Erik Larsen, creator of Savage Dragon and long time artist and writer on Spider-Man in the 80's and 90's, gave a quick review of the Amazing Spider-Man on his Facebook page today. He also has quite a bit to say about the Sam Rami directed films. Here is what he had to say:
I liked Amazing Spider-Man 2 quite a bit.
Andrew Garfield is such a perfect Peter Parker and he's simply fun to watch. Tobey Maguire never felt like Peter Parker to me and Andrew just nails it--from the build to the hair to the smart ass, goofy demeanor. I wasn't a big fan of the Raimi films--they seemed corny to me--the worst part about the first Amazing Spider-Man, the lining up the cranes just felt like too many scenes in the Raimi films (like the defiant New Yorkers on the subway) and he couldn't keep his mask on for two consecutive seconds--which really was not an issue here. In my eyes Tobey Maguire is like the Romita Peter Parker and Andrew Garfield is the Ditko/McFarlane/Larsen one.
Emma Stone isn't quite Gwen as I pictured her--but her chemistry with Andrew Garfield can't be denied. They're a fantastic screen couple. Kristen Dunst was a dud and their whole relationship felt off to me. And I couldn't understand Peter's obsession with her. Re-watching any of the Raimi films is a chore to me--with way too many groan out loud moments and just general awkwardness--but not in a good way. The new ones seem peppy and fun to me--you felt the love between Peter and his aunt and Peter and his uncle whereas the scene where Cliff Robertson reads aloud the want ads from the newspaper from the first Raimi film just seemed so stilted and wooden.
They did pack in a lot. I wasn't thrilled that everything evil stemmed from Oscorp--but if that means skipping a few origins down the road--I'm all for that. Interesting that they skipped the introduction of J. Jonah Jameson and just had Peter taking pictures for the Bugle without actually having him visit the Bugle. Nice that they wrapped up the mystery with his parents and moved on--plus it gave him a compelling reason NOT to clear their name--lest he reveal himself--that was smart.
My wife always has a succinct and often hilariously uninformed post-movie review in the car. She thought it was corny and too silly but her two quibbles just amused me enough: "They don't serve dim sum at night" and "Jamie Foxx had a gap in his teeth but after he became Electro he didn't have a gap in his teeth" --it seems weird to me that with all of the crazy shit going on--Max Dillon turning into an electrical man--that his teeth getting slightly altered after the change seemed an odd place to draw a line in the sand in regard to her suspension of disbelief. She also said, "So, Harry Osborn becomes the Silver Surfer?" which cracked me up.
I thought the post-credits X-Men scene was an ill-fit. Better to have nothing than an ad for some other film--it just seemed really out of place. I'm torn on the end with Rhino. It seemed a really odd place to leave it but also kind of appropriate. He's a second stringer that couldn't carry a movie and his appearance here kind of said as much. The machine guns seemed a bit weird though. Better just to make him a Rhino guy--having a Rhino that shoots bullets seems tacked on. I wonder if Marvel can stick the Rhino in a Hulk movie? They're already willing to have two versions of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch--why not get him right somewhere?
All in all--happy with how Spider-Man is shaping up. I wish whoever's doing the Fantastic Four could get their shit together. That franchise is in the saddest shape of the current Marvel lot.
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