The Amazing Spider-Man is back to spin a brand new web. Is it of spectacular design, or just an old dusty cob-web? Read on to find out…
Short nitty-gritty plot description from IMDb is as follows: Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents
disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course
with Dr. Curt Connors, his father’s former partner.
Ten years and a couple sequels later and we got ourselves a reboot. Thank god too, cause Spider-Man 3 was an abysmal movie that deserves to be stepped on (I’ll take the rain over that movie). Maybe it’s because of the bad taste in my mouth from the last entry, or maybe it’s due to not having seen the previous ones in forever, but I completely thought this new The Amazing Spider-Man was fantastic. I adored Andrew Garfield’s, dorky, funny and down to earth role as Peter Parker. He manages to capture that certain essence that was needed to portray Peter Parker properly. The chemistry between him and Emma Stone’s, Gwen Stacy is heartwarming. I couldn’t stand Kirsten Dunst’s, Mary Jane Watson, so I’m glad that I immediately took to Emma Stone. Plus, she’s quite the looker.
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| Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker… sexual tension. |
You can truly see the love in Martin Sheen’s fatherly role as Uncle Ben. He cares for Peter Parker and when certain turn of events occur, you feel great sadness. Not much can be said on Sally Field’s role as Aunt May. Her presence in the film is thin, so you don’t get any sort of attachment to her. I hope maybe she has a little more screen time in the eventual sequel, as what I did see was fine. Dennis Leary shows up as Gwen Stacy’s father and cop who is trying to catch Spider-Man. He was funny when needed, but like Sally Field, his role is limited. Lastly, Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors/ The Lizard was top notch. I especially loved the Lizard in this film. The CGI work was fantastic (trust me, I’m surprised as much as you are). He made a great villain and perfect adversary for our new Webhead. The voice, oh the voice. Such menace. Perfect.
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| The Lizard attacks! |
The Amazing Spider-Man may not have a memorable theme song like those other superheroes, but the music more than does the job. I especially enjoyed the random one notes that occur during certain scenes with The Lizard. It set a pace that was tension filled and helped sell the situation that our characters were put in.
Now, that’s all the positives for the film, but what about the negatives? I felt that the pacing was a little too quick after Peter gets bit by the spider. The lead up to it was fantastic, with some great character development with Peter and his grandfather, school and Gwen Stacy. The film then quickly flies through with him learning his powers, making the suit and catching bad guys. I understand wanting to bring the run time down by cramming as much in as possible, but I really think more time should’ve been spent on Peter learning his new spidey-powers. The ending also comes up fairly quick, with the inevitable stand off between Spider-Man and The Lizard resolving itself suddenly. Also, someone should point out to Spider-Man that the mask is meant to be worn, not constantly taken off. Like seriously, dude! They call it a disguise for a reason.
Conclusion time! Can I say for sure that I liked this better than Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man? Honestly, right now I feel like I do. I really enjoyed the new Peter Parker and the villain was ferocious, but without having watched Sam’s Spider-Man in forever, I can’t make a concrete judgement. This doesn’t mean this film isn’t great, cause it is. It just means that no matter what your opinion is on the old versus the new, you’re still going to have a blast at the theatres if you decide to watch this film. I say definitely sling into your closest cinema to give this movie a spin.
Rating:
