The Amazing Spider-Man Review
***** NOTE*****
This is an older review I wrote back when I originally saw this movie back in 2012. It's from my Tumblr account, but since the new film is coming out next week I thought it might be a good idea to throw this back on here for compilation sake. I must warn you though, there might be spoilers.
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Director: Marc Webb
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans
Release Date: July 3rd 2012
Ever since I could remember I have been a huge Spider-Man fan, being a kid in the 90’s basically meant that the 90’s Spider-Man, X-Men and Batman cartoon series were practically your religion. The cartoon introduced me to comics, and like most fans it pretty much defined their childhood. In 2002 Sam Raimi and Sony Pictures decided to make the first full length Spider-Man movie, and it was a huge critical success, I remember seeing that movie the day it came out with my step dad and my best friend, and it was one of the most memorable movie going experiences I’ve had in my entire life.
After a very successful run with three movies, Sony Pictures decided last second to scrap plans to make a 4th installment in the series since Raimi’s team seemed to be getting off on a slow start (among other things). Sony Pictures decided to reboot the franchise hence the birth of the "Amazing Spider-Man", at first I was not to keen on the idea (like most people), while others thought it was a good idea since Spider-Man 3 did not meet everyone’s expectations, I frankly thought the movie wasn't that bad. However as new trailers and news about the Amazing Spider-Man slowly surfaced I began to feel that everything was going to be set right, and I was half right.
Marc Webb who is known for directing the incredible 500 Days of Summer helms this reboot with Andrew Garfield as everyone’s favorite Web Crawler. Andrew Garfield pulls off the Peter Parker of this generation very well, of course he had pretty big shoes to fill in since Tobey Maguire had owned the role for over a decade. Garfield’s Peter Parker is a kid who has had some serious problems in his past and this makes for a darker interpretation of Parker than what we are normally used to. Peter Parker goes on a quest to discover the secrets of his late father, and to find out why both his father and mother vanished without a trace. His journey leads him to his father’s former colleague and friend Dr. Curt Connors. Dr. Connors and Parker’s father were developing a serum to help cure diseases and hopefully regrow Dr Connors lost arm. When Peter helps complete the equation to re create the perfect formula Dr. Connors tests it on himself, the result turns Dr. Connors into a giant mutant reptile known only as the Lizard.
Every Actor in this movie fits into their characters shoes very easily, Andrew Garfield is a great actor and I have yet to see a movie where he does not shine. I am very glad to see him in a big production such as this since this is his first leading role I have seen him in, and given his age he pulls off a teenager quite well, his lanky body and almost awkward yet charming personality is perfect for the famous Marvel Character. Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy, Peter’s love interest, Emma Stone also is just as charming as Garfield and is another rising star that I have liked since I first saw her in Superbad. Emma Stone is a great change from Kristen Dunst’s Marry Jane, whose only job was to get mad a Peter occasionally and then get captured by the villain of the movie. Gwen on the other hand is a smart girl who is full of wit and the relationship between both her and Parker really plays off well and is one of the strongest points of the movie. Marc Webb knows how to craft a love story, as he proved in 500 Days of Summer and it really shows in the scenes with Stone and Garfield. However Rosemary Harris is sorely missed as Aunt May, Sally Field’s interpretation of the character is very weak and almost awkward, and actor Irrfan Khan is completely useless and could have easily been replaced with a cameo of Norman Osborn.
Another refreshment was the liberties they took in the story, the writers really tried hard to stay true to the source material while creating something completely new. The Amazing Spider-Man is darker than most of the main stream Marvel movies, and even though it is playing off of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, the dark and gritty realism really helps push the movie forward. It is also great to see Spider-Man back to being his witty self, the way he humiliates criminals and the Lizard is very entertaining and really holds the soul of the comic at heart.
Now although this is a fairly entertaining movie it is far from perfect, instead of feeling like a grad epic origin story from Marvel this turns out to be just another action flick to watch in the summer. Many things that Peter does out side of his crime fighting life really shows the fact that he is Spider-Man (scene where he throws a foot ball and it bends a poll) and he does these things in front of groups of people. If you are the most wanted man in the city perhaps it would be a good idea not to draw to much attention to yourself. Another missed thing was the famous line “with great power comes great responsibility” I was waiting like a giddy little girl waiting to hear the line that defined Peter Parkers new life.
But perhaps the biggest disappointment in the whole movie was in fact the Lizard himself. Rhys Ifans supplies the voice and motion work for the Lizard and his portrayal of Dr Connors is perfect. Fans have been waiting since Spider-Man 2 for Dr Connors to make his reptilian transformation and it is great that with the Amazing Spider-Man they are finally getting their wish. However Dr. Connors is a very complex character, most villains in Spider-Man are but Dr. Connors is a great story of tragedy, he is a man with a family, he is kind at heart and becomes a father figure to Peter. With the quest to learn more about his father I would have expected more of a relationship between the two like there is in the comics and the Raimi movies. However Peter really only talks with Connors three times in the whole movie. The transition from sympathetic scientist to crazed psychopathic super villain is so sudden it practically threw me out of the movie. I was hoping for more of a Seth Brundle Transformation with the character with a more slow Lizard transformation, instead he turns into the Lizard the moment he grows his arm back. However each time he transforms he does look more lizard like, I was just hoping for more of a tragic transformation, but since this is the origin story of Spider-Man you can’t really flesh out any other characters.
Although I was very excited to see Spidey on the big screen again I still have to rate this, and I give the Amazing Spider-Man a
6/10
Perhaps I am a salve to nostalgia but I do prefer Sam Raimi’s first film, there was a sort of magic quality to the movie and every time I watched one of them whether it is at home or in the theater I knew I wanted to watch it again. With the Amazing Spider-Man I really could care less if I watched it again, it’s good to watch once and you might like it if you are really into Spider-Man. However after releasing the Avengers this is a rather weak film to follow Marvel’s next huge success. The Amazing Spider-Man is not so amazing and more average than anything else and many things were explored better in the 2002 film, the darker tone does work well with the movie and I am looking forward to see where the sequel till take us, but for now this is just another mediocre summer action film.
This is an older review I wrote back when I originally saw this movie back in 2012. It's from my Tumblr account, but since the new film is coming out next week I thought it might be a good idea to throw this back on here for compilation sake. I must warn you though, there might be spoilers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans
Release Date: July 3rd 2012
Ever since I could remember I have been a huge Spider-Man fan, being a kid in the 90’s basically meant that the 90’s Spider-Man, X-Men and Batman cartoon series were practically your religion. The cartoon introduced me to comics, and like most fans it pretty much defined their childhood. In 2002 Sam Raimi and Sony Pictures decided to make the first full length Spider-Man movie, and it was a huge critical success, I remember seeing that movie the day it came out with my step dad and my best friend, and it was one of the most memorable movie going experiences I’ve had in my entire life.
After a very successful run with three movies, Sony Pictures decided last second to scrap plans to make a 4th installment in the series since Raimi’s team seemed to be getting off on a slow start (among other things). Sony Pictures decided to reboot the franchise hence the birth of the "Amazing Spider-Man", at first I was not to keen on the idea (like most people), while others thought it was a good idea since Spider-Man 3 did not meet everyone’s expectations, I frankly thought the movie wasn't that bad. However as new trailers and news about the Amazing Spider-Man slowly surfaced I began to feel that everything was going to be set right, and I was half right.
Marc Webb who is known for directing the incredible 500 Days of Summer helms this reboot with Andrew Garfield as everyone’s favorite Web Crawler. Andrew Garfield pulls off the Peter Parker of this generation very well, of course he had pretty big shoes to fill in since Tobey Maguire had owned the role for over a decade. Garfield’s Peter Parker is a kid who has had some serious problems in his past and this makes for a darker interpretation of Parker than what we are normally used to. Peter Parker goes on a quest to discover the secrets of his late father, and to find out why both his father and mother vanished without a trace. His journey leads him to his father’s former colleague and friend Dr. Curt Connors. Dr. Connors and Parker’s father were developing a serum to help cure diseases and hopefully regrow Dr Connors lost arm. When Peter helps complete the equation to re create the perfect formula Dr. Connors tests it on himself, the result turns Dr. Connors into a giant mutant reptile known only as the Lizard.
Every Actor in this movie fits into their characters shoes very easily, Andrew Garfield is a great actor and I have yet to see a movie where he does not shine. I am very glad to see him in a big production such as this since this is his first leading role I have seen him in, and given his age he pulls off a teenager quite well, his lanky body and almost awkward yet charming personality is perfect for the famous Marvel Character. Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy, Peter’s love interest, Emma Stone also is just as charming as Garfield and is another rising star that I have liked since I first saw her in Superbad. Emma Stone is a great change from Kristen Dunst’s Marry Jane, whose only job was to get mad a Peter occasionally and then get captured by the villain of the movie. Gwen on the other hand is a smart girl who is full of wit and the relationship between both her and Parker really plays off well and is one of the strongest points of the movie. Marc Webb knows how to craft a love story, as he proved in 500 Days of Summer and it really shows in the scenes with Stone and Garfield. However Rosemary Harris is sorely missed as Aunt May, Sally Field’s interpretation of the character is very weak and almost awkward, and actor Irrfan Khan is completely useless and could have easily been replaced with a cameo of Norman Osborn.
Another refreshment was the liberties they took in the story, the writers really tried hard to stay true to the source material while creating something completely new. The Amazing Spider-Man is darker than most of the main stream Marvel movies, and even though it is playing off of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, the dark and gritty realism really helps push the movie forward. It is also great to see Spider-Man back to being his witty self, the way he humiliates criminals and the Lizard is very entertaining and really holds the soul of the comic at heart.
Now although this is a fairly entertaining movie it is far from perfect, instead of feeling like a grad epic origin story from Marvel this turns out to be just another action flick to watch in the summer. Many things that Peter does out side of his crime fighting life really shows the fact that he is Spider-Man (scene where he throws a foot ball and it bends a poll) and he does these things in front of groups of people. If you are the most wanted man in the city perhaps it would be a good idea not to draw to much attention to yourself. Another missed thing was the famous line “with great power comes great responsibility” I was waiting like a giddy little girl waiting to hear the line that defined Peter Parkers new life.
But perhaps the biggest disappointment in the whole movie was in fact the Lizard himself. Rhys Ifans supplies the voice and motion work for the Lizard and his portrayal of Dr Connors is perfect. Fans have been waiting since Spider-Man 2 for Dr Connors to make his reptilian transformation and it is great that with the Amazing Spider-Man they are finally getting their wish. However Dr. Connors is a very complex character, most villains in Spider-Man are but Dr. Connors is a great story of tragedy, he is a man with a family, he is kind at heart and becomes a father figure to Peter. With the quest to learn more about his father I would have expected more of a relationship between the two like there is in the comics and the Raimi movies. However Peter really only talks with Connors three times in the whole movie. The transition from sympathetic scientist to crazed psychopathic super villain is so sudden it practically threw me out of the movie. I was hoping for more of a Seth Brundle Transformation with the character with a more slow Lizard transformation, instead he turns into the Lizard the moment he grows his arm back. However each time he transforms he does look more lizard like, I was just hoping for more of a tragic transformation, but since this is the origin story of Spider-Man you can’t really flesh out any other characters.
Although I was very excited to see Spidey on the big screen again I still have to rate this, and I give the Amazing Spider-Man a
6/10
Perhaps I am a salve to nostalgia but I do prefer Sam Raimi’s first film, there was a sort of magic quality to the movie and every time I watched one of them whether it is at home or in the theater I knew I wanted to watch it again. With the Amazing Spider-Man I really could care less if I watched it again, it’s good to watch once and you might like it if you are really into Spider-Man. However after releasing the Avengers this is a rather weak film to follow Marvel’s next huge success. The Amazing Spider-Man is not so amazing and more average than anything else and many things were explored better in the 2002 film, the darker tone does work well with the movie and I am looking forward to see where the sequel till take us, but for now this is just another mediocre summer action film.
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