| DrSpengler |
06-21-2005 12:46 PM |
Being the gargantuan Swamp Thing fan that I am (avatar, people! avatar!), I can tell you the answer is "yes and no".
The first Swamp Thing flick has the production values of a tv movie or even worse and the entire story is watered down from the source material. They even turn Matt Cable into a female (Adrienne Barbou) so that Swamp Thing can have a possible love interest.
The entire movie just comes off as silly (and the costume is pretty awful) but to make matters worse they try to play it straight. BAD idea. BAD movie.
Return of Swamp Thing is different. It's a tongue-in-cheek horror comedy. It also adapts plenty of concepts from the comic. Abby, Swamp Thing's girl in the comics, shows up and is played by Heather Locklier. Swamp Thing's ability to teleport is there, sorta (in the comics he travels through The Green, in the movie he turns into a puddle of slime). And the hallucinogenic tubors that grow on his back and allow him and Abby to have "intercourse" are also there.
The whole thing is actually pretty funny. Who here has seen the first Guyver movie? Well, it's a lot like that. Not even remotely close in the spirit of the comics, but a fun "spoof" of the source material. And the Un-Men definately have the look and feel of the Zoanoids.
Return of the Swamp Thing also has one of my favorite opening sequences from any super hero movie, as well. A bunch of guys hunting in the Swamp get eliminated one-by-one by an Un-Man who broke out of Arcane's complex. Swamp Thing rescues the last of the hunters (who's lost his glasses). The hunter thanks him repeatedly and intorduces himself. Swamp Thing then picks up his glasses and gives his own introduction. "They call me...*puts glasses on the hunter* ..hSwamp Thing". THe guy then runs away screaming at the sight of him. It then fades into a montage of covers and panels from the actual Swamp Thing comic complete with my FAVORITE Creedance Clearwater song playing in the background; "Born on the Bayou".
Return is definately worth a look-see. AND it's mighty cheap. You can get it in a two-pack with Basket Case (an AWESOME low-budget horror movie) for $14 bucks.
OR, you can do yourself a favor and read the comics (specifically the Alan Moore run, all collected in TPB). One of the best decisions you'll ever make.
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