The Amazing Spider Man

The Amazing Spider-Man is not a continuation of the previous Spider-Man franchise. If you saw the atrocity that was Spider-Man 3, you can understand why they had to reboot it. So as it goes with most reboots, you have to tell the origin story of the hero first. Take Batman Begins for example. It had the very large task of making Batman look cool again after the George Clooney Batman films introduced the "Bat-nipples". I shudder just thinking about those movies. But the same task is set in front of The Amazing Spider-Man.


So did it succeed?


I'll tell you what it didn't do. It sure as hell didn't disappoint. 


Unfortunately, with this being an origins story, The Amazing Spider-Man treads very VERY familiar ground as the first Spider-Man movie. This is a bummer because truthfully, I think this one is better. In fact, if I had to rate all four Spider-Man-based movies right now, The Amazing Spider-Man would get a close second behind Spider-Man 2. But the fact still remains that as I watch this movie, it feels as if I have seen it all before. And that is not necessarily a bad thing, it's just unfortunate that that is the nature of reboots. I cannot wait to see what this team can do with a sequel (which, surprise surprise, is already in the works and has been for months). 

In The Avengers review I stated that I very badly wanted to be
Iron Man. I would now settle for Spider-Man as well...

The action scenes are phenomenal. It is very easy to tell
where everyone is at any point in time

Perhaps my least favorite part about this reboot is the fact that it doesnt take any liberties to shake up the origins story a bit. I know that with the comic book fanboys you cant take too many liberties, but come on...does Uncle Ben really have to die again? Why not Aunt May? I guess I just wish there would have been more done to distinguish this origin story from the original movie. 


My other big complaint about the film (and then I promise I will get into the good stuff, which there is a lot of) is the villain. For starters, I didnt really like the guy who acted him, and in this day and age, a villain should be a memorable performance in a movie. Examples: Alfred Molina in Spider-Man 2 and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. Hell, even Loki had a better performance in The Avengers. Needless to say, I was just not sold. And once the human villain turns into the Lizard...well, it looks kinda stupid. The Lizard is a completely CG character, and while the CG in this movie is phenomenal, I cant just help but think that human villains are better nine times out of ten. Might just be my personal opinion, but I thought he was a lame bad guy who looked even lamer. But oh well. Hopefully they choose a better villain for the next one (fingers crossed for a non-Topher-Grace Venom!). 

I told you he looked dumb. I mean how does a Lizard even hold
canisters anyways? They have NO THUMBS!! 

Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are perfect together.
It's no wonder they are a real life couple...damn him.

Where The Amazing Spider-Man succeeds, and dare I say where it will beat both of the other major super hero movies this summer, is in its heart. The movie is directed by Marc Webb (haha get it? WEBB! Like a spider! Ok I'll stop...) who has previous experience in dealing with love-stories and teenage drama when he directed 500 Days of Summer. And while some credit goes to him, the real credit goes to whoever paired Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield together because they certainly have some chemistry. They are both superb actors, and they play off of each other near-perfectly. There is just something about them...when they are talking for the first time, trying to awkwardly set up a first date, trying to kiss for the first time...that you just want them to succeed and make it. It makes for a strong personal connection to the movie when things are going both good and bad. 

First-person Spider-Man in 3D? Whoever's idea that was needs a promotion ASAP

Lastly, The Amazing Spider-Man succeeds in its action sequences. And I should really clarify that statement. There are no super-memorable action sequences other than the last one. There is a bridge fight, a sewer fight, and a school fight...all of which are filmed phenomenally, but not necessarily memorable. If you want some SUPER-memorable action sequences...you would be better off watching The Avengers again. But The Amazing Spider-Man is inventive, as in Best-3D-Movie-Since-Tron-Legacy inventive. Do you know how much fun it is to be in a 3D theater when Spider-Man goes into first person, webslinging through the air? Frankly, I was about two beers away from throwing my hands in the air like it was a roller coaster. And when it wasn't in first person, the camera closes in on Spidey as he is swinging to make it even more intense than before as he twists, flips, and plummets through the air. SO MUCH FUN. 

I'm starting to realize now just how this summer's extravaganza of superhero movies is going to pan out. The Avengers will be the super-fun, super-hilarious fanboy megahit. The Amazing Spider Man will be the film with the heart, cool ideas, and convincing relationships. Assuming that The Dark Knight Rises will be everything we hope it will be, it will be the one that is real, gritty, depressing, and mind-blowing. Each film will be fantastic, but in its own unique way. 

It is certainly shaping up to be one legendary summer for the superheros. 

Pros:

• Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are perfect as Peter and Gwen. They make us care for them and are highly believable. Everyone else in the film is good...but pale in comparison
• The action scenes are fantastic, although not very memorable. There is a LOT more inventive style of fighting in this film than all of the previous trilogy
• First person webslinging...nuff' said
• Great visuals, great CG, awesome 3D, and a fantastic ending set piece
• The soundtrack is awesome. And guess who created the original score? None other than James Horner himself (responsible for the Titanic soundtrack). Some very chilling moments all due to the music that is playing
• Stan Lee's cameo is the best one he has had in any of the Marvel movies yet
• Gets me excited for the next film where there will be no retread of plot points from the original trilogy

Cons:

• The Lizard is a stupid villain both in human form and in animal form. He just looks cheesy
• There are times where I feel like I was watching the original Spider-Man. More liberties could have been taken to alter the origin story I feel like
• At times the movie moves along inexplicably. One moment Peter and Gwen are talking and heading off to class and the next minute the school is torn to shreds and Spider-Man is there
• There is a scene where Peter Parker dunks a basketball that was just absolutely terrible. Looked like something right out of a Disney Channel Movie

Rath's Review Score: 8.5/10