The Amazing Spider-Man

Review #190, Movie #256
The Amazing Spider-Man

Year Of Release
2012

Director
Marc Webb

Producer
Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach

Writer
James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent, Steve Kloves

Cast
Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Sally Field, Irrfan Khan, Chris Zylka, Dennis Leary and Martin Sheen

Notes
Anne Hathaway was nearly cast as The Black Cat, but instead was cast as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in TDKR.
Garfield has admitted to crying when he first put on the Spidersuit... through joy and pride.
The reason Dennis Leary applied for the role of Captain George Stacy, was because a Spideyfan friend of his thought he really was George Stacy when they first met. It spawned Leary into auditioning.

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Peter Parker is a bit of an outsider. He has a brilliant mind for science and technology, but all his life he's never really fit in to any group or social situation. His parents vanished when he was a young boy and has been raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May...

... when he comes across an old satchel of his Father's that contains a photograph, Peter's curiosity is sparked and he goes in search of a man who is in the picture with his Father.

What he discovers is a scientist called Dr Curt Connors, and Peter sneeks into Connors' Genetics Lab in Oscorp, and ends up getting bitten by a spider...

... but more discovery and tragedy is around the corner, when Uncle Ben ends up in trouble and it appears that Connors has been experimenting on more than just tiny arachnids... and the newly dubbed vigilante Spider-Man is the only person capable of stopping what Connors has created.

Wow. I was extremely dubious about rebooting the Spider-Man franchise so soon after Sam Raimi's attempts.
It's very hard not to compare them really, but what should be taken into account, is that I was wrong to doubt this film.

It's on a par in many ways to, and in some places it's a hell of a lot better, than Raimi's films.

For a start, the overall development of the story and characters feels much more fleshed out.
Peter in particular has been written to be more real than any incarnation before too.

The main thing is the character arcs and general exposition. Some of it is predictable, anyone who knows Spider-Man will know what to expect...

... but most of is feels fresh and original and gives the relatively newly written characters some real depth and vulnerability mixed with strength and confidence. Especially Peter Parker.

His general persona has been tweeked too. He feels more like a real person than just a "guy who is a nerd who gets powers". His reason for taking to the streets is more believable too... hunting for a shadowy figure...

The overall thing with this is that it builds a story and characters that you actually care about... especially when certain tragedies hit. They're all more, well, human.

What works though, is the realistic and darker tone that runs throughout the film. It's not as bright and comicbook looking as Raimi's films and tends to give 'colour' to the film thorugh the characters' personalities and the script writing.

Which brings me to the dialogue. It's very well put together.
It's real, realistic, full of situational and wisecracking humour and has some believable serious tones throughout too.

Another thing, is that the filmmakers haven't tried to cram as much stuff as possible into the 120 minute running time.
It's the beginning of Spider-Man and the background of Peter Parker. Other incarnations have tended to have Peter at school, the next thing he's juggling crime fighting and working at the Bugle... this film is a lead up, a starting point... an origins story.

The acting is also ramped up in this one.
Andrew Garfield as Peter/Spidey is a really good choice. He hasn't tried to emphasise other incarnations of everyone's favourite web-slinger. Garfield holds to the wisecracking and confident side of Spider-Man alongside the relatively rebellious and tortured soul of Peter Parker extremely well. It's definitely a complex role and Garfield does it very well.

Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy is also a perfect piece of casting. Instead of just being a damsel in distress, her character has been tweeked and moulded into a relatively strong, yet fallible love interest for Parker. Stone's chemistry with Garfield and onscreen Father Dennis Leary is also extremely engaging. Stone is fantastic.

Rys Ifans plays Dr Curt Connors. Now, Ifans is brilliant in the role, but Dr Connors himself seems more of a rewritten Norman Osborne from Raimi's film... it's all just too samey really. His overall transformation and character arc is well written though and Ifans shines in the dual personality.

Backup comes from Dennis Leary, Sally Field as Aunt May and Martin Sheen's Uncle Ben is exceptionally likeable... I loved Sheen as Ben.

Now the action and effects. It's easy to say we've seen it all before (Raimi's films), but what the movie isn't, is more of the same.

Amazing really is that. It's exciting, full of great CG effects and combines the realistic darker tones with the humour perfectly and gives the whole film a real grounded feel in the action stakes. It's not all fantastical comicbook OTT action.

With the really likeable characters and acting, it lifts the action to new heights and makes the viewer fix themselves to the screen.

Another thing is Spidey's abilities. He's not just another Raimi Spider-Man who swings through the streets. The overall athletic abilities of the character have been ramped up, and there's even some nice realistic touches added to the abilities, including setting a giant web in the sewers and waiting for something to disturb the strands and coccooning bad guys like a Spider with a Fly...

One thing I was dubious about though, was the loss of natural web slinging and Parker having to build a braclet for his webs. Still though, it's in keeping to the comic and has been utilised really well.

The soundtrack is also heroic, uplifting, spooky at times and is wonderfully fitting for the film.

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All in all, after initially not liking the film, I've given it another watch and I've found myself actually loving it.
It's exciting, filled with great character writing, fantastic chemistry and some really well pieced together dark tones and humour too. Some of it is laugh out loud and very recognisable.
The backstory is also utilised better than any other incarnation of Spidey and gives real depth of character to the screenplay and characters involved.

Not a superbly fantastic film, but certainly an Amazing film. Bring on the sequel!!

My rating: 95%