Just thought I'd toss my opinion in. Saw it yesterday with a couple of friends. I had seen a few trailers, my roommate had seen one, and the other friend hadn't seen any, just heard it came highly recommended.
We all agreed it was okay at best. I knew Andrew would turn; the trailers pretty much said so. The other two had figured it out early on, pretty much as soon as the movie started. It was boring, predictable, and rather typical. The only thing none of us knew going in was the death, and even then, we agreed we knew who it would happen to.
I did find it interesting, sort of, how the boys acted when they first got their powers, and agree that it is probably how any boy their age would act if it happened to them, but the descent into the "darkside" and all was just...not as good as it could've been.
Honestly, I would've been happier to see Andrew go evil, but then rise above his circumstances and not be just...bad. I knew he'd stay evil, but I was hoping the movie would suprise me and go the other direction. But nope. It did exactly what I expected because most superhero movies with a character like Andrew end just that way. They go to the darkside and stay there.
It wasn't horrible. The last fifteen or twenty minutes were good, but even the fight scene drug on. I don't know if it's just me becoming less tolerant of action scenes for the sake of action. And seriously, how did it keep going? I mean, really?
I'm not against character study stories. I'm not against character development. I love characters and agree that they are what make or break any story. But that is the issue here, isn't it? I didn't really like the character the movie focused on. It's not that I didn't feel for him or understand what he was going through, but I just felt like they were constantly trying to get me to feel sympathetic for him, as though that was his only trait. I wanted to see some good in him, but all his actions pointed to bad and nothing else. Give me a glimmer of hope for him.
Also, if he really hated his father that much, then why did he actually take to heart what was said about his friends not really being his friends? I guess he might've had a nagging feeling all along, but honestly, he accepted that thought way too fast for someone who probably didn't accept his dad's ideas half the time anyway.
TL

R: I didn't go into this movie with really high expectations, as I usually don't, but I was actually rather disappointed anyway. But that's me.