"Spider-Man" has opened - again. What's the word?
(CBS) Finally, "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" is open! Again! And finally, it's been reviewed, again! What are the critics saying now (other than "How many times do I have to see this thing?")? Let's take a look.
Pictures: "Spider-Man" premiere
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No less an authority than the New York Times' Ben Brantley writes, "[T]his singing comic book is no longer the ungodly, indecipherable mess it was in February. It's just a bore."
(Later in the same review, Brantley writes, "The first time I saw the show, it was like watching the Hindenburg burn and crash." So a "bore" is an improvement.)
In Time, Richard Zoglin writes, "[F]or the musical in between all the theatrics? It's not that bad. In truth, Spider-Man was never quite the disaster that the early reviews a little too gleefully suggested."
The songs, writes Terry Teachout in the Wall Street Journal, are weak. "Not only are the songs forgettable, but they never succeed in generating any dramatic momentum--all they do is get louder." Ho ho!
E! Online helpfully lists the five best and worst things about the musical. No. 1 on the "Best" list is "The Beauty of Low Expectations." Seriously, that's the best praise they can heap on the show.
What do you think of all the "Spider-Man" brouhaha? Are you going to see the musical?
