I don't think Green Goblin is Spidey's #1 rival. I think it's a toss up between Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Venom. Green Goblin is coming, but I hope they save him for later. Spidey has so many more interesting villians then just the Green Goblin, if any of them show up in the next movie, then I'll be excited for this new Spider-Man franchise.

While I can see the logic behind his thinking, the box office outcome for major flops (in terms of box office revenue) like "Battleship", "alien vs Predator", "Watchmen", "Punisher Warzone" and "Green Lantern" to name a few suggests that moviegoers don't just bite at anything familiar, they bite at the most popular epics hype can bring these days:

Batman
Spider-man
Star wars
Harry Potter
Twighlight
LOTR
Iron Man
Transformers

What do all of the above have in common? They are all movies based on pre- existing material (with the exception of Star wars which is in a league of its own) such as books/comics/cartons/toys that attract legions of fan boys/girls and new viewers alike. And while I cringe at including Twilight on that list there's no denying it follows the same formula as the majority of those franchises that are raking in Mega bucks these days.

Hollywood is taking note of that and also acknowledging that not everything equals an epic blockbuster just because a kid played with the toy in the 80's or appeared in comics that have a cult following only.

One need only look at the success of such TV series as the Walking Dead and Game of Thrones to substantiate that audiences are actually interested in these things not simply for the novelty, but because they are tremendously great stories. While I can't include Transformers in the Pantheon of great story telling, it did take an already beloved franchise and put big damn transforming robots on screen in a way that had never been done before which represents a combination of new technology interest plus huge fan following even with all the purists who hated it.

Its funny that it took this Spidey to make this ruckus when I certainly didn't hear it when the Incredible Hulk was rebooted right after Ang Lee's craptastic event only happened a few years prior or when Batman Begins revamped a franchise that died shortly after Tim Burton abandoned it. No instead it seems that people are selective in when they choose to bash something immensely successful while also ignoring the aspects that actually make them so fun to follow.

With the Exception of Avatar, which I have no explanation for why it was so successful given the most unoriginal story line ever, every other major successful franchise has a lasting iconic impact on audiences. Even Titanic, while not being a franchise, leaves a lasting impact on audiences for the heart strings it tugged on while depicting one of the most historical freak accidents ever on the big screen

...which reminds me. Should we include WW2 movies to the list of movie franchises that have raked in a shit ton of money that I don't hear columnists complaining about? No, complain about more WW2 movies in America? BLASPHEMY!

I agree but the Green Goblin plays one of the most pivotal roles in the early years for Spidey and villains such as Venom should be a ways away. Dr. Ock is an important foe, but plays less a role than the Goblin in terms of events to come. I would love to see other villains make it in but not at the expense of what I feel has to be part of the Spider-Man ethos.

Lets just see what happens...

What Greenskar said...^

Good points. Mark my words: The next Batman movie epic hype will be, BATMAN BEYOND!

Saw it yesterday with my wife and was quite happy with the film. While I did think some of "growing pains" were a little over-the-top, I thought most of the were genuinely funny.

Also, I liked Connors/Lizard much more than I thought I would.

Loved Garfield's version of Peter/Spidey, especially the wise-cracking. I would love to see more of that in the future.

Or anyone who only wears a Domino mask.

I'd recommend 2D. I saw it that way and it was fine. Haven't heard of anything to make the other formats worth the extra $$$.

Since when is an $8.1-million-dollar increase considered crushing a previous record? Considering box office totals these days, I don't consider it all that significant. Sure, it broke the previous record. But crushed? A bit of an exaggeration, IMHO.

Not really. Hollywood has been remaking films/retelling stories for almost a century now. This is nothing new and it will probably keep happening long after we're all dead and buried.

And how many times has Peter's origin story been retold? Again, nothing new under the Sun.

I think Green Goblin was his arch-enemy until the creation of Venom (well, the original Eddie Brock version). But I do think that Doc Ock is a close second, similar to the way I view Riddler and Penguin as compared to Joker.

How dare you get my hopes up like that!

Dang that sucks, what theater is that?
I can see this happening, considering he's suppose to be...and they have Connors ..., which means they'll most likely to ... him with it.
I always wonder why Avatar was such a big hit, considering when I was watching it, it kept reminding me of the Pocahontas story line...
Heck ya, I never like watching things in 3D, and actually there were some scenes that made your imagination know that scene was suppose to be a 3D scene which I actually prefer...
Agreed, that and these statistics never consider the fact of inflation, rising cost of movie tickets, how many screenings the movie had and the extra stuff such as 3D, IMAX and so forth that would give these dollar amounts in advantage to the movie itself.

What made me rage was the twilight trailer..

the whole theater laughed when that chick just appeared between 2 trees or whatever. Rofled so hard.

Lmao i did too. I was like great its about a deer :)

FU@K Twilight!

Sparkly suck as movies. You know what I hate the most about them... Everything! No but the werewolves are so stupid looking. I like me a big Man-wolf. I know that came out wrong...

Just saw the movie. LOVED IT. Osborn is no doubt about to be huge in this series but...

SPOILERS



During the credits scene, Its totally reasonable for it to be Norman. But I keep second guessing that its him. I know the goblin is around the corner, with Gwen in the movie but I just don't think its him. Why would Norman care about the Parkers? The things the Man says imply hes had something to with the Parkers.

What do you guys think?

Everytime I think its normal, I find another arguement to disprove its not. I may just be over thinking this. Its pretty hard to gather information from a minute long clip.

Trust me. As somebody who's read the comics further back than the McFarlane era, Green Goblin is most certainly his #1 "rival" as it were. Actually, more accurately Normon Osborn is. In whatever persona he chooses.

And I'm pretty convinced it's Osborn at the end. The only other character I think is feasible is Hammerhead. Which would be disappointing. Not a Maggia fan.

SPOILERS!!

Sorry for the double-post. In this movie universe, it's very obvious that Oscorp was after Peter's father for the formula he was hiding. That formula would save Osborn's life (who is said 3 times in the movie to be dying). For whatever reason, Peter's father didn't want Osborn to have it. He probably knew he intended to use it for evil. My guess is that's where the murder took place.

As much as I'd love to believe that, It wouldn't make sense to me. LOL. Mysterio would make an awesome movie villian though.

Oh hey Trainwreck, lol. See I agree with this. But was oscorp after the formula? Did they ever say who was after it? I mean it makes sense but I don't recall. Well time to rewatch.

I dig that theory.
Also, um, SPOILERS What is up with the cross engineered spiders that Peter's dad created? They're cool, but all those spiders are in that facility, and not one of them ever accidentally bit a scientist, or um, janitor or something to that effect but Peter shows up and stumbles into their lab and turns into super Mcbadass? The webbing explanation was cool, but beyond that I call shenanigans.

I don't remember any mention of Norman dying...? How could I miss something like that.

Oh they said he was dying a couple times. But I dont ever recall them saying Oscorp was after the Formula. I mean yeah it can cure Norman (turn him in the goblin) But I don't think they ever said Oscorp were the ones that killed the Parkers.

The spiders were in a controlled area that most, if not all, Oscorp staff would steer clear of due to any number of horrific results if they didn't (and in that area/division of the company, I'm pretty sure there are several examples of what not to do in that department).

Peter, not knowing what's going on and being overcome by scientific curiosity, walked right into that restricted area not meant for humans and started screwing with the spiders' webbing (again, something that no Oscorp employee would dare attempt).

Yep, mentioned at least three times by Osborn's liaison, Dr. Ratha (the guy the Lizard tried to kill in the car on the bridge).

Dr. Ratha makes vague references to it when he's talking to Dr. Connors about the idea of starting human trials with the Parker-modified formula. It's also what prompts Connors to test the formula on himself, rather than on some unsuspecting volunteer.

I went to see this with my dad the other day and just couldn't get into it, wish I could figure out why.