The Amazing Spider-Man
When I found out that the Spider-Man franchise was going to be rebooted I almost decided to boycott this movie. In face, I did decide to boycott this movie. Spider-Man 3 was released in 2007. It’s been just around 5 years since the last time we saw Spidey on screen. That doesn’t seem all that long. I can still remember how bad a train wreck that movie was. Unfortunately I still have captions of Tobey Maguire, dancing on the streets of New York, like an emo prince. It’s a wretched replay to have stuck in your mind.
Anyway, I would like to think that Hollywood operates by some type of ethics. The guys at Warner Bros. got it right. Batman Forever was released in 1995. That movie was worse than Spider-Man. It almost killed the greatest superhero franchise. I’ll never forgive Joel Schumacher for that movie. I’ll never see another of his movies because of it. We didn’t get another Batman movie until 2005. That’s a decade. It’s a nice stretch of time to give people time to forget the junk that preceded it. All the faces were new. The director was new. They delivered and resurrected Batman.
The Spider-Man franchise was not in dire straits like Batman. They just made a bad movie. They didn’t kill the character. I think they could have waited longer and delivered the public a movie that satisfied. It could have been a stand-alone story. They may’ve been able to use some of the same characters. Even though they were getting older. Instead the studio took a risk. They decided to reboot the franchise. They filmed an origin story.
Reboots and origin stories are almost four letter words among the general public when it comes to Hollywood. It seems like is either the origin of a character or the reboot of an old movie or television show. If you’re going to take a movie, whose sequel was released 5 years earlier, and reboot it then you’re going to need to deliver. You need to deliver big!
Thankfully, Marc Webb and company delivered big.
Plot
Grade: 8/10
I’m sort’ve lowballing the plot here. It wasn’t bad. I enjoyed it very much. It wasn’t a total recycling of the previous origin story. There were new aspects that I’d never seen used before. I’ve never followed any of the Spider-Man series. Therefore, I don’t know how true to cannon this is. Being a guy who’s ignorant of Spidey’s background I was cool with the story.
You’re not going to see anything new. Other than the inclusion of Peter Parker’s parents everything much is pretty much the same. Uncle Ben and Aunt May raise Peter from the time he’s a child. Peter is bitten by a spider and undergoes a physiological change. He begins to abuse his powers and Uncle Ben gives him the, “with great power comes great responsibility” speech. (Even though the quote wasn’t used verbatim, and that disappointed me, it worked well.) Uncle Ben is also killed and that causes Peter to have an awakening and understand what his powers need to be used for. See, nothing new here, folks.
The thing that works so well for The Amazing Spider-Man is the execution of the story telling. You can take any trope or overused idea, nail the execution, and you have a quality story or film on your hands. I’ve got to applaud the moviemakers for nailing this. Good job, guys.
Character
Grade: 9/10
I liked the choice of villain for this movie. The Lizard is a villain I’m not too familiar with. That helped me. If they decided to go with Norman Osborn from the beginning, and have Spider-Man duke it out with Green Goblin, which would have sealed the deal for me. I wouldn’t have seen this movie. With comic movies one of the mistakes Hollywood can make is using just the popular villains (I’m not saying The Lizard isn’t popular.), the villains that work best on screen, or the ones that have the coolest powers. I’m glad they didn’t use Carnage or Venom. Those are by far the most awesome villains of Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery, but the used The Lizard in a way that added depth to the movie.
How about Peter Parker/Spider-Man? Andrew Garfield, in my opinion, portrays him much better than Tobey Maguire. I’m a Tobey Maguire fan. Enjoyed his performance of the character, but Andrew Garfield was meant to be Spider-Man. He’s awkward, over confident, and sarcastic. Andrew Garfield is a damn fine actor. I thought he was one of the bright spots of The Social Network. I never would have pictured him as a superhero, and to put him in such big shoes paid off.
With The Amazing Spider-Man Mary Jane Watson is nowhere to be found. To the general public you would think that this would have been the way the studio would want to go. The name is in the collective consciousness of everyone. Instead they went with someone less recognizable. I had to shoot over to Wikipedia and find out Gwen Stacy’s background. Emma Stone fills the role of Miss Stacy. They scored big with Emma Stone’s casting. She’s one of the best actresses out there. She’s funny, charming, and attractive. Gwen Stacy is the type of girl I would’ve had a crush on in high school. I identified with Peter and Gwen’s relationship and enjoyed their time on screen together.
Dialogue
Grade: 7.9/10
As far as the writing of the dialogue I have no problem. It’s well written, well delivered, and some of the better dialogue for a comic based movie. There were some scenes where I had problems understanding people. There are times when Andrew Garfield talks soft or mumbles. I’m the type of guy who turns the television, or a movie, on blast when watching it. I guess I’m hard of hearing. Rhys Ifan’s accent got to me at times and I wondered what the heck he was saying, but that was seldom, and not much of a problem. This problem is sorta petty and takes away from the score, but it annoyed me at times.
Entertainment
Grade: 10/10
The action scenes for The Amazing Spider-Man are over the top and exciting. At times I laughed out loud to myself. The web work and fighting kept me on the edge of my seat, and a time or two I’m sure I gasped. The Lizard gave the movie a David versus Goliath aspect. You were never sure if Spider-Man would end up with a mashed face or broken bones. You’ll wonder how exactly can a teenage boy overcome a super villain. The ending pays off and you’re left satisfied. I didn’t expect them to do what they did, and that’s good movie making. I can see what they’re setting the sequels up for. Can’t wait to see that play out on screen.
Overall: 8.7
If we’re going by my math here I liked this movie better than The Avengers. I’m thinking about it and find it hard to answer that question. In some aspects, I have to say, yes. The Amazing Spider-Man is a well made movie, and turned out much better than I thought it would. Even since I saw the first trailer I’ve said this movie would be good, but I didn’t think it would be so good. It’s exciting, emotional, and a roller coaster ride. Definitely a must see summer flick. You won’t be disappointed.
Before I go, two more weeks until The Dark Knight Rises. I can’t wait, folks. It’s been a long time coming.
