New Spidey vs. Old Spidey
HE SAID WHAT?!
Posted By Alex
You know what was awesome about the new Spider-Man? It didn’t have some dude in a plastic suit with a permanent grin on his face flying around and laughing maniacally. The original Spider-Man, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Toby Maguire, was good but there were elements that bothered me. As I mentioned above, the plastic suit killed it for me but so did Toby Maguire as Peter Parker and Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane. Don’t get me wrong, they both did a fine job acting out the parts (especially Toby Maguire) but they just don’t look the part of their comic book counterparts. At least Andrew Garfield did and that was already a bonus for me going into the movie.
Another plus over the Sam Raimi movie was how they stuck to the origin story more so than the older movie. The new movie did a better job nailing things like Gwen Stacy being Peter Parker’s high school sweetheart—not Mary Jane—as well as Peter designing his own web shooter. The new movie also better captured Peter’s suffering when his Uncle dies and his teenage angst. Also, I’ll take Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy any day over Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane. She was 100% more likeable and 110% cuter, not to mention that their chemistry worked much better than Toby’s and Kirsten’s did.
Also? Best.Stan Lee.Cameo.Ever.
Now, this isn’t to say that the rest of the new Amazing Spider-Man movies will be better than parts 2 and 3 of the older franchise. Already the new Spidey has an uphill battle when it comes to the brilliant Spider-Man 2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 could hit and be less than stellar and when the time comes, you bet your ass we’ll compare those two movies here as well. Luckily, The Amazing Spider-Man will have a much easier time defeating the crappy Spidey 3, where Raimi and company managed to ruin one of the greatest bad guys ever: Venom. Seriously, how do you fuck up Venom? Emo dancing Parker. *shudder*
HE SAID WHAT?!
Posted By Ozzy
I will start off by saying that there were elements in the New Spiderman that I liked over the old one. Obviously the director did a better job of choosing a villain and not just sticking him in some plastic suit. I definitely liked the new Peter Parker—not so much as an actor, but his physique was more in line with the Spiderman from the comics (leaner, taller). Though he had this Twilight-Emo look to him which I didn’t enjoy.
And that’s about all I liked about the new one.
Alex said he didn’t like the old Spiderman because of the villain, Green Goblin. I can agree with him on the plastic suit he wore but I believe Willem Dafoe did a fine job of portraying his character and flying around laughing like a maniac because, well, he WAS a maniac. I believe the casting overall was great. Sure, Toby Maguire was probably the least favorite choice for many people but he did a great job and from the start of the movie he was convincing as Peter Parker/Spiderman. The same is said for Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane and they did a kick-ass job of casting J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, the owner of the Daily Bugel. He knocked that role out of the park.
Alex’s argument about the new one sticking more to the original story makes no sense. Spiderman, along with every other super hero, has multiple story lines. And I wouldn’t say the Raimi one introduced a completely different story line, they basically just cut and edited the old version and added some extras. Spiderman shooting web from his wrist is a different story line from the comics than the one where he builds his own web shooter. The same thing goes for his love interest of Mary Jane vs Gwen Stacy—they are different story lines. In the end, there is no comic book movie that truly sticks to the original story from the comics. They all add their own twist to it. The old and new Spiderman are both guilty of this.
I believe the old Spiderman did a better job of building up Peter Parker/Spiderman’s character. I felt more emotional when Uncle Ben died in the old Spiderman. It really showed Uncle Ben and Peter’s relationship falling apart and Peter ultimately playing a role in the death of his uncle because of all the lies. I felt the chemistry between Peter, Uncle Ben, and Aunt May in the old Spiderman was better developed than in the new one. And Peter’s love for Mary Jane was more complex. He always loved her but their relationship didn’t begin until years down the road and it definitely had its up and downs. In the new one I felt like Peter and Gwen hooked up right away and he didn’t have to fight for her love.
Also, Peter was always about hiding his true identity to protect those he loved the most. The new one was so stupid, every other scene it showed Peter taking off his mask in random situations when he didn’t have to. At least the old one did a better job of hiding his true identity and always left you wondering “when is he going reveal himself to Mary Jane and his best friend?” (which he ended up doing in the second movie and it was dramatic and emotional).
On a final note, you know a movie is bad when the good folks at Honest Trailers make fun of it, and they did that to the new Spiderman, not the old one. Just watch this trailer for a few more reasons why the new movie was dumb, like when smashing the field goal post. “Seriously, nobody thought that was odd?”
12 Responses to “New Spidey vs. Old Spidey”
My vote doesn’t really count, since I haven’t seen the new Spider-Man, but I’m throwing my weight behind Ozzy here because I was annoyed they were even making another movie so soon after ending the last franchise. And after watching that Honest Trailer trailer, I’m pretty much convinced I was right not to watch it.
…plus, Tobey Macguire is awesome, and I may be one of the few people who sort of loves Kirsten Dunst.
This was pretty much going to be my comment, so +1
+1
Starring: the Geico Gecko
The Honest Trailer sold me
I am not voting because i think Spiderman is bunk. not in general but the movies for sure. James Franco was legit tho.
I liked the new Spiderman, then old one, i go with alex
+20
Sorry babe, you’re getting schooled
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I would feel bad but half of you voting didn’t even see the new one.
new spidey for sure. old spidey with toby was boring. the only good one was the 1st. and they destroyed what couldve been a great story with Venom in the 3rd one. new spidey the dude seems like a very good fit, toby looks goofey, but doesnt seem like a spiderman to me.
A new spidey model no matter how well conceived can undoubtfully provide a framework of further understanding. I like your blog. Congratulations again on a good job wtg22.