It's all in the execution. Voice-over during a life-or-death sequence would be tricky, but the presumption that it's impossible is the same thinking that has Hollywood excising superhero costumes and dulling down powers.

As a 'fer example'...

Consider first that a voice-over would hardly seem so out of place if the film employed it frequently and from the first frame of film. The first SPIDER-MAN movie actually did open with such a voice-over - it just didn't run with the ball. And as for the actual action scenes during which they might be emplyed, I'd still say go sparingly, but as a trick to make it work, I'd suggest the actor deliver his lines with a certain breathless immediacy. Alternately, or in conjunction with that, you could actually cut to slo-mo to heighten the moment and allow for the slight surreality of a voice-over ("It was do or die time. I put everything I had in that last punch and prayed...").

Again, tricky, but not impossible. I hate to use a cheap buzz phrase, but I'd like to see a lot more "thinking outside the box" to find solutions to superhero film translations.

Oh, and incidentally, I don't disagree with you that there's some wiggle room for scenes like the unmasking scene. I didn't care for it m'self, but it didn't kill the scene for me. I just think there were better ways to stage it.

-Dave

Well, unless this is a remake of "Sunset Boulevard", I guess I don't have to see that scene to know Our Hero survived.

A reference somewhat lost on me, never having seen SUNSET BLVD., but I gather that point is that my hypothetical's a suspenseless suspense line because we know Spider-Man's gonna survive? Or am I misreading?

In any case, it's just a throwaway example, but I'd say a strong voiceover could sell the immediacy of such a moment, maybe with some slo-mo drawing out the drama.

-Dave

Come on, Spider-man 2 had it all. A sense of humor, a sense of danger, and a great story. Reread those old Stan Lee/ Steve Ditko comics or the old Bashki cartoons, J Jonah Jameson was a clown. One complaint would be that everyone in New York knew Spider-man's secret identity by the end, but that didn't stop this from being the greatest live -action comic book movie yet with it's only possible competition being Sin City, the X-men flicks, the Tim Burton Batman flicks, and Mystery Men.

Anyone else see Mystery Men and love it as much as I did?  

SPOILERS for SUNSET BOULEVARD

Highlight to read:

The narrator/main character it turns out has actually been telling the story dead, doing a dead man's float in the swimming pool. He is killed near the end of the story, but as the narrator, he has been dead the whole time. We just didn't know it.

Check out the movie it is pretty good.

Edited to inviso-text the spoiler~Matt

Thanks. I was reading up on it at IMDB and it definitely sounds like one to see.

-Dave

I had hoped that, like X-Men 2, I'd enjoy the sequel after despising the first, but Spider-Man 2 sucked eggs.  Crappy story, crappy effects, no logic, bad acting and writing, ugh.  Couldn't even watch it on cable the other night.

There was one part that stuck with me though.  When Spider-Man is in the elevator with Hal Sparks, I thought, "man, that costume looks cool.  He really does look like Spider-Man."  Then the moment was over, and I was back to wanting to tear my hair out.

Until Peter Parker got stuck in that broom closet for a far-too-stretched-out sight gag, I thought the pizza delivery opening was terrific. Really funny, really energetic, and probably my favorite bit in the entire movie.

-Dave