The Amazing Spider-Man
July 7, 2012
by J.D. Cook
When the new Spider-Man film was announced I met it with a large yawn. I didn’t like the casting or the new suit update at all. I don’t know why they give Spider-Man a suit that looks like rubber; why change one of the most iconic looks in comics?! As the release date moved closer I suddenly found myself interested in the film. The Lizard, one of my favorite Spider-Man villains looked great! I still held off on becoming excited because I had been burned by last year’s X-Men: First Class. That film had also got me excited at the last minute only to disappoint me in ridiculous fashion. So would the Amazing Spider-Man disappoint or excite?
Spoilers From Here On
I’ll start with my only major problems with this film before I rave about it. There are a few scenes that are too similar to the original Spider-Man film. There is one where Flash Thompson puts a kids face in his lunch…I’ve seen that before pretty much. I also have a problem with these ridiculous bulling scenes. Yes bulling happens but it’s never so out in the open. It’s a more subtle thing. Bullies will run you down verbally and may never hit you and if they do it’s usually when they are with their friends and you are alone because bullies are fundamentally cowardly. There is also a scene with Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) where he says almost the same lines about ‘whether the other guy deserved to get beat up’. There is also a scene where the Lizard talks to himself much like William Dafoe’s Green Goblin. Another very minor problem is that Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacey has an internship with the super science corporation Oscorp. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a small town but I didn’t know of any seniors with any sort of internship that prestigious but it didn’t take away from the film. That’s really the extent of my problems!
Andrew Garfield blows away Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker and Spider-man. He portrays a Peter that is angst-ridden and has abandonment issues! As Spider-man he banters like a cocky teenager with a fast car! He sounds exactly like Spider-man should! In the past Spidey films Maguire sounded downright laughable trying to deliver lines as Spider-man. Emma Stone is equally excellent as Gwen Stacey. Their romance is completely believable and emotional. The thing that really drew me into this film prior to release was the Lizard. He was one of my favorite Spider-Man baddies due to the fact that he was a literal Jekyll and Hyde character. Connors was good and his alter ego the Lizard was evil. They got his nefarious plot correct. In the cartoon show he was always obsessed with making people into lizards and they did that plot perfectly in this film.
The best part of the film was how invested I quickly became in it. When Parker’s Uncle Ben died I was bummed, even though I knew it was coming and the second death of the film was even more upsetting. My favorite scene in the film was when a crane worker whose son Spider-Man had saved earlier in the film arranged the cranes in the city so Spidey could reach the Oscorp building to stop the Lizard. This was a great moment that showed any kids who were watching the film that you didn’t need web shooters or super powers to be a hero. There was also a heroic moment when Captain Stacey (Denis Leary) of the NYPD saved Spider-Man. Even Flash Thompson was done extremely well. He was not just some bully. As the film went on he grew to respect and like Parker just like in the comic books. Perhaps there is a film starring Agent Venom slated for the future?
There was also a really awesome amount of science in this Spider-Man film. Parker builds his web shooters and the Lizard’s final plan involves a lot more than the Green Goblin’s in the original Spider-Man. Of course another great thing about this film is that Norman Osborn makes a shadowy appearance in this film as a bigger baddie to be faced in future films. It seems people are learning from Marvel’s movie example. I can’t say enough about this film. It was so much more realistic and human then the originals. Instead of ending with a silly monologue about why Spider-Man can’t be with the girl (he ends up with in the sequel anyway) the film leaves things open. I can’t wait to see this film again and go back through the emotion of it all.
This is a must see!
~
I loved the monologue at the end of the first one, sometimes I watch it if I’m feeling down and it actually helps. As for the crane scene, I loved the sentiment behind it (Spidey is New York’s superhero/people appreciate what he’s doing/anyone can be a hero) but I thought the sentiment was also better communicated in Raimi’s original when everyone on the bridge started throwing garbage at Green Goblin. In this it kind of took me out of the movie. I was quickly drawn back in, nonetheless…the movie as a whole is excellent, is leaps and bounds better than Spider-Man 3 and is up there with 1 and 2 (where exactly it lies amongst them is up for you to decide). Andrew Garfield is an amazing Spider-Man and a spectacular Peter Parker (puns intended), and Emma Stone looks like Gwen Stacy so much it’s actually scary. These two leads, as well as the chemistry between them, pretty much defined the movie for me. It’s an incredible love story and their emotions are palpable on screen. This movie made me more excited for a sequel, because they’re really building up Peter/Gwen so when the inevitable happens, it’s truly tragic. Martin Sheen was also surprisingly good as Uncle Ben, I felt he brought everything to the table the character needed. Sally Field as Aunt May didn’t have as much screen time as I’m sure she will in the future, but she did have my favorite line in the movie (“If you’re anything, Peter Parker, it’s good.”). Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors was great as well, they really got the character in the sense that he’s pretty much a werewolf. It’s not like Green Goblin or Doc Ock who go crazy, Connors is a legitimately good person when himself, and bad when he’s the Lizard. He can’t help it. Denis Leary as Captain Stacy was the surprise for me. I loved his interplay with Peter. In the comics, Stacy is the one who trusts Spider-Man. He lobbies for the hero and believes that he’s what the city needs. It took a little bit for this Captain Stacy to reach that point, but when he does, I thought the movie was at it’s best. It’s unfair that reviews for the movie seem to be negative simply because it exists or has similarities to the original…1- Judge the movie on it’s own merit, and 2- They’re similar because they’re both faithful to the comic books. I’d say this one even more so.
First!! It’s Dafoe. Second!!!! It’s jekyll and hyde (jackal and hyde is some random band; found out through the magic of the internet)
Grammar police awayy!!!
All in all, I shall watch it again with you perhaps sir!! and we will bring along nick larsen
Oliver…I’m going to have to use you as my new editor. James I felt like you did about the crane scene about the Garbage scene. I felt like it bordered on ridiculous when a bunch of people on a bridge got out of their cars to attack Goblin and yelled completely silly lines like “You mess with one of us you mess with us all” The Goblin didn’t even blow their dumb asses up! I feel like scenes like that have to be more subtle. I would say two did the best job of those scenes when the people won’t let Doctor Octopus take Spidey. It’s a light touch that worked really well.