The Silent Room

Yeap. After abt a week of its release, I booked a ticket for a 7pm S-2 show. I’m having high expectations of this movie, seeing it from trailers, teasers, etc.

Let’s move on to a geek’s perspective on the movie.

If it’s one thing I love abt the ‘new’ Spiderman Movie over the old ones is that it shows the real agility, flexibilty and speed that is Spider-Man’s most prominent physical ability. The technology back in 1980 [The Amazing Spider-Man] failed to achieve that. The whooshing sound whenever Spidey swings building to building. The velocity, the curve and magnitude of every slingshot leap that he makes. That is one the major things that excited me in both Spider-Man Movies.

Another thing that is equally [and predictably] impressive in Hollywood movies, including this one, is its ability to convey heavy emotion. Parker, as Spidey, owns a superhero title that people look up to. Parker, as himself, leads a fucked up life. Shabby aptment, being jobless, even his Aunt May is having troubles of her own.

At one point where it shows that everything in his life was so so SO fucked up, he decided to give up on being Spider-Man [it says so in the trailer]. Not to mention MJ is getting married, and his own best friend Harry is feeling screwed ever since his father died by Spidey’s hands.

As for Doc Ock, well, let’s just say he was engineered [no pun intended] to perfection. His tentacles’ design, the way they animate, the strength and flexibility that they display got me smiling cheek to cheek.

However, I can’t help but agree with Kenny Lee when it comes to Spider-Man’s true strength. As a real [though not as zealous as Kenny] Spidey fan, I felt very dissapointed knowing that Spidey generates his own web. In fact they even used that basis as Spidey’s downfall. Here’s a rant on the web-shooter Spidey vs the natural-web Spidey.

**SPOILER ALERT**
At one point where Spidey was just swinging around, he wasn’t able to produce anymore web, and he fell. It was a bloody LONG fall, and he was screaming like hell [like who wouldn't?]. And when he did fall, he slammed on to the roof of a tall building.

Not to mention he got one of his web-shooters damaged in fights against the Hobgoblin and Mysterio. That was when Spidey actually had to rely on tricks to win and not his web. His web is NOT his primary weapon. But his acrobatic skills and cunning are.
**END SPOILER**

And when it comes to emotions, there was a scene when Spidey saved a train full of people. His fight with Otto somehow damaged his mask, so he had to pull it off. After rescuing that train, he almost fell off the track, but people caught him. They carried him gently, laid him down and looked at him with admiration. Just when Parker felt his life was fucked up, that the media hates him, that none but Aunt May loves him, that his life was going down the drain, there was an entire group of people who caught a nice look of his face, and their facial expression showed their love and gratitude. A pair of kids even handed a new mask for him, saying ‘We won’t tell nobody’.

I was so touched I almost cried [sue me]. Okay, into devil’s advocate mode.

Another note is that the Movie exaggerates his Spider Strength. Being fast is fine, being able to throw a punch that sends people flying is fine, being able to survive a 90 km/h slam into a solid brick wall is fine, but **SPOILER ALERT** STOPPING AN ENTIRE TRAIN, FULL OF PEOPLE, ACCELERATING AT TOP SPEED, AND NO BRAKES from falling off it’s track **END SPOILER** is not!

Goodamit I hate Hollywood for insulting Spidey like that. They could’ve relied on something else like Spidey messing around with chains lying somewhere or jamming brakes with a flagpole or something. But NOOOOOOO. They just had to **SPOILER ALERT** Let Spidey shoot his web across the track on both sides, and stretch oh so fucking hard that he himself, acts as the train’s speed dampener! YES! He fucking slinged his web onto multiple buildings, stood at the front of the driver’s coach, and held his web together!! And he fucking stopped the train!!! **END SPOILER** Goodamit, atheletes lift abt 4 times their own weight and they suffer from torn ligaments and severely injured muscles. Him? He just fainted.

Good thing the fight scenes more than make up in entertainment value. I was so thrilled when I saw Spidey vs Green Goblin, and Greeny was just flying around shooting stuff. And when I saw Otto, I knew I shouldn’t expect less. And boy did Otto do good job. His mech arms were flinging around with solid strength, yet with graceful fluidity and at unthinkable rates. Lashing, smacking, grabbing. It just made me go wow.

I love movies that can make me go wow.

Spidey did more than stood a chance vs Otto. By right, Spidey’s agility and spider-senses owned Otto’s tentacles quite well. Swift punches here and there regular kicks and at the same time leaping, flipping and dodging away from the metal thingymajiggies.

The fight scenes were very, VERY well made. Too bad the swinging scenes weren’t. Sure, the environment was good. It was high-speed, so I’m sure many people failed to notice.

[geek talk]
Spidey swung well, his movements precise. But they weren’t as well-made as it should be. Look at him fighting, and look at him swinging. You can tell that Spidey is under different lighting conditions. While swinging, he’s sometimes in the shadow of this building, and thenhe’s out of the shadow. Into shadow, out of shadow.

He doesn’t swing in just one straight direction, he makes a turn here and there, taking ocasional leaps, saving kids crossing the street. That means light fall onto him on different sides and at different angles and intensity. The swing scenes didn’t show much of that.

If you have watched Hellboy, think of the fish guy [i forgot his name]. His underwater scenes, that is. They were perfect. Just like Spidey’s swinging scenes, Fishy’s diving scenes were FULLY 3D.

His fight scenes were abso-fucking-lutely perfect [effects-wise] but his swings aren’t. And that’s a bit disspointing.
[/geek talk]

Above all else, I just love it when Spidey and Otto clash up. That was the best eye-candy I’ve had since The Matrix: Revolutions. Oh well. I enjoy good movies. That was a good movie. So yeah. Now I can just chill abit, and wait for the Hobgoblin. S-3, perhaps?