Update!

Yeah. . . three weeks without a post is terrible I know.  A lot of real-life stuff came up, work was really rough and my experiments with Five Hour Energy did not work out as planned.  Nonetheless, those are all the excuses I’ve got.  I’ll try to get another post out this week, but it might take until next week depending on circumstances.  I will only be making posts every two weeks from now on as well, but I plan to actually be consistent with them from now on.

The Amazing Spider-Man – No More Tobey

It’s already here, actually

I apologize for the two week wait, I had a few issues with work and the realization that, if I’m going to review a movie that I see in theaters, I have to do it the very next day or not at all.  Now you get to enjoy a review of a film that hasn’t even seen its first weekend: The Amazing Spider-Man.  Does it live up to the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire films?  We’ll see.

Story

Like the 2002 Spider-Man film, The Amazing Spider-Man is an origin story.  Peter Parker is an awkward teen that lives with his aunt and uncle, gets bitten by an enhanced super-spider, and gains his trademark powers (though they did miss the Spider Sense).  Uncle Ben is then shot and killed by a thief whom Peter could have stopped, leading him to become a vigilante.  The basic plot similarities between this film and the 2002 movie may bore some viewers, but there are more than enough differences for The Amazing Spider-Man to stand on its own.  One of Peter Parker’s biggest motivations in the movie is to find out what happened to his parents, who left him with Aunt May and Uncle Ben at a young age before departing for parts unknown.  His investigations lead him to Dr. Connors, a former college of his father’s, who reveals that the two of them were researching cross-species genetics as a way to cure illnesses and re-grow lost limbs.  Dr. Connors is still involved with cross-species genetics research under Oscorp, and is being pressured by his superior to find a cure for the unseen CEO of Oscorp, Norman Osborn.

Of course, cross-species genetics were responsible for creating the spider that gave Peter his powers, and also give birth to Spider-Man’s first nemesis and the main antagonist of the film: The Lizard.  Well, the main antagonist alongside Oscorp, which operates as your standard mysterious corporation that drives the plot along with its complete lack of business ethics.  Peter also has to deal with the police’s attempts to bring him in, which is made awkward considering the manhunt is led by Cpt. George Stacy, the father of his girlfriend Gwen.

The movie focuses mainly on Peter’s troubles and heroic exploits as Spider-Man and has very few subplots, thus allowing more time for the characters to shine (and shine they do).  The film leaves a lot of loose ends when it comes to the whereabouts of Peter’s parents and the future role of Oscorp, but ultimately leaves plenty of material for potential sequel films to cover, and creates some buzz for the next one with a post-credits scene.  Marvel movies in general have gotten really good at the whole hype-creating thing.

Characters

Andrew Garfield plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man, who I think pulls off the role much better than Tobey Maguire did.  Garfield actually looks and acts like an awkward outcast, as opposed to Maguire’s Hollywood nerd character.  Peter’s troubled past and high intelligence play major roles in the story too; both were ignored in the 2002 film.  He doesn’t become a wise cracking vigilante right away either – he actively hunts the criminal that killed Uncle Ben and pushes his aunt away in the process.  The parts where he does wise crack behind the mask are short, but quite amusing nonetheless.  I actually would’ve liked to see more of that. . . maybe in the sequel.  Peter’s development from a troubled and angry teen into a true hero really shows as he earns the respect of the people around him: he doesn’t just take Uncle Ben’s advice and develop fully right then and there.  The difference in personality that Peter displays behind the mask as opposed to his normal behavior is also displayed quite nicely.

Dr. Connors’ motivations are known right from the start: he wants to help sick and disabled people through his cross-species genetics research, including himself (he has one arm).  He feels that everyone should be able to benefit from his breakthroughs (which Peter helped him achieve).  These desires end up causing huge problems for Connors and Spider-Man, when his superiors at Oscorp push the normally ethical scientist to extreme measures.  Connors is ultimately a flawed character that both Peter and the viewers sympathize with, even as his actions become more and more extreme.

Gwen Stacy, not Mary Jane, was Peter Parker’s first love in the comics, and correctly appears in this movie.  Even though Peter is a shy outcast and Gwen is extroverted and (presumably) popular, they end up getting together thanks to the bond of science and the age-old “opposites attract” theory.  Emma Stone plays Gwen as a peppy and somewhat stubborn girl, who insists on staying with Peter and helping him out even after learning of his alter ego (while somehow avoiding damsel in distress status).  Though the vast differences between the two lead to some. . . interesting exchanges of dialogue.

And by interesting I mean hilariously awkward.

Uncle Ben and Aunt May are essentially Peter’s parents, and act as such; worrying about Peter’s increasingly angry behavior and embarrassing him in front of Gwen.  Uncle Ben (played wonderfully by Martin Sheen) in particular establishes himself as a witty yet hard-working blue collar man, who only wants Peter to be happy.  When Ben meets his tragic end, it’s quite jarring, even though most viewers know its coming.  Almost all of the major characters are affected by his death as well, even the SCHOOL BULLY that torments Peter.  Aunt May, who originally stood up for Peter when Ben scolded him, ended up scolding Peter herself when the former’s behavior turned cold.

Police Captain George Stacy leads the manhunt for Spider-Man, assuming the role of the authority figure that opposes the web-slinger’s vigilante activities.  He and the police pose a much bigger threat to Spider-Man than J. Jonah Jameson and his negative PR did in the first film: they are far more competent than most superhero movie cops.  He has a strong sense of justice, and thus is easily irritated when Peter defends Spider-Man’s actions over dinner with the Stacy family.

Flash Thompson, the jock that constantly bullies Peter at school, does more than simply fill the role of stereotypical school bully.  While he does beat on Peter and some others, he starts to show humility after being stood up to and embarrassed by a super-powered Parker.  He stops bullying Peter completely after Uncle Ben’s death, sympathizing with him, and eventually even befriending him.  His hero worship of Spider-Man is touched on as well.  This is probably the first time I’ve wanted a school bully type to actually recur in a series.

Visuals

The previous series of Spider-Man films (and many of the more recent Marvel comics films) have all boasted impressive visuals and fight scenes, and The Amazing Spider-Man is no different.  Overhead shots of the city, particularly those featuring Oscorp Tower, stand out among billions of similar shots in other films.  The stunts and fight scenes are pulled off with more realism than in the previous Spidey films.  Spider-Man actually looks like he’s swinging from building to building as opposed to gliding through the air with a rope, and the fight scenes involve no shaky camera tricks, only Spidey flipping off walls onto guys’ shoulders and tossing them down with his legs.

Maximum Spider!

The Lizard is brought to life with a combination of stunt doubles, CGI and motion capture, with the final product being genuinely intimidating and slightly creepy with the human-like scaly head attached to a 10-foot tall monster body.  He smashes things and tries to break Spidey’s arms as you’d expect, but he also talks: personally I’d rather he look more lizard-like as far as the head goes.  The Lizard’s going to look silly either way when he’s taunting Spider-Man with his booming voice.  This movie manages to make good use of 3D, focusing on Spider-Man’s web slinging and swinging and taking advantage of The Lizard’s huge size and large pieces of debris.  At the same time, they’re smart enough to keep it out of the way during character moments.  This movie was actually shot for 3D unlike many of its brethren, resulting in a much cleaner product.

The last thing you want to see outside your window

Music

There really isn’t a whole lot to say about the soundtrack of the movie: it recalls the music other Marvel films like The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers with its dramatic crescendos at “epic” moments and its quiet background chords during dialogue.  The music certainly is not a huge factor in the film, especially during extended character scenes where it’s absent altogether.  The 2002 film actually eclipses Amazing Spider-Man in this regard. . . the original had to win SOMETHING, right?

Overall

The Amazing Spider-Man looks and feels like your usual summer superhero movie, but is more realistic with its visuals and its characters.  Nothing feels bland in this film, despite the plot being very simplistic and Spider-Man’s origin treading the same ground as the 2002 version at times.  It is quite similar to The Avengers in that it actually feels like a comic book movie, with The Avengers focusing a bit more on the humor aspect of comic stories.  Spidey comics were always a bit more serious than others, along with the X-Men, so it makes sense for Peter Parker’s character development to be at the forefront.  This is by far the best Spider-Man movie yet – I would recommend it to any movie lover of any age.