Marvel Mania 2: MCU Phase 2- Ant-Man

Ant-Man (2015)
Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly
Directed by: Peyton Reed


For a lot of people, this was the moment to assume the MCU had gone too far. What, they're gonna make a movie about Ant-Man interesting? Ant-Man? Freaking Ant-Man? Fans were assuming this was going to be the big failure for Marvel, that there was no way they'd make a movie about a hero with powers that silly and have it be good. That's what a lot of people said the year before with Guardians of the Galaxy, and look how that turned out. So, because Marvel Studios had that kind of history behind it, I walked in with an open mind. What I walked out with was one of my favorite movies in the MCU so far. The ones that stand out for me are the ones that don't feel as formulaic and have a different tone to them. With Ant-Man, it kind of meshed the origin elements of Iron Man, the spy thriller elements of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the quirky comedic elements of Guardians of the Galaxy together. Some have pointed out that that doesn't make for a fully original superhero movie concept, but Marvel's been churning so many out over the years that it's hard for every movie of theirs to feel 100% fresh and innovative every time. If the formula works, you can use it again as long as it feels different in a positive way and Ant-Man definitely did that thanks to the effects, the comedy, and the characters. This film is a lesson to all skeptics out there that with Marvel, anything is possible with their movies.

One thing I really loved about the movie was how it brought two generations of Ant-Man together on film. The main hero is Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd. He's just a very likable dude, being the MCU's biggest equivalent of the everyday common man. He has a criminal past, but wants to move past that and be there for his daughter. You can't help but like the guy, making it a real win for the crowd when he has the chance to be a superhero. The other Ant-Man in the film is the former Ant-Man Hank Pym, played by Michael Douglas. I felt Douglas had been away from the Hollywood spotlight before his appearance in this film, but his portrayal as Pym shows he's still an acting force to be reckoned with. Their scenes together are really the glue that holds everything together for the film and helped sell the surface appeal of the film and its characters.

Along the way, Scott gets some assistance from Hank's daughter Hope, played by Evangeline Lilly. She definitely wears a chip on her shoulder, keeping her relationship with her father at a distance and not giving Scott an ounce of credit due to his criminal past. Throughout the film, she evolves as the plot unfolds and becomes a very likable character to root for. Plus, she kicks some serious butt in the training scenes and you can't help but support her when she claims to be able to do the job. If only there was some kind of female equivalent to Ant-Man that Hope could become. Oh well, anyways on to the villain. Corey Stoll plays Darren Cross, aka Yellowjacket. I know a lot of people think he's just being another generic MCU villains, but I like the depth that is on the surface with him. There's a lot of context that is within Darren's character, thanks to his relationships with Hope and Hank. Plus, I really like the design of the costume and I really like Stoll as an actor. So, I was thoroughly buying into him playing the bad guy.

One thing that amazed me about Ant-Man is how they brought his powers to life with special effects. That was one of the elements a lot of people were skeptical about. How could they make shrinking look cool on film? Through the effects, we had our answer. Many of the scenes allow you to be put into Scott's perspective and see just how massive and disorienting objects can look when you're so tiny. The details and textures that went into creating those worlds were so intricate, that I actually felt I'd shrank to the same size as Scott. It's a great visual presentation that puts you in the character's perspective and I think that's one of the film's biggest highlights.

A lot of people are quick to say that Ant-Man reminds them of the first Iron Man movie, but that's only in a few small areas. For one thing, it's amazing how much comedy they're able to pump into this movie, especially with Scott's friend Luis, played by Michael Pena in a huge show-stealing role. The humor alone makes this a worth-while film experience and had me laughing constantly. This is a heist movie, with a lot of the plot and action scenes focus on heroes that don't do your usual heroic deed, but are rather stealing stuff to save the day. That's very different from what we've come to expect from our usual MCU heroes. The combination of the two styles really make a nice blend in this story, putting a superhero in an Ocean's Eleven type of environment. I was absolutely floored with how much fun I had watching this. You don't have to be the most overly complex superhero movie out there to be good. You just need to tell a good story, have compelling characters, and allow the viewer to have fun. Ant-Man did that and then some, making it one of the most enjoyable movies in the MCU that I can watch over and over again.

The post-credits scenes, *SPOILER* warning are two of the best I think we've seen from Marvel at this point. The mid-credits scene teased that a sequel is on the way with Hope taking the mantle of The Wasp. It's like in the early Iron Man movies when they would tease Captain America's shield or Thor's hammer. The arrival of Wasp is going to be a landmark for comic fans, as she is the last founding member of the Avengers to come to film. Awesome! The post-credits scene is a tease for Marvel Phase 3, showing us a scene that is taking place DURING the events of Captain America: Civil War. We don't know the full context yet, but Cap, Bucky, and Falcon are in some kind of trouble and Falcon says he "knows a guy" that can help them, referring to the scene he had with Ant-Man earlier in this film. Both scenes promise us that Ant-Man will be back, with the first guaranteeing a sequel and the other scene showing he'll show up in the MCU again sooner than we expected. As a fanboy, you can't help but be hyped for Phase 3.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I'm surprised at how well Ant-Man works as a film. It's a humorous, heist film centered on a Marvel superhero. At a time when the MCU has cranked out so many sequels as of late, it's refreshing to return to the traditional origin story type of film. It has a very unique flavor to it as a superhero movie and I truly recommend all fans and skeptics to give it a watch and see if you enjoy it as much as I did.

Ant-Man and movie images are copyrighted by Marvel Studios

Marvel Mania 2: MCU Phase 2- Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo
Directed by: Joss Whedon


It feels good to be back and reviewing the films in the MCU. We have another film in the MCU on the horizon within the next week, so I need to tie up the loose ends heading in and review the last 2 films in Phase 2. The first one is Avengers: Age of Ultron. When the first Avengers came out, it was one of the most insane movie experiences of my life. Add on to some of the key films in Phase 2, like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy, and Marvel was quickly racking up a steady momentum of churning out groundbreaking hits. And heading into this movie, they announced their Phase 3 lineup. The world was full of hype, but the problem was that they had hype from the past and hype for the future, that it left the hype for the film they were about to see up in the air. Heading into the movie, I realized that this was most likely going to be a transitional movie in the MCU and it's fine to have one of those every once in a while. Not all the movies in the MCU are going to be equally as important, but you don't exactly want an Avengers movie to be simply "good." You're looking for a little extra effort and this movie had a lot to live up to. For me, it couldn't live up to quite the level of hype I was hoping for, but it has highlights that I really do enjoy. It's a mixed bag, leaning more positive than negative, so I'm going to weigh the elements here and see what rises to the occasion and what falls short of greatness with Avengers: Age of Ultron.

One of the big issues I had with the movie was with the Avengers themselves. A lot of them felt like they were phoning in their development. With Iron Man and Captain America, we're holding off on any major development for Civil War, so their routine was pretty by the books if you've seen their other movies. Same with Thor, except he's getting ready for Ragnarok. With The Hulk and Black Widow, their development came in the form of a romance that was hit or miss for me depending on the scene. Honestly, the only original Avenger I got a kick out of in this film was Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner. He took the backseat to the other five in the last film and here, he's much more fleshed out. We learn some of his secrets, his backstory, he gets to crack a lot more jokes and take part in more action scenes, and there's a sequence in the film where he has to help get the other Avengers back on their feet, assuming a pseudo-leadership role for the time being. Not bad for the guy on the team that is "simply good with a bow and arrow."

We have some new additions to the team in the forms of Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, better known as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. The one major issue with their inclusion in the MCU is that they're tied down by Marvel Studios' copyright restrictions for the characters. Because they don't have the rights to X-Men, they actually can't use the phrase "mutants" to describe the twins and it can never be revealed that Magneto is their father. Stuff like that just sticks in your craw and makes you wish these studios would get on board and work together to make the most faithful product imaginable for the fans. But I digress. The twins have their hits and misses depending on which character you're talking about. Scarlet Witch, played by Elizabeth Olsen, nearly steals the show. Her powers are really cool to see and her character is flushed out a bit more, with her being the mouthpiece for a lot of the exposition with the twins. Quicksilver, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, was pretty much facing an uphill battle from the start. X-Men: Days of Future Past already had an amazing sequence with an amazing Quicksilver, meaning Marvel had to bring their A game to top that, and I really didn't think they were able to do that. Plus, while I don't think either of their accents were the greatest, it was clear that Olsen's was the most passable of the two. Taylor-Johnson's felt so out of place and was so laughably stereotypical, that it was very distracting whenever his character spoke. The inclusion of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch was welcoming, but it was clear that there was a superior performance and character between the two.

The same can be said for the characters of Ultron and Vision. They're two sides of the same coin, with similar agendas and thought processes, but one fights for good, the other for evil. Ultron, voiced by James Spader, is supposed to be this great big baddie, but Spader goes more for a humorous approach. I know I never read Ultron from the comics, but I had the idea he'd be this imposing, menacing, villain with a calm, calculating persona. Instead, he's cracking jokes that fits Tony Stark's personality, which makes sense because Tony created Ultron in the movie, but that doesn't mean I was really into that idea. The idea I DID like was the introduction of Vision, played by Paul Bettany. In this film, they use Ultron's plot to take over the world and turn it into a positive by taking the J.A.R.V.I.S. technology and put it into a body. It works really well, with Vision being the equivalent of a god based on his abilities and moral code. I also liked how they brought Bettany in to physically do the role, since he's been voicing J.A.R.V.I.S. in numerous MCU movies. This was a character I was really looking forward to seeing come to life and they pulled it off really well. Granted, he's not in the movie until the third act, but he's a highlight that comes in clutch towards the end.

When The Avengers came out, it was full of plot holes and issues that most people looked past because of how excited they were to see our favorite heroes team up for the first time. With Age of Ultron, they did so little to change up the formula that the cracks began to show. The suspension of disbelief for plot holes grew smaller and our desire to nitpick grew deeper. In many ways, it felt like a carbon copy of the first movie, but the novelty wore off. And the studio's interference to make sure this film would lead into future releases really hindered the creative process for Joss Whedon. The man is awesome at direction and storytelling, but they didn't really let him do that here. He wasn't focusing on telling a story, he was forced to focus on introductions and teases to be used for bigger, more important films down the road, while also trying to do a film that tells one of the most beloved Avengers storylines ever to film. That's a hard task for any director to do and I can easily see why Whedon was fed up by the time the film was released and won't be back to do another MCU movie. It wasn't a horrible effort, but it wasn't his actual vision for the movie and it shows.

It's time to bring back the *SPOILER* talk, as I look at the one mid-credits scene to take place in Avengers: Age of Ultron. There's not a whole lot to talk about actually, except we see the Infinity Gauntlet in all its glory. Thanos, voiced by Josh Brolin, comes into the shot, puts the glove on and says he'll "do it himself." Clearly this is the tease for all we've been waiting for in the MCU, getting to Infinity War, but I was kind of hoping we'd get something a little more exciting. This was a given, we knew we'd get some kind of scene to get us one step closer to Thanos. A post-credits scene would've been nice. Tease Black Panther, tease Doctor Strange, tease Captain Marvel, heck even give us something funny like the shawarma scene from the first Avengers film. Oh well, another minor disappointment with the film, but nothing overly devastating.


Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Watch it with the rest of the MCU, and this will feel like a letdown. Watch it on its own and you'll find a bit more entertainment value in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It adds a few more characters to the MCU and sets things up for a much bigger picture down the road in Phase 3. Although, if you expect this to be one of the great masterpieces in the MCU, you'll probably be disappointed.

Avengers: Age of Ultron and movie images are copyrighted by Marvel Studios

Marvel Mania 2: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx
Directed by: Marc Webb


While The Amazing Spider-Man had its fair share of critics, the film was still a financial success and laid the groundwork to expand the Spider-Man universe. So when plans for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 were being developed, I was pretty excited. I went to go see the movie in theaters, and I really enjoyed it. Then I got home, and over the course of that weekend, I heard nearly everyone hated the movie. I was at a loss for words. I couldn't believe that people were comparing this film to Spider-Man 3 and Batman & Robin. I can admit the film is flawed, but it's nowhere near THAT bad. I think a lot of the complaints fans had for this movie is the typical one you hear about when comic book movies fail. There's too much going on. But I think the fanboys had a bit more poison in their words because they were still bitter that these movies existed at a time when Spider-Man should be part of the MCU. In less than 2 weeks, that dream will become reality, but until then, let's look at what got fan boys so worked up about The Amazing Spider-Man 2, while I also note some of the unsung praises the film deserves.

Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy is one of the key things holding these two movies together so strongly. The fact that she is a competent female character who actually assists Spider-Man in his saving of New York City is actually very refreshing. Sure, there are times when she's in danger, but can hold her own for the most part. She's certainly miles ahead of Mary Jane. She's also a natural spitfire, which leads to a lot of clever humor and timing for her character. And I think the relationship Gwen has with Peter is absolutely adorable. You can really believe the love story that's going on and a lot of that is from the natural chemistry Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield had. A lot of that was because they were actually dating at the time and it's a shame they aren't anymore. If those scenes of Peter and Gwen are any indicator, the emotion they were giving at that time was very real.

One of the things most criticized about The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is Jamie Foxx's hammy portrayal of Electro. Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't see the problem. It's just so over the top that it's really distracting for a main villain. The design is interesting and Foxx can be entertaining when he's really trying, but this wasn't a good portrayal of Electro. He goes from an obsessive, unassuming geek to a neon blue killer. It doesn't really add up. His motivations are all over the place and it really feels like they're making up his powers as they go. He would have probably done better in the supporting villain role than the main baddie.

The villain that steals the show is Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn. Like Andrew Garfield, DeHaan is one of those up-and-coming actor's actors and he really sinks his teeth into playing Harry. Some of his performance seems a bit goofy, but I really liked what he did with Harry. You see a tormented soul, feeling neglected by his father. He finds some solace in rekindling an old friendship with Peter, and we see him have a personal hatred for Spider-Man because he's the hero that's supposed to help everyone, but won't help him. It's all very identifiable and when he transforms into the Green Goblin, it's very tragic. They go for a biological approach to the Goblin's look and I think it works when you see it in action. You look at it in a still picture from the film, and you'll probably laugh it off. Watch the film and his transformation scene, and it will actually be a bit frightening to some viewers. Kudos to the makeup team and the editors for putting that scene together. It actually makes me cringe, especially if see the extended version in the bonus features. They tested that scene with audiences and there were complaints it frightened the children too much. That's when you know you're doing it right, in my opinion.

There's a lot crammed into this film, and in doing so, many questions or characters were teased to be more involved in later films. While that's all nice and dandy if you're planning for a bunch of sequels, you still need to give enough substance to make us enjoy the current film we're watching. One example of them getting carried away was the near disrespect they gave to The Rhino. While I'm sure he was going to be a big part of the future of this franchise, his lack of screen time is hugely noticeable. Plus, they wasted the talents of a perfectly good Paul Giamatti, who really liked the character and was looking forward to playing The Rhino. I can only imagine his disappointment in this series getting cancelled.

At the end of it all, this felt like a Spider-Man film to me. It just didn't register well with everyone else. Yes, moments in it can be silly, there are a ton of plot holes, and it feels like filler as they were building to a bigger movie. But this is an adaptation of a comic book we're talking about, there's a suspension of disbelief that comes with that and there are comics in which many issues are bridging chapters, taking us from one major story to the next. The Amazing Spider-Man 2, to me, is misunderstood. You can see from the filmmakers that they had an idea and vision for this series, but the studios interfered and the fans weren't patient enough for the big payoff. Everything needed to happen then and there, and when it didn't, people got upset. They have that right to be, but I think a film like this is a lesson in how good things come to those who wait. Had we been patient, we would have gotten to see Spider-Man take on The Sinister Six in a future movie, and there were talks of a Venom spinoff as well. Now, we're starting all over. I'm not complaining, since I love Spider-Man and always will, but we have to wait even longer now to get to some of those stories we really wanted to see. Here's hoping the Spider-Man that Sony and the MCU have put together is here a lot longer than the last Spider-Man was.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

While far from perfect, this film certainly kept me entertained as a Spider-Man fan. While we'll never get to see that Sinister Six film, making this whole reboot a waste of time, there's still some stuff to enjoy here. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 gave us an idea of what a larger Spider-Man world could look like, and I think it needed a few more sequels and a little bit of hindsight to let everything play out and show the bigger picture.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and movie images are copyrighted by Columbia Pictures

Marvel Mania 2: The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans
Directed by: Marc Webb


After the critical failure that was Spider-Man 3, the studio was left in a state of flux on what to do next. They tried to get the original gang back for a Spider-Man 4 and finally said "screw it!" It was time to start fresh and try again at telling the story of how Peter Parker became Spider-Man, but with a darker, grittier tone than we'd seen before. In retrospect, it was also to make sure they'd keep the rights to Spider-Man from falling into the hands of Marvel Studios. The good thing about that is that history always has a way of weaving itself out and now Sony AND Marvel Studios have an opportunity to do the Spider-Man movies they want in a much bigger universe. But that's a discussion for another time. On with this film, The Amazing Spider-Man. As far as this film series goes, it's very polarizing. People either love or hate what they did in the Spider-Man reboot, but all I could see was that there was room for at least 2 Spider-Man adaptations that worked for different reasons. We were given a lot of things we've seen before, but with a new spin (pun intended). And there was definitely room to improve on some things that the other movies didn't get right, so let's see how The Amazing Spider-Man fares out as a comic book film, a standalone film, and a reboot to a property we've previously seen on film.

Let's get to the first major positive for the movie, the choice for Spider-Man. I loved Andrew Garfield's work in The Social Network (one of my all-top favorite movies), so I was on board with him playing Peter Parker. And when I saw the film, I was very into his performance. He's a character that shows a lot of promise in the realms of growth and development. He makes mistakes, but he learns from them. He's socially awkward and nerdy, but has the ability to crack a lot of jokes and gain confidence when he's Spider-Man. He feels much more based on the Ultimate Spider-Man comics than the traditional Spider-Man comics. The older comics felt reflected by MaGuire, but Garfield has the more up to date approach to the character. We live in a world where the stereotypical nerds can be handsome and popular, so the formula doesn't translate on film as well. To play Peter as more of a loner to be picked on was a smarter decision creatively. On top of that, I know a lot of people complained about the costume, but I really enjoyed it. It was a style of suit that felt very resourceful for Peter to build, while also being a suit that is easily recognizable as something Spider-Man would wear. I know people really like Tobey MaGuire's performance, but I think that's out of nostalgia. If you hold both performances and what the actors bring to both Spider-Man AND Peter Parker, I think Garfield is the superior portrayal.

Part of Spider-Man's origin comes with getting to know Peter Parker and his family. His Uncle Ben and Aunt May are played by Martin Sheen and Sally Field in this film. I really liked what these veteran actors did, particularly with Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben. You can tell he's having a blast in the role, so you can't help but have fun with him. And that makes it more tragic when he's gunned down. Sally Field is a great actress without even trying and I got that vibe with Aunt May. She's gone out recently to pretty much disown her performances in these movies, but I don't see the bad performance she sees. Maybe she just doesn't like superhero movies, to each their own. I saw the chemistry these two had with each other and with Garfield and I saw a family out of that. I saw the relationship I have with my Uncle and Aunt and I mean that in the best possible way.

To add even more to the awesome cast in this film is Denis Leary as Captain George Stacy. What else needs to be said? Denis Leary is the man and he is absolutely great as Captain Stacy. A minor character, but definitely is an ideal casting that leaves a lasting impression, just like what J.K. Simmons did with J. Jonah Jameson in the original trilogy.

If there was one negative the movie offers, it's Rhys Ifans as The Lizard. Don't get me wrong, I think he does fine when he's playing Dr. Curt Conners, but there's just something about the giant lizard creature that just doesn't work. I think it boils down to the design. The Lizard has always been one of Spider-Man's most visually appealing villains for me, so I can honestly say I was disappointed when he didn't look like what I was hoping for.

The new look at the story of Spider-Man maybe came a lot sooner than we were expecting, but it was an enjoyable alternate to the nostalgic Spider-Man movies of the past. The Amazing Spider-Man had a great cast and a unique style to it that feels like its own. Of course it has problems, but I think people have been extra harsh on this one, simply because it's different. Yes, many of the plot elements are hard to take seriously but let me remind everyone this is based off something that exists in the forms of comic books and children's cartoons. This is one of those reboots that has a lot of expectations to live up to the stuff we've seen from previous Spider-Man movies, as well as its competition in the form of the MCU. Because of that, I think a lot of people were quick to nitpick and were unable to take in the full experience. For me, I really liked what I saw and I'd even call The Amazing Spider-Man one of the best Spider-Man films to date.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I know that people out there either love this reboot or hate it. Personally, I love it. The Amazing Spider-Man gave me a fresher, darker take on the Web-Slinger than I'd seen before. The cast is great, the action is well-executed, and the tone feels gritty, but not forced. There's room for more than one good adaptation out there, so if you enjoy all things Spider-Man, give this a watch to see what side of the debate you stand on.

The Amazing Spider-Man and movie images are copyrighted by Columbia Pictures

Marvel Mania 2: Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco
Directed by: Sam Raimi


When you're a filmmaker like Sam Raimi, who has completely changed the landscape of superhero movies with the first two Spider-Man movies, you would hope the studio lets you do the movie you want to do. Because if they interfere, you get Spider-Man 3. Raimi, a fan of the older Spider-Man stories, really wanted to do a film that tied a dual plot with Spider-Man having conflicts with both Sandman and his former best friend Harry Osborn. The studio, looking at characters and stories that viewers thought were the most popular, suggested adding the Symbiote story to this all. They also wanted to create as many love triangles as possible, so they also tried to introduce the character of Gwen Stacy into the mix. So, Raimi went from a film that needed to focus on Spider-Man, Mary Jane, Harry, and Sandman to a film that needed those four characters, plus the black-suit Spider-Man storyline, plus Venom, plus Gwen Stacy, and have all of them link up to each other and make sense in a reasonable amount of time. No wonder this movie was a critical disaster. Let's take a look at how some very good ideas are lost in some really bad ideas to give us the messy results of Spider-Man 3.

Let's just get right off the bat and talk about one of the dumbest aspects of this movie: the Symbiote suit. This storyline, while one the big cornerstones of comic book folklore, was so poorly handled that it took a dark and tormenting story and turned it into what fans lovingly refer to as Emo Peter. For the most part, they properly showed how much of a power boost the new suit is for Peter, but they really mishandle how it alters Peter's personality. In the movie, they even say it alters aggression and we have one scene of that. After that scene, they play it up for comedy. Screw an emotionally tormenting story when you have humorous dance sequences and Peter demanding cookies. When you give us the amazing imagery from the teaser poster and teaser trailer that told the fans we were getting the black-suit story and then you give us the horrendously awful scenes of Spider-Man dancing like a reject from a Broadway musical (not HIS Broadway musical, but that's beside the point), you aren't going to have happy viewers.

And if THAT wasn't going to piss off comic book fans enough, what they did to Venom certainly was the straw that broke the camel's back on this film. Again, when you're looking at storylines involving Venom, you're looking at emotionally tormenting material. Venom is supposed to be everything Peter Parker, both physically and morally. In this film, they were going for a character that mirrored Peter physically, with the major difference being their moral code. I like Topher Grace when I watch him on That '70s Show, but he's not a good Eddie Brock at all. And then when Venom shows up, he's there for maybe the last half hour of the movie and is taken out very easily. This is FREAKING VENOM we are talking about here. If there was any character in the entire Spider-Man universe that is just as popular, if not MORE popular than Spider-Man, it's freaking Venom and they absolutely wrecked him in this film. In my opinion, any future reboots that are coming out and are thinking of tackling the Symbiote storyline need to plan for 2 movies. Introduce the suit and all of Peter's torment in the first film, then reveal Venom to close out your movie. Then you have an entire second movie where Spider-Man and Venom go at it. That isn't THAT difficult, so filmmakers please take my advice and plan it out that way.

One of the things I thought the film got right was Thomas Haden Church as Sandman. Admittedly, the story of him being Uncle Ben's killer might be a bit hokey to some, but with the original idea that Sam Raimi had for this story to fuel Spider-Man in a battle of revenge vs. forgiveness, it worked for what it was. The sand effects are actually done really well, including one scene that is absolutely beautiful thanks to the film's score. While maybe some of the creative elements of Sandman's involvement in the plot are questionable in quality, Church's performance is definitely not. He does a good job as Sandman and I wish he was in a better Spider-Man movie as Sandman.

The final main character in the trilogy that I can talk about is Harry Osborn, played by James Franco. With how big a name Franco is in the comedy world today, I wasn't expecting much looking back on his performance as Harry, but I was pleasantly surprised. He's one of the only characters that shows any major growth over the course of these three movies, but Spider-Man 3 is the one where they gave his character a few hiccups. After taking the mantle of being the New Goblin, they rush a fight between Peter and Harry only to give Harry amnesia so they can keep him out of the main story for a while. The amnesia is a little goofy and I could've done without that. Everything else with his character in this movie works for me. Seeing him blinded by rage, much like how Peter is towards Sandman, and seeing whether he'll bury the hatchet to help Peter take on Sandman and Venom. There's a considerable amount of growth from Harry when you go through these three movies. He's not following the same beats of his character in the first movie by the time you get to the third movie. Peter and Mary Jane always feel like they're doing the same old routine with every film, so I like that Harry is given material to exercise and play with over the course of this trilogy.

Spider-Man 3 had so much potential going for it, but ended up having too many cooks in the kitchen. There are so many storylines and characters to balance that it can't really satisfy anyone. Not a financial failure by any means, but people definitely noticed a change in quality and this movie has been the butt of numerous jokes in the comic book movie community. This was a comic book failure that came out at the wrong time. At this point EVERYTHING was going wrong with the Marvel movies. Shortly afterwards, the MCU took over (Thank God!) and we can look back on a movie like this and enjoy it for its silliness. If you're a comic book purist, you probably still have some sour grapes about how the creative process was handled on a lot of these things, but it holds that cheese value to it that a Batman & Robin would. But unlike that abomination, this has a lot more moments that are strong and well handled, they're just covered up by a lot of moments that make you smack your forehead and go "What?!?!"


Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

A hot mess that will leave fans of the Venom and Symbiote stories highly disappointed, Spider-Man 3 is one of those superhero movies that probably could've been better had studios not interfered. Had it followed Sam Raimi's original vision for the film, it probably would've been fine. But it is what it is and even though it's a franchise killer, it's one of those bad superhero movies with a bit of charm to its horribleness.

Spider-Man 3 and movie images are copyrighted by Columbia Pictures

Marvel Mania 2: Spider-Man 2

Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina
Directed by: Sam Raimi


When the first Spider-Man film was released, it took the world by storm and changed the landscape of comic book films forever. So, obviously sequels would be in the works. In fact, many of main actors signed on for three movies before they even had a script for the first one. So when a young Spider-Man fanboy walked into a movie theater to see a gigantic poster hyping Spider-Man 2, my jaw dropped. Seeing the image of Dr. Octopus, my favorite Spider-Man villain, reflected in Spider-Man's eye had me anticipating 2004 more than you could possibly imagine. And when the time came to see the movie, I was very happy. In fact, this might have been the first film I saw in theaters twice. It's been more than 10 years since the film was released and the comic book landscape has definitely changed in terms of film. Films have gotten darker, grittier, and are determined to build expanding universes, so can a movie like Spider-Man 2 still hold up well after all these years?

The major new addition to the franchise in Spider-Man 2 is Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius. The man who becomes Dr. Octopus is an incredible villain for this picture. Some people are a Venom guy. Others are a Green Goblin guy. I consider myself more of a Doc Ock guy. Something about the dynamic he has with Peter Parker is phenomenally engaging. Peter's the geek gone good with his powers, while Octavius is the geek gone bad thanks to his accident. He's one of the most iconic comic book villains in history and it's great to see him brought to life on film by a veteran actor like Alfred Molina. In fact, he's so good at playing Octavius that I'd rather have no Octavius in the reboot at all, than have someone else try and top the performance Molina put on.

For me, one of the biggest stars of this trilogy is J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. If you recall my review of Whiplash (one of my favorite films of all-time), you know just how much I enjoy Simmons as an actor. So to recall that he was wowing me with his character acting more than a decade before that film is quite impressive. He's a PERFECT Jameson, to the point where the fans are quite comfortable with him showing up in all reboots and formats that Spider-Man will ever be in. He'll probably be too busy to do that with the upcoming series, since he'll be playing Commissioner Gordon in Justice League (OH MY GOD!), but at least we have his hilarious, scene-stealing performances from this Spider-Man Trilogy to remember fondly. In fact, he's so good at playing Jameson that I'd rather have no Jameson in the reboot at all, than have someone else try and top the performance Simmons put on (Boy, that sounds familiar).

I always really liked how Rosemary Harris played Aunt May in these movies. A strong, older woman who desperately wants the best for her nephew. This felt like something ripped right from the comic book pages (something that seems to be a pattern with the characters and actors I decided to spotlight in this review) and I definitely appreciate the relationship she had as Peter's guardian. From someone that grew up being raised by my grandmother, I can easily see this relationship on-screen and relate to it. It's another one of those personal touches that makes Spider-Man my all-time favorite superhero.

While the effects were too cartoony in the previous film, they really picked up by the time we got to Spider-Man 2. The effects team and the stunts team really brought their A game to make sure we could believe Spider-Man was swinging through the New York skies. On top of that, Doc Ock's tentacles are brought to life thanks to practical and visual effects. Combining the two creations in order to have the film's major action sequences was a pretty key mission for the filmmakers and they thankfully succeeded. If we were taken out of the scenes by constantly spotting what was real and what was fake, then there'd be a pretty big problem. But I didn't see wires, or CGI characters, or fake practical effects arms doing stunts. I saw Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus fighting. That's a testament to the coordinators at bringing state of the art visuals and stunts to life.

After more than 10 years, Spider-Man 2 still holds up as one of the elite comic book movies. The struggle that Peter Parker has with his powers plays out in a film that also balances his struggling romance with Mary Jane, his struggling friendship with Harry Osborn, his struggles with school, his struggles with finances, his struggles with his job, and his overall struggles in life. That's a lot to handle in a film, while also working on addressing storylines from the last movie, adding the conflicts with Doc Ock to create the major storyline for this film, and planting the seeds for what'll need to be addressed in the next film (*shudders* Dear God, I'll handle that film next time...). Yet, here the film stands, able to adequately balance all it needs to do and able to be a sequel without being a transitional film. Spider-Man 2 feels like an important chapter in the Spider-Man story, not an afterthought, something many comic book movie sequels have a tough time with when they're setting things up for other sequels. It upped the ante for comic book films at the time and is still an enjoyable film experience for me today.


Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

As far as Spider-Man movies go, Spider-Man 2 is easily the strongest film after all these years. With humor, drama, great performances, and a narrative that dives into the life and psychology of both Spider-Man and Peter Parker, this is one of the finest comic book movies to exist. This film is the measuring stick for all comic book sequels, as well as the quality of all existing and future Spider-Man reboots.

Spider-Man 2 and movie images are copyrighted by Columbia Pictures

Marvel Mania 2: Spider-Man

Spider-Man (2002)
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst
Directed by: Sam Raimi


If you saw the most recent trailer for Captain America: Civil War, then you probably freaked the heck out when you saw Spider-Man, revealed in all his MCU glory. We learned that this was going to happen months prior to the trailer, but seeing the first bit of footage with him really made this thing feel real. In order to get ready for Civil War, I figured now would be an appropriate enough time to look at the past film incarnations of Spider-Man. Let's start with the original Spider-Man. The year was 2002 and superhero movies weren't as common as we know them today. Picking up on the success of X-Men, the next big superhero movie to come out was going to be a movie about Spider-Man. Being around 8 or 9-years-old, you could only imagine the amount of joy that I was feeling heading into the theater to see my favorite superhero brought to life on the big screen. I was in awe of the movie I saw that day and spent many years watching the movie over and over. That was then, but I've since matured and realized there are bits of the first Spider-Man movie that haven't aged gracefully. So join me as I tackle one of the biggest nostalgic movies of my childhood. This is 2002's Spider-Man.

Let's start with our Spider-Man, played by Tobey Maguire. I think the costume looks great and I think Maguire makes for a pretty nerdy Peter Parker, but I never really liked how he played Spider-Man. The guy certainly had a good physique and definitely brought emotion to the role, but perhaps he brought TOO much emotion. The guy cries a lot over the course of these 3 movies and as a Spider-Man fan, I didn't really think I'd be seeing so much crying from Spider-Man in a Spider-Man movie. He's the on-screen hero we needed at the time, but many years have passed and comic fans are so spoiled to see actors become the roles and leap off the comic book pages. I can't say Maguire did that, but he wasn't the worst either. He was just fine.

Willem Dafoe plays one of Spidey's greatest villains, the Green Goblin. I know a lot of people hate on the costume, saying he looks like a Power Rangers villain. But I like Power Rangers, so shut up! Dafoe brings an over the top level of insanity to the role and actually performed a good number of his stunts. The amount of physicality he brought to the role was very surprising and appreciated. I don't think he's bad, but just VERY hammy in his delivery. It's an easy performance to mock, but if you can get into it, it's pretty enjoyable.

Kirsten Dunst plays Peter's love interest Mary Jane Watson. She's definitely not the most developed female character in a superhero movie. She's really just someone for Peter to save, but I think she's the best in this movie. In the other two movies, Mary Jane gets really annoying and I mean REALLY annoying. Here, she's not too bad, just a damsel in distress for our hero to rescue over and over and over again. Oh and she has a pretty famous on-screen kiss with Spider-Man. Everyone remembers that right? That was considered some pretty hot stuff back in the day for a lot of people. Me, I was like 8-years-old and didn't really see the fuss.

As far as the music is concerned, the first two movies have a great score courtesy of Danny Elfman. I especially love the theme song they gave Spider-Man. Rather than try and do a cover of the traditional song we know "Spider-Man...Spider-Man...does whatever a spider can," Elfman composed a song that felt epic and appropriate for the character. It was a thrilling theme that supplied the proper amount of hope and gravitas for a big screen adaptation of the Wall Crawler, and it is still the definitive Spider-Man score until another composer comes and ups the ante. Oh yeah, and this movie also has the song "Hero," performed by Chad Kroeger from Nickelback and Josey Scott from Saliva. This song was everywhere when the film came out, and I can kinda understand why. Sure, it was cheesy as all heck, but it was a song that seemed appropriate for the time. The world was still rocked by 9/11 and a song like this was used to give listeners hope. Attach it to a movie with one of the biggest cultural icons in the world and it gives a real feel good moment to the Spider-Man film.

My final thoughts on the first Spider-Man movie is that it was a movie that the world needed at the time. The comic book film landscape has evolved so much since the release of this film, so the flaws of this film as a comic book adaptation are easy to point out. It's obvious to see actors playing characters, as opposed to becoming them. A lot of the effects haven't aged well, looking way too much like a cartoon or a video game than actual action pieces. The tones and morals can be way too cheesy because it was in the wake of 9/11, but are a bit silly 14 or 15 years later. Is it a bad movie? No, not at all. Is it a fantastic movie that stands the test of time? Again, not at all. But it's fun for what it was at the time. If a movie like Spider-Man wasn't a success, we probably wouldn't have the MCU today, or maybe The Dark Knight Trilogy, or or the ability to evolve the genre in films like Kick-Ass and Sin City. This film (along with X-Men, which I'll also be covering soon enough) really helped the filmmakers know that comic books were great stories, modern icons and mythology that we wanted to see in larger than life depictions on the big screen. Spider-Man was the big go ahead from fans to movie studios saying "make these and you'll have all our money." And the rest, is modern film history.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

This is a film right out of my childhood that I definitely appreciate for what it is, but there have been a ton of better superhero movies that have come out since this one. With that said, we probably wouldn't have a lot of those without the success of Spider-Man, so it definitely has my respect. Just be prepared for a bunch of cheese and cliches.

Spider-Man and movie images are copyrighted by Columbia Pictures