The Amazing Spiderman

My Grade:  C

I can’t say that I’m a Spiderman fan.  I actually am not a huge fan of superhero films or the comic book genre in general.  But I tried my best to go into The Amazing Spiderman with an open mind and an unbiased approach… but my expectations were not high.  So at least I wasn’t let down.

In this update… reboot… new take… whatever it is, Peter Parker is in high school and is NOT in love with Mary Jane; he is in love with Gwen Stacy.  She pretty much serves the same purpose as Mary Jane did in the first Spiderman film, though.  As a matter of fact, everyone pretty much serves the same purpose as their character did in the first Spiderman film.  This is essentially the same movie.  But I guess there are a few differences that make this film recognizable as its own thing.  For instance, in an effort to make the film darker (more Chris Nolan-esque), they decided to throw in some things that you find in the Batman films.  That whole originality thing wasn’t really a concern during the making of this film, apparently.

Now, to get off my soapbox, let’s talk about the most notably different thing in this new take on Spiderman:  the cast.  Andrew Garfield (“The Social Network”) plays the younger Spiderman and he does pretty well.  He brings an immature nervousness to the character that really works for the high school version of this superhero.  He also has a baby face, so he believably pulls off his “age.”  That is in part due to good costuming and makeup as well, though.  Emma Stone, however, does not convince me she is in high school as Gwen Stacy.  As much as I love her (for her looks AND talent), I think she was miscast here.  Stacy seems almost too immature, which is probably in most part due to the writing; but, Stone just seems out of place in such an immature role.  I do love Sally Field and Martin Sheen as Aunt May and Uncle Ben, though.  They are great, as usual.

The biggest problem of the film is the bad guy a.k.a. “The Lizard.”  Rhys Ifans is a great choice for Dr. Curt Conners… but not The Lizard.  And, what’s worse, is that The Lizard is just a poor choice of bad guy.  They might could have made him better but he just isn’t as scary as he needs to be.  His voice is lame, he doesn’t look good, and his motivation is terrible.  The thing that makes a good bad guy is a strong motivation which makes him think he is the good guy.  I can’t really explain why his ultimate plan is lame and doesn’t make sense without giving anything away; so just watch it and you’ll agree that his master plan is dumb (for lack of a better word).  The ONLY THING that makes him scary is that he is so much bigger than Spiderman… that’s it.

There are so many cheesy things in this film that I can’t list them all, but one involves some blue collar workers and a set of strategically placed cranes; and another involves ridiculous displays of Spiderman’s strength that are supposed to make us laugh.  The fight scenes even get pretty cheesy because they are ALL THE SAME.  After you watch the first one, you’ve seen them all (except for Stan Lee’s cameo).

There are two really cool things that make this film watchable.  First the chemistry between Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield is very good.  It better be since they are dating in real life.  And some of the conversations they have showcase the film’s best writing (especially the scene in which he first asks her out… sort of).  Secondly, there is a scene in which Spiderman creates a web and uses the vibrations from that web to detect his target.  Yes, just like a real spider.  That is pretty cool.  And one more thing:  the spidey suit looks way better in this film.

Overall this film is not needed since it doesn’t offer enough new stuff from the original.  I know it’s based on a different comic book, but give us something new and fresh, please!  At least a menacing bad guy!  Well the not-so-surprising news is that there is already a sequel in the works.  We can only hope that it is better than this one.  And I really hope that they picked Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) to direct again, because his name is PERFECT for Spiderman films.