickly forgotten. The simple fact that
they retained the same color scheme, didn't change any of the
basic iconic design elements, didn't give him lame rubber muscles
and even lamer rubber nipples. . . Thank you Sam! Thank you!
4. "I only trust one man, and that's my Barber!"
J.Jonah Jameson had only about two minutes of screen time, but
his lines were tight and his character lit up the theater. --And,
I'll be damned, but the guy's hair was actually flat without
seeming fake, over-done or stupid. Is Burton taking notes, here?
5. Raimi didn't feel embarrassed about the comic
book medium. This is perhaps the most important aspect about the
whole shooting match. I didn't get the sense that the film makers
looked at the comics and thought, "Yikes. Well, this is tough!
How are we going to dress this up so that people won't think it's
stupid?" --They didn't try to fake anything; they didn't try to
achieve some sort of pseudo art-intellectualism through over-design
and clever 'moodiness'. This is a wonderful throwback to the old
Superman films. How refreshing!
6. The people who made this film were not morons
when it came to basic physics & gravity! I saw a few liberties
taken here and there, but it was obvious that they WERE liberties
as opposed to instances of basic ignorance, which is what we normally
seem to get. I swear, I spent most of the film gaping simply thinking,
"I can't believe they're not screwing this up! Holly smokes! There
was actually somebody on set who understood!"
And the bad. . . 1.
While Tobey Maguire did a fairly good job, he's no Harrison Ford
or Michael J. Fox. This is a small complaint, and really, it's hardly
fair since it's basically a complete oddity whenever a perfect 'everyman'
actor graces the scene. We seem to only get one or two every twenty
years. It would have been really nice, though. . .
2. Spidey's voice will forever, in my mind, be
whatever D.J. did the voice in the old cartoon series from the
Seventies. While I like the fact that Peter Parker was a geek,
that high-pitched voice, for me, just didn't cut it coming from
beneath the red mask.
3. While it didn't make any difference to the story,
I find the increasing frequency with which genetic engineering
is being glorified in popular fiction more than a little creepy.
. . But that's a whole other subject!
4. The dialogue in the last two minutes of the
film caused actual pain. Talk about tripping on the dismount!
But, seeing as how it was just the last two minutes, and
there was never any pretense about this being a masterwork, I
was able to forgive.
Basically, what Sam Raimi did, was make a competent
film. And, no, it wasn't a masterwork, but it functioned, and
that by itself makes it way above average! (And man, that's
a sad statement!) The pacing was fine. The story was fine. With a
few exceptions, the dialogue was fine. And the shooting style and
sets were bright and easy to understand. There was no rogue art director
trying to re-make something in his own image. This film is an example
of how it is entirely possible to make a "Fun Movie" which ALSO takes
the time to pay attention to those basic things which so many other
"Fun Movies" mess up horribly. Thank you Raimi!
This is the first time in a LONG while that I've
watched a mass audience blockbuster and haven't felt ripped off.
--And at $13.25 for my ticket, that's saying something!
-Mark
May 13, 2002
Toronto
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