This movie was made more like the wise-crackin’, ever-lovin’, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man many of us Marvel officianados really wanted to see from the first three.
For the serious adults, this movie will take a little while to get moving, but it does pay off in the end. I always determine how good a movie is when I take my wife, who is not a movie person, and see how long she sleeps through it. During Madagasgar 3 (might consider changing the title by now) she dozed off for only fifteen minutes, ergo the three stars.
*3.5 stars in actuality Guy Ritchie has done a fantastic job of reintroducing the character to a new generation that will, one can only hope, pick up one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories and read now that a visual is given for their minds to work with. My 16 and 10 year-old boys loved it. I myself enjoyed it, satisfied in getting my money's worth, but found it lacking in the true Sherlock Holmes-esque fashion that I grew up reading. Perhaps that is why the title doesn't read "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes"
Favreau was successful in not falling into to the sequal sandtrap and instead gave us in the mighty-Marvel-manner what true believers almost wanted while not making IM2 overly predictable and right out of the comic book pages.
As a parent, my nine-year-old didn't like how Tony hits the bottle during his birthday party. Most of us that grew up reading the comic book, I refuse to call it a "graphic novel," know that Tony Stark has had a history with the bottle, and was the intention of the creators to give him a vice that many in America can unfortunately and possibly relate to, thus making him more human rather than super.
Parents of younger viewers, be prepared for this topic if it comes up after the knuckle-bumps subside from another Mighty Marvel Movie!
After seeing this movie, I was really shocked how much seemed to have been taken from The Clash of the Titans, albeit, it is a common story embedded in mythos. My nine-year-old would give it a five and a half stars and would now like to read the books which is a bonus.
After seeing the original three movies in various stages of my younger days, this new edition gives most people what they've come to love and enjoy from Indy and might help some to hang up the fedora and whip. However you wish to analyze it as; this movie is worth a regular priced ticket.