Dafoe made for a great Green Goblin, but the film itself was not up to par with his performance. It didn't feel so much like a Spider-Man movie like a Hollywood version of a superhero film that drew from the Spider-Man mythology. All of Raimi's films felt that way, and though I thoroughly enjoyed the first two they were hugely disappointing in that it never felt like they were able to capture the spirit, humor, pathos, etc. of the comic book. I may have been expecting too much, but as a lifelong reader of the comics I wanted something truer to the source.
Molina maybe best exemplifies this. While he put in a stellar performance, nothing about his character remotely resembled the Dr. Octopus in the comics. Cosmetically, spot on. He looked exactly the way one would want him to look, but the character was entirely reimagined in order to fit into a Hollywood mold, and to provide a Hollywood ending.
Keaton knocked it out of the park with the Vulture. He brought the jaded, aging cynic Adrian Toomes to life, and was just so damn convincing in every scene. He was every bit as menacing and iconic as Dafoe, but in the context of a movie that, for the first time, felt like a Spider-Man comic brought to life.
If I were ranking, I'd put Dafoe and Keaton side by side at number 1, but Homecoming was far and away the better movie, so with that as my tie-breaker, Keaton wins the prize.
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DarthRoger (867)
6 years ago
Keaton was amazing. He throws himself into a part and is so believable while in character. He brings that attitude to every role I've seen him in. Actors like him are few and far between these days.
Still love Dafoe's Green Goblin the best but I know what you mean by a Hollywood version of the character. A lot of people didn't like the "power ranger" type of suit but I actually liked it. Both GG and Molina's Doc Oct (another excellent villain) were more sanitized for a mass audience who likely weren't all comic book fans. Sometimes I'm glad that do this as some characters from the comics would come across as campy and silly. Just look how they've rendered characters like Hawkeye, Falcon and Scarlet Witch in the MCU. If they had presented them exactly like they appear on the comic pages, they would have looked like stunt performers from a traveling circus. Thank goodness that Marvel Studios redesigned them for the movies!
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BrunoAntony (1198)
6 years ago
The fuck?
Raimi made too many changes to Dr Octopus but Vulture "felt like like a Spider-Man comic brought to life"?
Vulture is waaaay more different from the comic than Raimi's Doc Ock.
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FilmBuff (6855)
6 years ago
I disagree. The motivation behind the Vulture's crime sprees were fleshed out somewhat, but the character himself rang true to the comics. Raimi's Ock, on the other hand, was very Hollywood, and while interesting he didn't seem much like the character from the comic. Which is fine, a film can deviate, but even that wasn't my point.
The films that Raimi made, while fine, lightweight, superhero films, weren't particularly evocative of the Spider-Man comic books. Change the names and put a different costume on the hero and you'd never even know you were watching a Spider-Man film. Homecoming was the opposite. It got to the essence of the character, and touched on the elements that make Peter and Spider-Man who they are. On top of that, it;s a masterful film in its own right. It was equal parts Steve Ditko, Brian Michael Bendis, John Hughes, and Wes Anderson, and it transcends the superhero genre. It's a great comic book movie, but also just a great movie.
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BrunoAntony (1198)
6 years ago
You appear to have become so distracted while wanking over this film that you forgot to explain how The Vulture "rang true" to the comics....
IMO, he doesn't. He's basically a brand new character.
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FilmBuff (6855)
6 years ago
What more do I need to say? Both are old men in a flying suit, robbing people, battling Spider-Man. They fleshed out more of a backstory for the Vulture in the film, but both were basically selfish, evil older men out for personal gain. What did you find noticeably different between comic Vulture and film Vulture?
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BrunoAntony (1198)
6 years ago
... and that extremely vague description is a more faithful adaptation than Dr Octopus in Raimi's films because...?
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