ELECTRO, RHINO & OSBORN ARE COMING…

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies were awesome…  Until the third installment ruined everything.  Spider-Man 3 shoe horned too many story lines into the franchise and Peter Parker was lost in the mix.  People are always curious to know who the big villains will be in these blockbuster tales but Spider-Man 3 tried too hard and suffered as a result.

The natural progression of the trilogy made it easy to include James Franco’s ‘New Goblin’ as a villain but he took a back seat at times to The Sandman.  AND Thomas Hayden Church’s wonderful portrayal of the villain was overshadowed by a forced connection to Peter’s past.  It’s tough to fundamentally change the event that shaped Peter’s life.

The success of Spider-Man 2 had a lot to do with the relationship Peter shares with Doc Ock.  It was a perfect way to replace the father figure he lost when Norman Osborn lost his mind in the first film.  The Sandman never felt truly connected to Peter’s story.  Even though he looked cool, Sandman was really an afterthought in the story and went missing for long periods of time.  (I will say that ‘the birth of sandman’ is one of my favorite comic book movie scenes of all time.)

It’s unfortunate for such an iconic Spider-Man villain to get lost in the shuffle but the film’s treatment of Venom was worse.  Taking Venom out of the film would have given fans more time to connect to Sandman and allow for the Harry/Peter story to breath.

Ultimately, with so many villains, there wasn’t enough time to do any of them justice.

CAN THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 AVOID THIS PITFALL?

Marc Webb’s 2012 reboot brought the series back to it’s origins and Peter Parker back to the forefront.  I wasn’t a big fan of the overall look of The Lizard but I enjoyed the film a lot.  At the end of the day, Spider-Man belongs on the big screen and it was good to have him back.

My only real complaint was the way they treated the mystery surrounding Peter’s parents.  In the promos and trailers they really focused on this element but it seemed like a lot of those scenes were cut out of the final film.

XTRA | Badass Digest has a great write-up about what was cut out of The Amazing Spider-Man

Regardless of these cuts, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will no doubt continue Peter’s search for the truth about his parents.  With The Lizard in prison, new information will likely arrive in the form of Norman Osborn and his son Harry.  I highly doubt we will see any Goblins in the upcoming sequel but I’m a big fan of slowly building up villains for future films.  It’s another opportunity to create a connection between Peter and his future foes.

Until then, Peter will have to deal with Electro and Rhino (?).  Electro makes perfect sense to me.  With Jamie Foxx playing the villain you can bet the confrontations will be epic.  It all depends on his connection to the story they are trying to tell.  Rhino seems a bit risky to me but, again, it all depends on how they connect him to the story.  Paul Giamatti is a fantastic actor and I really don’t think they would cast someone like him in a throw away roll.   He can’t just be another villain thrown in to appease fans.  If there is anything Spider-Man 3 taught us it’s that throw in villains do nothing but disappoint.

I suppose what concerns me is the abundance of villains.  Will Electro carry this movie while seeds are planted for future villains?  Could we end up with Spider-Man 3 all over again?  Or will they succeed in balancing all these characters?

I think this new team of filmmakers are too smart to make the same mistakes.  These villains won’t feel forced.  I think they will compliment Peter Parker’s journey in surprising ways.  The same can be said about the introduction of Mary Jane Watson to the tale.  She will be slowly developed and integrated and that’s what I love about this new approach.  They came in with a three film plan right off the bat.  Long term plans are always a good bet.  (Just ask the creative minds behind Marvel’s Cinematic Universe.)

I think The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has a real shot at becoming the best Spider-Man movie of all time.  It’s up against tough competition as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 was absolutely incredible.  Thankfully, there is one major element that both of these sequels share:  Origin No More.

When you don’t have to spend half a film’s running time developing Spider-Man’s world and abilities the options are endless.  Andrew Garfield is perfect as Peter Parker and his approach to the character carried the first film effortlessly.  We all knew the Spider-Man scenes would deliver but they don’t mean a thing if you don’t believe in Peter.  This time, we already know the character and what he’s capable of.  Every element that made the first film so entertaining is returning.  The difference is, Marc Webb can enjoy playing in this rebooted world with absolute freedom now.  Personally, I can’t wait to find out what he does with that freedom.

Just look at the new suit!?

GUNS AND GIANT BOMBS
ARE NOT ALWAYS THE ANSWER

Thousands of Aliens have invaded big screens around the world.  There are countless stories of vicious species determined to kill us but also lovable beings that touched our hearts.

Regardless, there is always someone who wants to take them out.  Most of the time, humans call in the big guns, tanks and jets to do the dirty work but there are instances when guns aren’t the answer.

Sometimes, the key to everything lies in a very simple and unexpected solution.  However, it’s important to remember that not all Aliens are evil.  Who would want to use E.T’s home sickness against him?  That’s mean.

Here are 10 of the best Alien weaknesses.

Space Jam
Basketball

Sometimes, defeating Aliens is just a matter of challenging them to competitive game of basketball and recruiting his royal Airness. (Oh and Bill Murray too.)

Pitch Black
Light

What are the odds that a prisoner who can only see in the dark finds himself on a planet with horrible monsters who only come out at night?  Furthermore, what are the odds this prisoner would find himself on this planet juuuuuuust when a solar eclipse goes down?  Bring on the light.

Mars Attacks
Music/Yodeling

These fierce Martians are no match for the Indian Love Call.

War of the Worlds
Bacteria

Like Signs, I feel like this species should have done more research before invading our planet.  You have to do your research!

Men In Black 2: Ballchinian
Balls

It’s bad enough getting kicked in the groin but getting chin punched in the ball throat?  Now THAT’S a weakness.

Spider-Man 3: Venom
Sound

The space goop’s only weakness lies high on the decibel meter.  Bells, gongs and other loud noises work nicely.  In this case, a series of metal pipes arranged in a circular xylophone type formation.

E.T
Home Sickness

He just wants to go home!

Signs
Water

These Aliens were taking one hell of a risk invading Earth to harvest us.  I don’t know if they noticed but there is a lot of water here.

Independence Day
Computer Virus

Technologically advanced Alien civilizations have no answer for Jeff Goldblum’s quick thinking and hacking skills.

Superman
Kryptonite

Arguably the most famous fictional Alien of all time is seemingly invincible except for a certain green rock.

Perhaps Alien strengths will be the next list…