Stone Marshall's Blog, page 151

Minecraft Story Mode – Season Two Episode One Review: Nobody Beats The Admin

After an extended eight-episode Season One, the cast of Minecraft: Story Mode returns in a brand-new adventure. Story Mode’s selectable hero Jesse, having saved the world from the Witherstorm in the first five episodes, is now the leader and de facto mayor of Beacontown. In Beacontown, intrepid builders craft their homes into the most creative shapes and forms imaginable and Jesse stands at its head. The only problem is Jesse and his authority as the “greatest hero ever” is all that keeps the town running smoothly. 

Welcome to your doom.

The same is true for the rest of Jesse’s cohort from the first season, who have all settled into their roles as the New Order of the Stone. Axel presides over Boom Town, Olivia is the head teacher in Redstonia, and Lukas is the best-selling author of the New Order’s adventures. When the last adventuring member of the crew, Petra, invites everyone on a job, only Jesse takes time out of his busy schedule to answer the call. 

Jesse probably shouldn’t have bothered through, as the job ends up with an ancient gauntlet stuck on Jesse’s hand and a giant portal spitting out charged Creepers under Boomtown. The journey to close the portal will take players from the neighboring town of Champion City to an ancient temple on the far edges of the known world map, deep under ocean. 

While I enjoyed this episode overall, that’s mostly down to the characters involved, not the story itself. There’s a feeling that things just sort of happen here, but stepping back and thinking about it, that’s because of a major divergence in the story. There’s a whole section involving Champion City the feels like it just drops the main story completely. Everything improves once you get to the underwater temple, but until then it doesn’t necessarily feel like the story is heading in one direction.  

The larger themes of the first season of Story Mode came in two flavors. The first was “You can’t do it without the help of your friends,” and the second was “Don’t meet your heroes.” Those themes carry over to Season Two whole cloth. Most of this is focused around Petra this time, her attempts to find her own place away from the team end in failure and her hero, at least in my playthrough, doesn’t quite live up to the hype. When it comes to these themes, Season Two just feels like it picks up right where the early part of Season One left off, which is a bit different from how Telltale handled The Walking Dead. 

Weep for a fallen comrade.

That’s fine though. This isn’t the Walking Dead, it’s Minecraft. The stakes are low; it’s more about the light-hearted humor and Minecraft community jokes. When Jesse and Petra try to cover the portal they’ve unearthed, their first attempt involves simply covering the hole with dirt, like any Minecraft player would. When you find what remains of one of Jack’s original adventuring pals, you see Jack crying over a pile of inventory, not a body. This is an adventure for the whole family; it’s here to make you chuckle more than make you ponder ethical dilemmas. 

Minecraft: Story Mode looks to have been updated with Telltale’s newer engine, meaning the graphics look better and he environments are more expansive. One of the things I enjoy about Story Mode is how the blocky Minecraft presentation actually papers over the weaknesses of the Telltale engine, which is the sparse details on the characters and their environments. Telltale Games have to be ported to wide variety of platforms and that level of detail is one of the things that goes first. In Minecraft though, it’s all blocks! This seemingly saves up resources to play around and there are some scenes, like Beacontown and the Temple, that look great here.  

The developers have also revamped a few mechanical aspects of Minecraft: Story Mode. Quick-time events comprise most of the action, but there’s a whole new combat system, with movement, dodging, and a stamina meter. Crafting via crafting tables returns in Season Two, but there’s also one section where you get to freeform build with a list of materials. As a Minecraft fan, I found that kind of fun and hope to see more of it integrated into the game’s puzzles in the future.  

Until the cliffhanger ending, Episode One of Minecraft: Story Mode – Season Two feels like a complete tale. This continues on from the latter half of the first season, which was a series of done-in-one episodes with distinct adventures. I felt satisfied when everything wrapped up, but it’s clear the ideas here are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of Jesse’s journey to solve this problem. I get the feeling that we’ve only scratched the surface of this Minecraft universe, so I want to see more. I want to know about how this world came to be, I want to see all the place Telltale has crafted to fill the place out. I just hope future episodes retain a strong focus on the main journey.

Episode One of Minecraft: Story Mode – Season Two draws from both halves of Season One. The episode feels like a complete journey on its own, but it also points towards a larger, grander story. Some of your cast favorites are incognito and the pacing grinds to a halt in one section, but Minecraft: Story Mode – Season Two is still off to an enjoyable start.

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Minecraft Story Mode – Season Two Episode One Review: Nobody Beats The Admin

Pokemon Minecraft Mod Shut Down

Pixelmon, the Pokemon mod for Minecraft, is ending development after a request from The Pokemon Company.

In a forum post titled “It’s Been A Gréat Ride,” the Pixelmon development team bid its players a fond farewell.

“We have had a great time making this mod and creating such a wonderful community but after a request from the Pokémon company we will be shutting our doors,” reads the post. “I’m sorry for the disappointment this will cause but let’s remember all the great times we had playing Pixelmon, discussing Pokémon, making awesome things inside this mod and everything else that we’ve done.”

Pixelmon was an impressive mod which let you capture and play with Pokemon inside Minecraft, and you could even battle other players. The extremely popular mod has been around for several years, but it is only recently that The Pokemon Company decided enough was enough.

If you’re looking for some other mods for Minecraft now, have a look at our Wiki Page. In other Pokemon news, The Pokemon Company has been teasing a reveal for this Wednesday.

Pokemon Minecraft Mod Shut Down

DuckTales Is Taking Over Minecraft and Angry Birds to Launch Its Reboot on Disney XD

It’s been 30 years since Disney debuted its animated series DuckTales, about the adventures of Duckburg’s trillionaire Scrooge McDuck, his grandnephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, and his nephew Donald. And while fans, many of whom now have kids of their own, still have a warm place in their heart for the series, Disney XD is starting from scratch as it reboots DuckTales on Aug. 12, with a marketing campaign that targets favorite kids platforms like Minecraft and Angry Birds in order to hook a new generation.

“They don’t have the nostalgia for the DuckTales brand,” said Marc Buhaj, svp, programming and gm, Disney XD, of the network’s core audience of children age 6-11. “A basic goal of us at Disney XD is to ensure that our content is on the most relevant platforms. However, we’re also conscious that there had to be an organic desire and need for audiences on those platforms to take your content. And that doesn’t always happen.”

But few series would be as organic a fit for Angry Birds as DuckTales is. “One could argue that the original Angry Bird might be Donald,” said Buhaj.

From Aug. 3-12, the characters will be incorporated into Rovio’s main Angry Birds game—with a targeted audience of kids in the XD demo— as a “branded spell” that greets players and explains their mission: to help Donald Duck retrieve Scrooge’s stolen gold from the piggies. In the game, Donald will sling coins at the pigs and make gold coins rain down on the screen. Then, normal gameplay will resume.

“The integration exemplifies branded content, since our ducks seamlessly fit into the Angry Birds universe, it just made sense. A really natural extension,” said Buhaj.

The team took a similar approach to Minecraft. In September, Minecraft users can play on an integrated Quackburg server and explore the world of Duckburg, where DuckTales is set. “We’ve got all of the significant geographic locations of Duckburg in Quackburg. It’s all the places you’ll recognize, and also some new environments,” said Buhaj.

One likely highlight for Quackburg users: “I think Scrooge’s money bin is a place that a lot of us would head to, to swim in gold coins,” said Buhaj. “You have a universe in Duckburg that fans enjoy exploring. We couldn’t do that with every property that we have, nor would be try.”

While its rare for companies to use Angry Birds and particularly Minecraft as part of their marketing, “it all comes down to having IP that people want to work with and works for their brands as well” said Buhaj.

Ahead of the launch, Disney rolled out a series of short-form YouTube videos to introduce audiences to the characters, like this clip from Donald’s birthday, which debuted last month.

For Disney, the short-form videos are part of a “content ecosystem” in which stories of various sizes are created simultaneously for multiple platforms. “Rather than being an add-on that gets produced at the end, we launched with six, 30-45 second shorts that really introduce characters to the audience, to that young audience that didn’t know the Ducks,” said Buhaj.

Between August and October, Disney will roll out several themed games in the Disney XD and Disney Channel apps to drive more interest in the series. DuckTales: Duckburg Quest, which will launch with the Aug. 12 premiere, is an open adventure game in which players can play as one of the main characters and explore Duckburg or take on frequent troublemakers the Beagle Boys.

In the game Crash n’ Dash, which will debut later this year, users can play as DuckTales’ chauffeur and pilot Launchpad McQuack and go behind the wheel of several vehicles. Ultimately, said Buhaj, “I’m hoping that with the heritage behind this, there might be interest in a bigger game.”

While much of the campaign is focused on the core demo, some of the marketing elements will appeal to older fans. The DuckTales: All Ducked Out avatar creator, which came out last month, allows viewers to create their own personalized cartoon duck character. Last week, the Disney XD app added DuckTales: Bill Me!, a Snapchat-like filter in which viewers can take a selfie with their favorite DuckTales character and personalize it.

“We want our audiences talking back to us, and sharing their love of IP when they’re engaged with everyone else. So the more toolkits that we can drop off to audiences of all ages, I think is always positive,” said Buhaj.

DuckTales will launch on with an hour-long premiere Aug. 12 as part of a 24-hour event on Disney XP—repeating the one-hour premiere 24 times—which the network has never done before. “This series is a special one,” said Buhaj. The launch will also include the Disney XD app, Disney XD VOD. Regular-sized episodes will begin airing on Saturday, Sept. 23.

DuckTales Is Taking Over Minecraft and Angry Birds to Launch Its Reboot on Disney XD

Spider-Man Director on Homecoming’s ‘Only Real Flaw’

Director Jon Watts has revealed what he believes is the only acceptable flaw in Spider-Man: Homecoming, citing the ferry scene having an unrealistic portrayal of the current operations of the Staten Island Ferry. The movie has finally swung into the theaters and so far it is proving to be worth all the wait and hype, earning a certified fresh Rotten Tomato score. It’s also doing very well in terms of box office, on track to rake in over $100 million in its opening weekend.

Initially debuting in last year’s Captain America: Civil War, Tom Holland has now fully dived into the bigger world of the MCU with his first standalone film. Despite all the talk about Homecoming nailing its coming-of-age tone mingled with some comic book-y tropes, though, Watts is the first to come out and share what he believes is the big thing they missed the mark in terms of its on-screen depiction.

In an interview with EW, the director has cited the Staten Island ferry action piece where they took the creative liberty to tweak some elements to make sure that the scene fits the movie’s narrative:

“The only real flaw is that [in our movie] there are cars on the ferry, and there haven’t been cars allowed since the ’90s. So I’ll declare that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they never had these rules.”

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Fans are sure to be very forgiving of Watts’ point as Homecoming makes up for it with so much attention to detail on other aspects of the setting. The movie’s Queens looks and feels like it is the real New York; There’s graffiti-laden buildings (with name scribblers of Spider-Man comic book artists), the local bodega cat named Murph plus Queens-native rock band Ramones featuring in the movie’s soundtrack.

While Spider-Man may have joined the bigger MCU, Homecoming is arguably is the most contained film of the character thus far. The set pieces are very localized with the majority of the film grounded in Queens further driving the point of the wall-crawler being the “friendly neighborhood superhero.”

This will likely be carried over to the character’s next standalone film due in 2019 as it seems like Marvel is looking to have the ongoing trilogy all set in during Peter’s high school life; meaning after he finishes up saving the world in Avengers: Infinity War and its yet-to-be-titled sequel, he will eventually come back to proceed with life as a normal kid.

Spider-Man Director on Homecoming’s ‘Only Real Flaw’

Avengers: Infinity War Cast Very Close to Finishing Production

The ongoing filming for Avengers: Infinity War is nearing its end. Production for the Marvel film, initially planned as the first chapter in a two-part epic, has been going on for roughly six months now in Atlanta, Georgia beginning in January with frequent breaks for scheduling and location changes. The film will pit all of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s heroes, thus far, against Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) who endeavors to collect all Infinity Gems.

In the last couple of weeks, various photos teasing fans from the set of the film have hit the internet. From Science Bros selfies with Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo who plays Iron Man/ Tony Stark and Bruce Banner/Hulk to The Russo Brothers (Joe and Anthony) spending some time in Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum and a wrecked New York cab prop, fans are always on the lookout on what other teases what we can get from the closed-off set. And if the tip holds true, we may have to wait a couple more weeks before we are treated for another photo sneak-peak again.

The nugget of information comes from Atlanta Filming – the Twitter account that tracks production developments and star citing in the city where a lot of movies and TV shows are shooting. According to them, principal photography for Infinity War is almost done with just a handful of actors left in the area to finish their respective parts. Production is expected to officially wrap up on July 14th with its direct sequel, the yet-to-be-titled Avengers 4 set to start work on the 27th.

 

Pretty much everyone is wrapped for Avengers until part 2 starts July 27 th.

— Atlanta Filming (@AtlantaFilming) June 25, 2017

With cumulative film boasting a massive cast, it is interesting to know who among the reported over 60 stars are still in Atlanta shooting. We know that Tom Holland, who plays Peter Parker aka Spider-Man, and RDJ are currently not in the area since the two are busy promoting Spider-Man: Homecoming in new York. Last week after he debuted the trailer for his upcoming film, Marshall, Chadwick Boseman, who takes on the role of Black Panther, revealed that he is scheduled to be back in the city to continue filming.

Interestingly, we have not really spotted any of Steve Rogers/Captain America’s (Chris Evans) crew in the set of Infinity War. No social media selfies and or any other indication that Evans and the rest of his squad from Captain America: Civil War although it has been confirmed that most, if not all of them, are going to be a part of Avengers 3. To be fair, however, there were just a handful of actor photos that came out of social media despite the fact that the Russos posted a photo of a vacant lot full of trailers – presumably owned by the film’s actors, a couple of weeks ago.

Originally, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 would be shot simultaneously. Eventually, that was changed to the movies going to be filmed back-to-back instead. On top of the main base camp for the project in Atlanta, location shoots were also held in  Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Scottish Highlands, as well as in Durham Cathedral in England. A scheduled New York shoot is also expected to take place sometime in the summer.

Avengers: Infinity War Cast Very Close to Finishing Production

One Of Spider-Man’s Classmates Is In Avengers: Infinity War

Tom Holland will not be the only one crossing over from Spider-Man: Homecoming to next year’s Avengers: Infinity War as his Peter Parker’s classmate, Sally Avril, played by Isabella Amara has also been confirmed in to appear in the ensemble movie. The young actress did not have a huge part in the web-slinging superhero’s first standalone under the Marvel and Sony collaboration banner, but she was featured in a handful of scenes.

As we all know, Infinity War will bring together almost every significant character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far as the heroes convene in the hopes of putting a stop on Mad Titan Thanos’ plans of universal domination. And while Amara did not drop any hints about her involvement in the Russo Brothers’ project, it’s likely to once again see her at Midtown High School.

The confirmation came from Amara herself in a conversation with BlackFilm.com while promoting her latest project, Wilson, where she co-stars alongside veteran actors like Laura Dern and Woody Harrelson.

“Yes. I’m in Spider-Man: Homecoming & Avengers: Infinity War. They are filming both Infinity Wars back to back but I’m only in the first one.”

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Currently, it is still very difficult to gauge what Sally’s role will be in Infinity War but like most comic book characters, she also had a complex history in the pages of the comics. At one point, Peter’s schoolmate wanted to be a photographer like him. She also took on a superhero role for a while calling herself Bluebird. Unfortunately, she was eventually killed in tragic car accident while trying to score some snaps of Spider-Man in battle.

Infinity War‘s growing cast list is only more of an indication of how big Marvel’s plan of bringing the MCU’s superheroes together is. Although cramming a lot of game players while telling a cohesive storyline can be difficult, the Russos’ work on Captain America: Civil War is a testament to their ability to make ensemble casts work

Avengers: Infinity War has been in production since January of this year in Atlanta, Georgia and as Amara mentioned, it’s yet-to-be-titled sequel will be filmed shortly afterwards. Other location shoots have also taken place including scenes filmed in Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Scottish Highlands and Durham Cathedral in England.

One Of Spider-Man’s Classmates Is In Avengers: Infinity War

How Avengers & Guardians Can Communicate in Infinity War

Everyone is waiting to see the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy share the screen in Avengers: Infinity War, but not many had thought about how they will communicate. Thankfully, James Gunn has the answer. Gunn has become a staple in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Marvel Studios seemingly appointing him to the position of ruler of the cosmos. So far, he’s crafted the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films and will return to do another, but he’s also in charge of setting the stage for the future of the Marvel Cosmic Universe.

This will all come in the aftermath of Infinity War, where the cosmic story of the Guardians will cross paths with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The thought of so many Marvel heroes together has been the source of much anticipation, with Zoe Saldana teasing the space encounter. Because of the excitement, it has often been overlooked that many of the Guardians do not speak English, but Gunn appears to have revealed how the two teams will communicate.

Following a post on Facebook, a fan asked Gunn this question. While at first it may seem obvious considering the history with the Guardians, the question is quite valid since the Avengers (and most of the human race) have yet to encounter different alien races. Based on his response, it appears the Avengers will be getting some upgrades in the form of translators that allow them to understand the various languages spoken by Gamora, Drax, and Rocket – but not Groot.

They all have translators imbedded. They all speak different languages. Not all languages (including Groot) are in the translators.

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Gunn has made it very clear that in the cosmic circles in which the Guardians exist, it is common practice for each individual to have translators imbedded in them. This is how Peter can understand his ragtag family and easily explains to the audience why everyone in the entire universe speaks English, when it actually is all being translated to Peter’s perspective (or that of the audience as well).

Something to keep an eye out however may be how exactly this happens. While the initial miscommunication that will spawn from the language barrier could provide a laugh or two, having all the Avengers get translators imbedded in their heads or suits could take some time and resources. The Avengers already rely on earpieces to communicate with one another, so one possible fix could be for one of the many geniuses of the group – whether that be Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Rocket, or T’Challa – having the ability to download the language database from one of the Guardians’ translators and upload the translations through these earpieces. Otherwise, it could be up to them to design and install translators of their own.

This will not change the Guardians at all with each of them already having a translator that can understand the English language, but this will further show the Earth-based heroes just how big and different the rest of the universe is. If the Avengers’ battle with Thanos takes them further into the cosmos, this may not be the only piece of technology that they adapt from the Guardians. After all, they’re the ones with translators, jet packs, protective space suits and helmets ready to go, and many of the Avengers may need to rely on those to survive in space.

How Avengers & Guardians Can Communicate in Infinity War

Looking Back: Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man 3’ is Still Bad & Goofy 10 Years Later

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, released in May of 2007, is one weird movie. It suffers from the curse of the “threequel“, a film with potential that is overwhelmingly disappointing. In my previous editorial in this ongoing Spider-Man retrospective series, I talked about how Spider-Man 2 swings among some of the best sequels in cinema history. If Spider-Man 2 is the Superman II of the Spider-Man series, then Spider-Man 3 is the Superman III of the franchise – but with considerably weirder dance sequences. In the newest edition of our “Looking Back” series, let’s take a look at why Spider-Man 3 begins the series of diminishing returns for Spider-Man movies as one of the most disappointing threequels in modern superhero film history.

It’s very hard for filmmakers to make a good third movie in a trilogy or film series. When you think of most modern film trilogies, it is undoubtedly common to consider the third one the worst. The case is especially strong with superhero movies. It doesn’t matter if it is X-Men: The Last Stand or Blade: Trinity or Batman Forever, the third film all too often disappoints. It might be hard to figure out exactly why filmmakers so often stumble in the third act, especially since most third movies usually come next after two very strong installments. In the specific example of Spider-Man 3, the problem and explanation is a bit more clear: Sam Raimi was forced to make a movie he just didn’t want to make.

When Sam Raimi set out to make Spider-Man 3, he had a very clear idea. As he fleshed out the treatment with his brother Ivan Raimi, Sam wanted to explore the complex nature of being a costumed hero. “The most important thing Peter right now has to learn”, Raimi said in an interview back in 2007, “is that this whole concept of him as him as the hero – he wears this red and blue outfit, with each criminal he brings to justice he’s trying to pay down this debt of guilt he feels about the death of Uncle Ben. He considers himself a hero and a sinless person versus these villains that he nabs. We felt it would be a great thing for him to learn a little less black and white view of life and that he’s not above these people.”

As Raimi began developing the story, he wanted to complete the character arcs for Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn. He also wanted to introduce the Sandman, a character he found to be visually and emotionally compelling. Sandman’s arc would overlap with Peter’s arc, which would center around Peter learning forgiveness. In the comics, the Sandman is a petty criminal. In Raimi’s updated version of the character, he was directly tied to the murder of Uncle Ben, thus challenging Peter’s simplistic view of the event. In Raimi’s original outline for the story, the main focus centered on Peter, Mary Jane, Harry and Sandman. At one point, he also wanted to introduce the Vulture, which he had envisioned Ben Kingsley for the role. It was during these early discussions of the film that the story started to radically change.

While Raimi was overseeing the script written by Spider-Man 2 scribe Alvin Sargent, the film’s producer Avi Arad (who held the rights to the movies at the time) was pushing for Venom to be included in the film’s narrative (due to fan pressure). Raimi has always been very critical of Venom, citing the character’s “lack of humanity” as a reason why he always disliked him. Arad argued Venom had a big fanbase among the Spider-Man faithful, constantly pushing for his inclusion in the story. Raimi eventually relented, including Eddie Brock, Jr. in the screenplay. Raimi’s version was an amalgamation of different versions of Brock, making him more of a mirror for Peter by giving him a similar job and love interest. Arad also pushed for Raimi to include Gwen Stacy in the screenplay, which started to balloon the narrative of the story very quickly.

At one point, Sargent literally contemplated splitting the screenplay into two, but cited that he couldn’t create a “successful intermediate climax” to bridge the two movies. This is where I feel Spider-Man 3 started to fall apart at the webs. When Raimi initially started developing the film, he knew exactly the kind of story he wanted to tell. As a result of Arad’s interference (and the studio siding more with Arad than Raimi), Raimi was shoehorned into telling a story he wasn’t wholly comfortable with telling. The film itself was, at the time, criticized for being overstuffed with characters while lacking the appropriate narrative cohesion to interweave all of the different plot threads and characters.

This is why Kevin Feige is such an integral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is the guiding hand of every film, a steady presence with comic book knowledge and a foot firmly in the film world. He is the perfect combination of comic book aficionado and film producer. Avi Arad, however, is none of those things. He’s the atypical Hollywood producer, pushing Venom not because he truly liked the character, but because he knew it would excite the fans. He didn’t trust his director, even though he proved himself two times before. He stuck his webs into Raimi’s business, and the end result is a movie clearly at war with itself.

If Arad had not insisted upon using Venom, Spider-Man 3 may have been a better movie. It certainly would have been a different movie. However, even if you disregard the Eddie Brock/Gwen Stacy subplot, the other existing storylines still lack a certain subtlety and nuance. In preparation to review these films, I revisited all of them. As the “Editor’s Cut” of Spider-Man 3 was surprisingly released last month, I decided to revisit the film watching that version. I discovered the Editor’s Cut isn’t all that much different than the final film. The only changes include small omissions, like the scene where Peter tries to give Aunt May back her wedding ring. Christopher Young’s score is re-inserted into the film as a whole. The Editor’s Cut is actually shorter than the theatrical release, which is probably a wise decision taking the film into account as a whole.

The biggest change in the film is the removal of the scene featuring James Franco’s Harry Osborn and the family butler, Bernard. In the version that was released theatrically, Peter goes to Harry asking for help to save MJ, who has been captured by Sandman and Venom. Harry rejects Peter’s request. In a later scene, Bernard tells Harry that he tended to his father’s wounds the night he died, and there was “no question” he died by the blade of his own glider. The awkward scene is baffling and cringe-inducing in and of itself, and begs such questions as “How was Bernard able to tell he was gutted by his own glider?” and “Why was Bernard tending to his wounds and why didn’t he just take him to the damn hospital?” Regardless, it’s a bad scene. The Editor’s Cut thankfully removes the scene.

In this alternate version of the film, when Peter goes to Harry he still rejects him, but when he leaves he finds a photograph of himself with Peter and MJ and tears run down his cheeks. It’s a small moment, but it is effective. It also makes Harry’s eventual return and sacrifice hold so much more thematic significance because he never gets told the truth about what happened to his father, but he helps his friends anyway. When Harry dies, he dies a hero in the Editor’s Cut. In the theatrical cut, he dies like someone who just literally got spoonfed something and he decided it was time to stop acting like a petulant child.

I feel like that change and the effect it has, while small, is a microcosmic example of why Spider-Man 3 doesn’t live up to its predecessors. As I discussed in my Spider-Man 2 editorial, that movie is chock full of emotional moments that are handled with nuanced ease. They resonate because they are authentic and minimalistic in execution. Any nuance or subtlety is, for the most part, lost in Spider-Man 3. Even Harry’s arc, which involves him becoming the New Goblin for one battle with Peter before he temporarily loses his memory, is very poorly handled. The exact purpose of why he even bothers to lose his memory in the confines of the film’s narrative is beyond me, especially when only a couple scenes later Willem Dafoe comes back from glider blade heaven to remind him of what Peter did. It feels like wasted material, where a more streamlined version of the story could’ve focused on Harry’s constant pursuit of Peter while he has to fend off Eddie Brock on the professional side and Flint Marko on the superhero side.

The only aspect of the film’s narrative that works in my mind is the one actually belonging to Flint Marko, aka Sandman. Thomas Haden Church was a brilliant casting choice, and with his green and black striped shirt he embodies Sandman perfectly. He’s more than just a petty criminal here, thanks to Raimi’s interest in the character. Raimi continues his tradition of giving the Spidey series sympathetic villains. Marko is motivated by his quest to steal money to pay for his daughter’s surgeries, so she can be healthy again. It’s a perfectly solid motivation and arc, and Church is brilliant at the quieter moments and just as compelling in the more villainous ones. The “Birth of Sandman” scene is without question the most effective moment, echoing monster movies of yesteryear with a hauntingly beautiful score by Christopher Young.

Unfortunately, even the film’s most successful story thread is left unresolved. In one of the film’s climactic scenes, Peter forgives Marko for the death of his uncle and he literally transforms into sand and whisks off into the wind. We have no idea if Marko acquired the appropriate funds for his daughter’s healthcare, or if she’s even going to live. Oh, and Marko is still a wanted felon, so good job there Spider-Man on letting him go. That doesn’t even delve into the film’s sillier moments either. In one respect, I can understand Raimi’s decision to turn Peter Parker into a nerdier version of who he was. In the film, the Venom symbiote amplifies aggression in its hosts. Peter Parker is not exactly an aggressive guy to begin with, and his idea of aggression would probably equate to him wearing eye-liner and flicking back his bangs.

In a way, it almost feels like Raimi is mocking the whole Venom storyline in Spider-Man 3. Peter Parker’s infamous Saturday Night Fever strut is memorably hilarious, but also strangely out-of-character for a film series that had, to that point, taken itself fairly seriously. Even worse, Peter takes Gwen to a nightclub where Mary Jane is working. Peter starts playing the piano and does a dance number taken straight out of The Mask. It’s an incredibly goofy scene, but it is somewhat indicative of Raimi’s approach that the darkest the film gets (besides Peter thinking he killed Sandman) is Peter accidentally hitting Mary Jane. Peter isn’t forced to snap Venom’s neck, like Superman killing Zod in Man of Steel. He doesn’t even let Sandman die at the end of the movie, like how Batman didn’t save Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins. The critical apex of the film is Peter accidentally pushing Mary Jane to the ground. While that’s obviously an awful moment, it pales in comparison to how Raimi could’ve handled Peter’s darker side. It feels like this is how Raimi perceives Peter at his “darkest”, and the Venom symbiote concept, and it is a fairly silly one.

Who knows if Spider-Man 3 would have been a better movie if Sam Raimi was able to tell the story he originally wanted to tell. If Harry’s subplot is any indication, it possibly still would’ve been somewhat of a letdown. Raimi clearly felt exhausted by the time he got around to making Spider-Man 3, and it shows. For seven years, all Raimi did was make Spider-Man movies. Creative fatigue was going to hit sooner or later. Couple that with someone as persuasive and formidable as Avi Arad making demands and you have a recipe for a film that has some good moments, but is uneven and downright goofy at times. It’s a shame, because like most third films Spider-Man 3 could’ve been something special. Instead, it was just another lackluster threequel in a long line of disappointing third chapters. Later this week, the “Looking Back” series examines Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man movies. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get better from here.

So what do you think? Is Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 genuinely bad, or just misunderstood?

Looking Back: Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man 3’ is Still Bad & Goofy 10 Years Later

Spider-Man: Homecoming Reaches No. 1, But It’s Still Behind Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man: Homecoming opened on Friday, and it was a big hit, though it did not set a new opening-weekend record for the series. According to Entertainment Weekly, the film pulled in $117 million in the US, which was in line with estimates, but it’s below the $151 million that 2007’s Spider-Man 3 made.

Still, it was a big showing for Tom Holland’s debut as Spider-Man in a standalone film (he had a small part in Captain America: Civil War). Homecoming‘s opening weekend domestic figures are above The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($91.6 million), Wonder Woman ($103 million), Logan ($88 million), and Doctor Strange ($85 million).

In terms of its international performance, Homecoming made $140 million from foreign markets, boosting its global haul to $257 million after just one weekend.

Homecoming also stars Michael Keaton as the villain, Vulture, and Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man. GameSpot’s Randolph Ramsay said in his review, “Spider-Man: Homecoming gets everything right about this beloved Marvel character, which after the Batman and Robin-like awfulness of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, comes as a huge relief.”

Rounding out the top five movies at the US box office this weekend were Despicable Me 3 ($34 million), Baby Driver ($12.7 million), Wonder Woman ($10.1 million), and Transformers: The Last Knight ($6.3 million).

The July 7-9 US box office figures follow below, as rounded up and compiled by EW.

Spider-Man: Homecoming – $117 million
Despicable Me 3 – $34 million
Baby Driver – $12.7 million
Wonder Woman – $10.1 million
Transformers: The Last Knight – $6.3 million
Cars 3 – $5.6 million
The House – $4.8 million
The Big Sick – $3.7 million
47 Meters Down – $2.8 million
The Beguiled – $2.1 million

Spider-Man: Homecoming Reaches No. 1, But It’s Still Behind Spider-Man 3

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Suits Up With $140M Overseas; ‘Despicable 3’ Nabs China Records – International Box Office

UPDATE, WRITETHRU after 9:20 AM post: The top two movies at the international box office are essentially neck-and-neck this weekend, with Sony’s debut of Spider-Man: Homecoming landing just ahead of Illumination/Universal’s Despicable Me 3. The rebooted story of Peter Parker caught $140M in its web, versus $139M for last week’s champ DM3. Both films had big, record-setting sessions in varying states of play.

Among the benchmarks, Homecoming had the highest launch of the Spider-Man franchise (in like-for-like markets and at today’s rates), and DM3 is now the Gru-viest opening weekend ever for an animated movie in China. It also pushed the Despicable Me franchise across the $3B mark worldwide.

Swinging into 56 overseas markets, Sony’s Homecoming set a new bar for Peter Parker on 23,400 screens — and there is joy on the Culver City lot today. The Jon Watts-directed film landed No. 1 starts in 50 of 56 offshore plays and still has 38% of rollout ahead, including in such key hubs as China, Japan, France, Germany and Spain. Combined with domestic, the global launch total is $257M

In the same set of markets that opened this session, and at current exchange rates, the Tom Holland-starrer is tracking ahead of Marvel cousin Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 (+20%); previous incarnation The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (+30%) and rival superhero Wonder Woman (+59%).

The Sony/Marvel mash-up came in well above pre-weekend predictions which topped out at $110M before folks started to become more bullish in the past few days. With today’s estimate, sources are pointing to emerging markets which helped bolster the major plays like Korea, Mexico, Brazil, the UK and Russia.

Even without China and Japan, Asia was a huge launch with $61.3M and Korea the only major in the mix. And it was major. SMH netted a $25.8M 5-day there for the 3rd biggest opening ever for a Hollywood film.

Likewise, Latin America was strong with $32.4M led by Mexico ($12M) and Brazil ($9.1M). In the latter, SMH is the biggest opening of all time for the month of July.

In IMAX, SMH grabbed $18M from 669 screens for the 2nd biggest global opening for a Sony title in the format. The international portion is $7M from 277 screens for IMAX’s top bow of all time with a Sony pic.

Of the reboot’s performance, Sony’s President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, Josh Greenstein, tells Deadline, “We couldn’t be more thrilled about Spider-Man’s triumphant return to the box office.” For Sony and creative partners at Marvel, this is “a giant win” and the studio is certainly welcoming it after a fair bit of time in the doldrums.

Offshore exits are still being gathered, but the general consensus is that the movie will continue to play amid some more serious offerings, and notably has captured a broad audience. That includes men and women under 25, plus the core Marvel base and a big swath of family business — particularly in Latin America where markets like Mexico and Brazil scored strong numbers propelled by the all-audience component (see more below).

Universal Pictures

Meanwhile, Despicable Me 3‘s $139M in 60 markets this frame was bolstered by a record-breaking start in China. The threequel now has an offshore cume of $298.4M and a global haul tallying $447.6M.

In the Middle Kingdom, Gru, Dru and the gang made off with $66M (RMB 453M), setting records for the biggest opening weekend and biggest opening day for an animated movie. IMAX can also claim those records in China with a full $4M frame on 417 screens, eclipsing Kung Fu Panda 3 for the PROC’s biggest animated bow in the format. (DM3 will have some time to itself in China as the last Hollywood entry before the — unofficial — blackout that’s expected to run til at least the middle of August. Spider-Man is not yet dated, but will likely land in late summer.)

Looking at the like-for-like markets and at today’s exchanges, DM3 is running ahead of all comps, including Minions ($295M), The Secret Life Of Pets ($219M), Finding Dory ($210M), Despicable Me 2 ($195M), Zootopia ($175M), Frozen ($141M), Ice Age 4 ($202M) and Toy Story 3 ($186M).

This week, DM3 adds Indonesia. Also expanding is Pixar’s Cars 3 in Brazil, Korea, Spain, the UK and Japan. Key markets being added to Spidey’s web this week include France and Germany.

Fox’s War For The Planet Of The Apes will be the new gorilla in the room. Another critically-praised franchise entry, it releases in majors like the UK, Italy, Russia and Spain. In China, New Classics’ fantasy Wukong hits 420 IMAX screens.

Breakdowns on the titles above, as well as others at play internationally, have been updated below.

NEW

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

Sony

With a $140M debut in 56 markets, Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming has topped the launch of all previous pics in the franchise when considering like-for-like plays and at today’s exchange rates.

The last entry, Amazing Spider-Man 2, opened to $97M in like-for-like markets and at today’s exchange rates. Its non-restated ultimate IBO was $506M, led by China, the UK, Korea, Japan and Mexico. China and Japan have yet to open the current film.

Korea is by far the leader on Homecoming this weekend with a 5-day $25.8M start for the 3rd biggest launch of a Hollywood movie ever. SMH dominated at No. 1 with over 80% of the market — its first weekend is already bigger than Transformers: The Last Knight’s total after three frames. Korea is a strong Marvel market, and has done well by Spidey before.

Each of the 11 Asian markets to open this frame did so at No. 1 for $61.3M across the region. India, another solid Spidey hub, roared out of the gate with $6.5M, including previews. Indonesia was worth a very strong $6.9M, and Taiwan weaved $4.8M out of five days.

In Latin America, Mexico led the proceedings with $12M and Brazil was next at $9.1M for the biggest July opening ever. The region was worth $32.4M, pointing to the power of the family pull that SMH exacts. There were No. 1s in 9 plays.

While France and Germany are still to come, the UK led Europe with $11.8M amid strong competition and hot temperatures. A three multiple looks possible here, putting Spidey near the top of the charts for the year so far.

Elsewhere, Russia grossed $7.8M and Australia swung to $7.6M.

One of the softer markets was Italy with $3.1M. That’s not all that surprising given Italy can be a real crap-shoot in the summer as vacations kick in and moviegoing is not top of mind.

Each of the last three Spider-Man titles swung from strength-to-strength internationally, and introducing Tom Holland in Captain America: Civil War teed overseas audiences up for this new standalone spin. Also factoring, Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark has been heavily featured in the marketing and the actor participated in specialty stunt interviews overseas.

Holland was tireless in his promotional efforts, traveling everywhere from Mexico to France, the UK, Spain, Singapore, Russia and Korea. Those visits dovetailed with a nuanced and targeted campaign in global markets.

Next up for Peter and pals (and foes) are Germany and France this week.

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS

DESPICABLE ME 3

Universal Pictures

Illumination/Universal’s threequel has pushed the DM franchise across the $3B mark globally with $3.136B to date. That’s coming off of a great opening in China which broke records for first-day launch and weekend bows for an animated movie. With $139M in 60 markets this session, the international cume is now $298.4M for a global total of $447.6M.

DM3 is running ahead of all comps, including Minions which was at $295M internationally at the same point of play, in the same markets and at today’s exchange rates.

This weekend, the Kyle Balda/Pierre Coffin-helmed film opened No. 1 in 7 markets. That makes 56 total markets where the story of brothers Gru and Dru has launched in the top spot.

In China, Despicable Me 3 had the Gru-viest start ever for an animated movie with $66M or RMB 453M. (IMAX also notched a record for its best animated opening at $4M.) Friday’s $21.1M was 18% bigger than previous record-holder, Minions, in local currency and without previews. That film was given a Sunday date in September of 2015, following that year’s (unofficial) blackout period. Conversely, DM3 has the vaunted status of being the last Hollywood title released in the PROC ahead of what is likely going to be a long summer studio hiatus. (Bonus factoid: The first Despicable movie never released in China.)

France, where Illumination has a sort of home-team status, opened to $9.1M for the 2nd biggest company bow ever, behind Minions. Same goes for Germany which opened No. 1 with $8.5M. Belgium also is the 2nd best Illumination start ever at $1.4M — that’s the biggest animation opening of the year.

Other openings included Switzerland ($1.1M), Austria ($973K), Iceland ($112K) and Trinidad ($94K, biggest Illumination bow ever).

In holds, Portugal kept DM3 at No. 1, topping the arrival of Spider-Man: Homecoming for a $1.5M cume. The UK slipped to No. 2 behind Spidey with a $7.1M weekend for $25.7M to date. Mexico is looking at $6.1M this frame to lift the cume to $24.5M. Australia is in Week 4 and jumped 33% over last session thanks to school holidays. The total there is $18.4M.

There are seven more territories to release over the next two months: Indonesia on July 12; Japan July 21; Korea July 26; Slovenia August 3; Italy August 24; Turkey August 25 and Greece August 31.

TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT

Paramount

The final Michael Bay-helmed film in the Paramount series added $18.1M in 47 markets in its 3rd session, taking the international cume to $375.7M. In China, Mark Wahlberg and Optimus Prime had already passed $200M earlier this week with the total there now $218.3M after a $6.8M frame.

In other cumes, The Last Knight has grossed $18.6M in Korea, followed by $15M in Russia, $12.3M in Germany, $11.4M in the UK and $8.1M in France.

Major markets still to come include Brazil, Mexico, Japan and Spain.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES

Disney

In a key play for this Disney franchise, Pirates 5 has grossed $23.2M in Japan after just 9 days. In Russia, it’s the No. 2 movie ever — behind only Avatar — and at $40.3M. The full weekend added $9.9M in 45 markets for an international cume of $565.2M to rank as the No. 3 highest grossing film of the year at offshore turnstiles. Globally, it’s at $734M.

Drops were good including in Sweden (-26%) Spain (-33%) Australia (-33%) and Japan (-30%). With the China run ended, the cume there is $172.3M followed by Russia, Germany ($28.5M), France ($25M) and the UK ($24.9M).

WONDER WOMAN

WB

Diana Prince lassoed another $6.8M in 64 markets this weekend for an offshore cume to date of $377M. The worldwide total is $745.8M. Japan is still to come for the WB/DC movie on August 25. While superhero movies (outside Spider-Man) don’t over-index in Japan, it will be interesting to keep an eye on the Amazon warrior in the market that leans in towards female protagonists. Here are the current Top 5 markets: China ($88.8M), Brazil ($31.7M), the UK ($27.2M), Mexico ($22.3M) and Australia ($21.5M).

THE MUMMY

Universal

Universal’s Tom Cruise-starrer is on track to gross $4.5M in 69 markets this weekend and raise the international total to $306.6M. That takes the worldwide cume to $384.6M. Japan is still to come on July 28. Key markets thus far include China ($91.4M), Korea ($27.5M), Russia ($16.7M), Brazil ($13.8M) and Mexico ($12.9M).

BABY DRIVER

Sony

Sony’s other movie at international turnstiles, Baby Driver got away with $3.9M from 1,740 screens in 18 markets in the sophomore session. The UK is tops on the Edgar Wright-helmed actioner, adding $1.7M this weekend to take the cume to $8.3M. Spain’s debut frame was worth $900K from 390 screens at No. 2. The international cume now stands at $14M. The crowd-pleaser will cruise into further key hubs over the next month including Australia, France, Brazil, Germany, Mexico and Russia.

BAYWATCH

Paramount

Crossing $100M this weekend internationally, Paramount’s Dwayne Johnson-starrer added $3.7M in the session for a $101.8M cume. Top play Germany has surfed to $16M in its 6th frame while France is now at $7.7M after three and with a handful of markets still to come.

CARS 3

Disney

Lightning McQueen’s 3rd time around the track has made Cars 3 the 2nd highest grossing Pixar release ever in India and the 3rd in Russia. With a 4th weekend in limited international release, the film added $3.1M for a total $60M to date across 27 markets. The global total is $193.7M.

In Australia, Cars revved upwards 9% for a $6.8M cume. The lead market is Mexico with $14.9M followed by Russia at $10.2M. Next weekend, Cars goes into overdrive with releases in Brazil, Korea, Spain, the UK, Japan, the Netherlands, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Argentina and Chile. France, Italy and Germany are on deck later in the year.

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE

Disney

The House (WB): $1.4M intl weekend (25 markets); $5.4M intl cume

Rough Night (SNY): $1.3M intl weekend (28 markets); $14M intl cume

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (FOX): $1.1M intl weekend (10 markets; Australia up 10%); $14.7M intl cume

Beauty And The Beast (DIS): $400K intl weekend (Japan only); $756.9M intl cume — Japan wrapping at $109.3M

The Beguiled (UNI): $300K intl weekend (4 markets; biggest Sofia Coppola opening ever in Greece); $850K intl cume

It Comes At Night (UNI): $277K intl weekend (UK only)

LOCAL-LANGUAGE

Hengye Pictures

Horror sequel The House That Never Dies II grossed $14M in China this weekend to take the No. 2 spot behind Despicable Me 3. Raymond Yip’s previous film released in 2014; this one is directed by Joe Chien and follows the goings on at a haunted Beijing mansion. Horror’s not such an easy sell to Chinese censors, but audiences were keyed up for the sequel which is running during the Middle Kingdom’s unofficial summer blackout. Also scoring this session in the PROC was The One, from Zhengyu Lu, which blends comedy with cuisine. The film grossed $8.5M at home, per comScore. Up this week, and on 420 IMAX screens, is Derek Kwok’s Wukong, an action fantasy starring Eddie Peng, Shawne Yue, Ni Ni and Xiao Bai.

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Suits Up With $140M Overseas; ‘Despicable 3’ Nabs China Records – International Box Office