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Saw “Spider-Man 2” yesterday in a special preview (here in Portugal, it will be in theatres July 15) and I’m still amazed. It’s the finest blockbuster since “Hellboy” (and they are both the best comic book films since Burton’s “Batman” and “Batman Returns”), well written, packed with delightful little details about Spidey’s private life and creatively directed by Sam Raimi, who seems to be back to the wonderful and frantic crazy style of “Darkman” and the “Evil Dead” series (there’s even an out of control chainsaw! And, of course, the Bruce Campbell cameo…) and it seems to me that Danny Elfman’s score is even more powerful here than in the first movie. This is a true delight.
Hellboy is crap on a crap-stick compared to Spider-Man 2, but then again, most action films are.
In case you haven’t figured it out, I just got back from a midnight showing, and it blew me away.
Wait till you guys see the scene where Doc Ock wakes up in the hospital room.
Sleepy and Nuno – agreed.
I went to a midnight showing as well. Truthfully, I was not expecting to be entertained, much less amazed. (Much like “Hulk,” I did not have particularly high hopes for what I falsely presumed, in both cases, would be a CG-filled stew of summer schlock.)
Two words: excellent, kids. Believe the hype; it’s not often a summer blockbuster presents this much heart or moral ambiguity. (I was particularly pleased with the Bruce Campbell cameo; I’ve been pining away for him since “Bubba Ho-Tep” left theaters in early March.)
Alfred Molina as “Doc Ock:” classy, a far more well-developed villain than the Green Goblin was in the first installment. (As a huge fan of the Defoe seen in “Boondock Saints,” I was saddened by the omnipresent Goblin mask. Defoe’s facial expressions are second to none – they’re part of what makes him such an appealingly appalling actor. The fact that they were, imho, not utilized to their full extent in “Spider-man,” was a travesty.)
Last, but not least: the music. Excellent choral work, far superior to that used in “Spider-man.” I was a little disappointed at the seeming lack of many “new” themes, although I adored the “Doc Ock” cues. I’d add more, but mostly, I’m interested in all of your thoughts (meaning, the collective “your”)…
-E (Comic book recommendation: “Ex Machina” by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris and Tom Feister. Imo, it goes along particularly well with “Spider-man 2”)
One more comment I forgot to add: I was particularly impressed with (some) use of very realistic one-liners. They weren’t used to the point of droll overkill, but were carefully placed throughout to give the script a delicious (in my case, a rather unexpected) sense of magic realism.
Holy ****, that movie was awesome! The action, humor, everything was great! I was a bit dissapointed in the music, however. Did anyone notice that some, I’m thinking at least a third, of the music was recycled from the first movie? I’m sure that wasn’t Elfman’s doing. He would’ve scored ALL the scenes he needed to, right? Hopefully the score CD won’t be a disappointment for me. I almost feel as if the Spidey Suite and Doc Ock Suite really do almost sum up what is new in Elfman’s Spidey 2. Does anyone else feel this way?
D-Bo – regarding your comments about the music: my sentiments exactly.
-E
I Agree too D-Bo very disappointed with the recycled stuff, especially when they used it over and over again!
FFC
Does anyone have an explanation of it? Did Elfman do that? Or did somebody else tell him that he didn’t need to score those parts and they would recycle music from the first movie? Or were those scenes changed, and the music Elfman (may have) written for those scenes just not fit, so that had to use something different? I’d really like to know.
Since all the scrambling to get other composers to work on it (Young and Debney) and Danny not being able to work on the final edit, I think this is just a fact of the digital age of filmmaking and particularly editing. There is not a “locked picture” anymore so the changes done to the editing at the last moment required a last minute change to the score and so they tracked in the previous movie’s cues (or possibly a rerecorded-retimed version) that I presume fit (I haven’t seen the film yet so I don’t know if that is true?).
Ryan might be able to help on this one?
Nat
I was going to go to a midnight showing until I won passes to an advance screening on Monday, so I didn’t need to. I did go to see it again today, though, and I’m so glad that I did. I appreciated the new music much more, especially the music when Peter is running through the alley and changing into Spider-Man and also the (new) music that they had for every web-swinging scene. I plan on seeing it at least twice more: once with someone I promised to take to see it, and again when it hits IMAX theaters in mid-July.
For those who have sen it and observed this or plan to see it again and look, did anyone notice a cameo appearance by former MadTV cast member Phil Lamarr? I spotted him on the train to the right of Spider-Man in the end portion of the train sequence.
I loved it, it was truely amazing, everything you could want is in it. I mean this had kick @$$ fight scenes and at the same time had alot of heart to it, much deeper than the first film, and much more intense, and very Raimi-esque, had quite a few scenes with that chaotic quality that Raimi always seems to be great at creating, especially with the Doc Ock in the hospital scene, and I’m sure I wasnt the only one thinking of Evil Dead 2/Army of Darkness when the chainsaw part popped up, as well as it being somewhat Darkman like, when he returns to the remains of his lab. Danny’s score is great, which is one that isnt distracting you from what is going on, you notice it as well as what is going on, and they are one, which is how it should be, Doc Ock’s theme was great, as well as the emotion added in with Peter and M.J’s theme. For anyone who hasnt seen it, go see it now haha.
Great movie! I didn’t realize it was Bruce Campbell until I read this thread
Laughed really hard after hearing Peter’s “my back!”)What are the songs included in the movie? I think it was Hold On from Jet, Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head that will be in the score album, Vindicated from Dashboard Confessional in the end titles and then the second song I forget what it was.
There are several source music, will any of them be included in the score album? One was when Peter met the landlord (? is that the correct word?), the other was played in the ‘gala’ scene, I think there are more but I can’t remember it. Oh yes, the old spider-man theme
I love Danny’s spider-man theme! Once there’s this really low sounding descending notes added to the theme, really love it! I’m a bit dissappointed it was always short… Also love the Doc Ock theme, can’t wait for the score!!
One more thing, where’s Danny’s name in the main titles! Did I skipped it?!
It was there, don’t worry. I’ve seen the movie twice and I’ve seen Danny’s name twice. It’s around the same place as it was in the titles for the first movie, and I think it’s about where the Doc Ock theme kicks in. It’s in the lower right of the screen.
“I didn’t realize it was Bruce Campbell until I read this thread”
how is that POSSIBLE?
I know, right? The entire theaters in both shows that I saw were laughing when his face filled the screen. He was right in the VH1 interview, he does defeat Spider-Man!
Elfman’s name appears over the image of the upside-down kiss from the first film.
Nat
yeah… shame on me… I didn’t read any of the spider-man 2 updates, I hate spoilers…
Sleepy Hello, I don’t think that “Hellboy” is crap compared to “Spider Man 2″… “Spidey 2” has the glossy Hollywood look (and some fine Sam Raimi work, as I previously said) but in a way, “Hellboy”, in all its roughness, has much more inspired and imaginative ideas, it’s like a weird superhero indie film (and it’s based in the best comics around these days; Mignola is God). Anyway, both are good movies, each in its own way…
you’re right, Hellboy is a good movie. but it’s crap compared to Spider-Man.
>>One more thing, where’s Danny’s name in the main titles! Did I skipped it?!
No.
<
No.His name comes out when they show the painting of Peter and M.J.’s kiss from the first movie.
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