So while reading yet more great reviews for Spiderman 2, I realized something. I just don't get excited about movies, and 90% of the time it's because 1) I already know exactly what's going to happen or 2) it's a non-fantasy/sci-fi movie.
There aren't great movies that aren't already based on some other medium. Harry Potter and LoTR are based on books, and while I was looking forward to the movies, there was no real excitement, because I already knew everything that was going to happen. Spiderman's somewhat different. I know less about the Spiderman storylines than I do about either Harry Potter or LoTR, or even something like Batman.
Hellboy was good for me, because plotwise I knew NOTHING that was going to happen. I can't wait for Serenity to come out, and I'm going to avoid any reviews and spoilers. I'll definitely go see Shyamalan's new movie.
So, why can't they just create really great fantasy movies not based on existing material? Does the movie genre not lend itself to truly original material, or is it just that screenwriters do better at translating other people's stories to the screen than coming up with their own ideas? Or is it that it's too big of a risk financially and so movies like that never get made.
Ok, everyone flame away.