Home :: DVD :: Science Fiction & Fantasy  

Alien Invasion
Aliens
Animation
Classic Sci-Fi
Comedy
Cult Classics
Fantasy
Futuristic
General
Kids & Family
Monsters & Mutants
Robots & Androids
Sci-Fi Action
Series & Sequels
Space Adventure
Star Trek
Television
Spider-Man (Limited Edition Collector's Gift Set)

Spider-Man (Limited Edition Collector's Gift Set)

List Price: $49.95
Your Price: $37.46
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 .. 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 .. 103 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Spiderman is great!
Review: Spiderman was quite possibly the movie of the summer. This web-slinger sure knows how to give people a good time. The movie follows around the at first dorky Peter Parker as he realizes that, after being bitten by a radioactive spider, he has spider-like abilites. This is a great dvd and a good piece for any dvd collection.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Caught in the Web.
Review: "Spider-Man" is the best movie based on a comic book hero since 1978's "Superman - the Movie." That's not to knock the first two "Batman" flicks, but Sam Raimi's film based on the school geek turned crimefighter packs a greater punch of thrills and magic unlike anything I've seen in a while. Also, like "Superman," "Spider-Man" has a charming innocence that can make even grown adults believe in superheroes. Tobey Maguire has a reputation for bringing to life offbeat nerds, whether the films are "Wonder Boys" or "Cider House Rules." But here, Maguire hits the bullseye as Peter Parker, the brainy student who has the hots for the girl next door (Kirsten Dunst). When Parker gets accidentally bitten by a spider, his body changes and he learns of his true calling. But every hero has his nemesis, and in this film, Spider-Man's sworn enemy is the nasty Green Goblin, played to the hilt by Willem Defoe. Raimi does what many other directors fail to do: make a compelling summer movie that doesn't reek of corporate stench. The special effects are cool, but they take a backseat to the storyline and the cast which make up "Spider-Man's" greatest strengths. On its own merits, this film really earns four stars, but the loaded quality features force me to give it an extra star. However, the picture quality for a movie this recent is fairly disappointing. Many of the images look a bit pale and washed out, though the surround sound is sure to rock your system. I had long avoided "Spider-Man" because it looked less like a movie than a shameless money making machine. But it's far better than it appears. Give it a try and get yourself caught in the web.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: fantastic!
Review: This is a really good movie, even if you weren't a Spider-Man fan when you were a little child. The movie itself has a really good plot line and really good actors, and the special effects at least seem real. The extras are packed, and they really enhance the film. Overall, I highly recommend this DVD to anyone!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: no no no
Review: I have only slept while watching 3 movies (and I watch about 50 movies a year...) Flubber, Babe 2 and Spider-Man... Bad CGI, bad acting, bad story, a couple of good action scenes (if you can stand some of the BAD CGI)... It has already made lots of money, part 2, 3, 4, 5... 18... are coming, Sony will keep seeing a lot of money, not mine though...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 'Parallels Tim Burton's "Batman" with Good Results
Review: Of course there are going to be similarities inasmuch as both are based on the origins and exploits of beloved comic book heroes. However, there are so many that one could assume that the same individual did them both.

Both feature a hero that becomes an obsessed vigilante against crime upon the death of a loved one. Both have a character that is eons removed from his mild-mannered "alter ego". The two films feature over-the-top performances from the "villain" (Nicholson as Batman's "Joker" and Dafoe as "The Green Goblin"). Both have an elderly "sage" in the form of "Alfred" and "Uncle Ben", respectively. A mammoth citywide celebration with music provided by contemporary stars is one of the commonalities in both ("Batman" had Prince and "Spiderman" has Macy Gray). The pair features state-of-the-art special effects and a very similar score penned by Danny Elfman.

But the main "bond" between the movies is in the casting of the least likely of performers in the title roles. Much was said about Michael Keaton's selection as the Dark Knight. But, he pulled it off superbly.

Thus, Tobey Maguire, surprisingly buffed and confident, dons the tights nicely and believably as "the web spinner". His should be a long run as the very popular comic book icon.

The movie is entertaining and is reverential to the spirit of the magazine on which it is based. It's no wonder that it ruled the 2002 box office.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It Exceeded my Expecations: Quality Movie
Review: Almost anyone associated with popular culture in America knows the story and hero of Spiderman; A nerdy teen named Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically altered spider thet gives him superhuman abilities. Ever since the '70s, studios have tried to get the comic book hero made, but many snags in the process kept it from getting released until 2002. But with this movie they got it right. They chose a director with a energetic, comic book style in Sam Raimi and the right actors. The best is Willem Dafoe as Norman Osbourne, he can be creepy when he needs to be and fanatical when he puts on the Green Goblin suit. Also a near perfect choice to star in the movie was Toby Macguire. He fits the persona of the relavtively timid Parker, which is what the film needed, a dominate Peter Parker, not a dominate spiderman.

The plot is basically the origins of Spiderman, and his first enemy in the Green Goblin. But before we see them fight on the rooftops of New York, we get to know the characters, who they are, and why they are important to the story. Peter Parker is timid and unsure of himself, Norman Osbourne is a selfmade businessman who sees his company slipping from him, Peters' aunt and uncle are loving and want to see Peter succeed but find it hard sometimes to be the role of substitute parents and Mary Jane seems to be a carefree girl but maybe is really in pain because of a verbally abusive father. We know them, before the action starts.

Then when the action starts, it is eye filling, but not always perfect. Spiderman swinging from building to building on his web is the best effect, along with his battle to save Mary Jane and a lift full of children on one of Manhattans' bridges. But the scenes where Peter is jumping from rooftop to rooftop when he first finds out he can, looks a little like it's out of the video game, as with some other shots.

But overall, this a movie tht is sure to please you. The core of the film is rock solid, even if the some of the trappings are a little frayed. Spiderman does the classic comic book hero justice, and they are many movies that can say they did that, and did it well.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: DVD=5 stars MOVIE=3 stars
Review: Wait what?!?!?! What was this? Where was the charcater development? (and showing how Peter changes into Spider-Man dosesn't count as character development.) Where's the good action scenes? (And Spider-Man tying bad guys up in a giant web does not qualify as a good action scene.) Where is the drama and emotion? And what in the hell was up with the script??? What is with all those cheesy lines??? One sentance to sum up all of these questions--THE MOVIE WAS TOO LIGHT HEARTED, LITTLE-KIDDISH, AND "FAMILY SAFE"!!!!!!!!

I walked into this movie opening night with high hopes of a kick ass superhero film full of action and good acting (based on what I saw in the previews). But what I got was Spider-Man going through typical high-school problems, action scenes consisting of saving a woman's baby from a burning building and performing matrix-like moves to dodge homing-razors, stupid moments that were supposed to be funny but just fell flat such as Peter making stupid hand gestures trying to figure out how to use his web, and most of all--some of the CHEESIEST lines ever used in a superhero movie. Here is some of thse lines that just make me wanna puke:

1. Spider-Man to Macho Man Randy Savage during a wrestling match:
-Spider-Man-- "That's a cute outfit. Did your husband get it for you?"

2. Spider-Man and the Green Goblin squaring off:
-Goblin-- "Are you in or are you out?"
-Spider-Man-- "it's you who's out, Gobbie, out of your mind!"

3. Spider-Man to Mary Jane after rescuing her and swinging her accross the city to the top of a building:
-Spider-Man-- "Well, beats taking the subway, haha."

--AND THE ONE THAT TOLD ME THAT THIS MOVIE WAS INTENDED TO BE FOR LITTLE KIDS--
4. Spider-Man to Mary Jane:
-Mary Jane-- "Who are you?"
-Spider-Man-- "You know who I am."
-Mary Jane-- "I Do?"
-Spider-Man-- "Yep. Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"

I'm sorry, but that kind of talk does not deserve to be in a superhero action movie, but instead in a little-kids superhero movie. This movie was not at all what I expected it to be. It was just way too light-hearted for my liking.

Now the movie did have some good action scsnes and a few good parts. Willem Dafoe did a great job as the "green goblin". And the special edition DVD made the movie worth buying. But all-in-all, if you are looking for a top-notch, action packed, dramatic superhero movie, Spider-Man definately does NOT deliver. Watch Batman, Blade, The Hulk, or even X-Men.

"SPIDER-MAN" runs for about 2 hours. It is rated PG-13 for light cartoonish action violence. Really could have been rated PG--it is safe for any age really. Parents do not have to worry about letting their little kids watch this movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THE movie you had to see in 2002...
Review: when i first saw this at the theater, i was blown away! i waited until the movie came out on dvd, pre-ordered it like, 2 months in advance, started repeating lines in every sentence i used and etc., and put it at the number one movie of 2002 on my list. if you haven't bought this yet, buy it. if you haven't even SEEN it yet, what the heck's stopping ya? in the words of uncle ben, "with great power, comes great responsability". your greatest responsability is to buy this ASAP.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It is what it tries to be, a comic book action movie
Review: The Basic Plot: Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire), the school whipping post, gets bitten by a genetically altered super spider. Almost overnight, he gains wild spider-like powers. While at first he uses them to attempt to get into Mary Jane's proverbial pants (played by Kirsten Dunst) he realizes that he should use his new found powers to put a stopper in local crime after his uncle and parental guardian is killed by a car-jacker, a crime which he himself could have stopped. At the same time, a strange creature named the Green Goblin has begun terrorizing the city. Who is this "Green Goblin" character, and will Spiderman be able to stop him?

The Movie: It has a very comic book feel at times, which is a good thing. The acting moves back and forth from very good to rather hokey. The best acting comes from Willem Dafoe, whose scenes as the split personality Dr. Norman Osborn and the Green Goblin stand out as some of the best in the movie. Kirsten Dunst, while great to look at, is nothing special as Mary Jane in Spiderman. Even in the very emotional scenes I don't buy it. And Toby, perfectly cast as Parker, and although some say he isn't the one they would have pegged as Spiderman, he's a perfect Peter Parker, and since Spidy and Parker are one and the same, it would only make sense. As for Direction and Cinematography, don't expect anything really new here. It's your clear-cut action movie with the classic Raimi touches like his brother being in the movie, the Cadillac makes a return appearance, and Bruce Campbell makes a cameo as the Ring Announcer. All in all it's not a bad lil' flick.

The Video: Talk about a great transfer. Although I only buy Widescreen for the most part, this DVD comes in either the widescreen or fullscreen version. I would have to push for the Widescreen, especially if you got the home theater for it, or if you're just a purist movie buff like me!

The Audio: This is where 5.1 audio is key. Every little sound byte comes through crystal clear from the metallic whooshes during the spidy sense scene to the big explosions during the Oscorp Gala scene in Midtown. Yay to Columbia Tri-Star and the Spiderman Team for this audio!

The Disc one Commentary: For the love of GOD, do not put Kirsten Dunst on a commentary with Sam Raimi. Shoot me in the foot, put a skirt on my head, and call me Sally Struthers before you put anyone with ears in front of a set of speakers and force me to listen to that girl talk. It's ok when you have a good script behind her, but I'll tell you, in 2 hours, every time I heard her say something, I couldn't help but feel dumber. As for the rest of the people on the Commentary, including Raimi and producers Laura Ziskin and Grant Curtis, they all said stuff that was interesting and worth listening to (in reference to the visuals of the movie). But please, know whom you are putting on a commentary Columbia Pictures. Some actors aren't meant to do improv!

The Extras: First off, unless you actually care about Sum 41, you're not going to care much for their music video. So exnay on that. As for the other extras, there is no original behind the scenes from the cast and crew of Spiderman. The only thing you do get is the HBO and E! behind the scenes, which are ok, but half of it is all about stuff that you probably could have figured out from picking up a copy of "The Amazing Spiderman", doesn't matter which. The screen tests of Toby and J.K. Simmons, while at first glance sound great, aren't very long or really all that worthwhile. There are some ok DVD-ROM features, but unless you have a DVD-ROM in your computer, it doesn't really matter because you can't access them. The outtake reel is sub par. I'll say it again, IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE AN OUTTAKE REEL, REALLY DO IT! However, there is a lot of interesting background info on the Spiderman Comic book and it's leap from comic to screen.

The Bad: If there is one thing that killed the extras disk, it's the horrible layout of the menus. Very hard to navigate and easy for you to miss parts of the extras that you might have overlooked. When I buy a DVD, the extras are key, and they have to be laid out so that someone can access them. Now, if I can build a computer, but have a hard time accessing the extras on a DVD, something is wrong. Oh, and Kirsten Dunst in the Commentary (I can't mention this enough!)

The Final Word: Buy the DVD for the movie, stay for some of the extras and come back to it every now and then when you need to watch a straightforward action movie. But don't expect Spiderman "THE EPIC"...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another great Raimi film
Review: This film is spectacular. I thought it was a bit Hollywood, but anyways a great film. The first film i saw by Sam Raimi was Army of Darkness, which was hilarious. I then went on to see Evil Dead 1 and 2, quick and the dead, and the Gift. When i saw this though i was very excited. this film has great acting from tobey mcguire, kirsten dunst, and william dafoe from one of my favorite movies Platoon. Although it doesn't follow the comics exactly and modernizes a lot of things, it still manages to keep things drawn out and easy to figure out. it revolves around the green goblin and spider-man fighting each other for right and wrong and such, but also talks about mary-jane and peter's relationship. although not true to the comics, the relationship is still interesting to watch. i do wish the dvd had better commentary by sam raimi and the crew, like the evil dead commentary he's done, too bad. the dvd has a lot of material, but most short and boring. movies still great though


<< 1 .. 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 .. 103 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates