The Amazing Spiderman: Review

By Spence Blazak

How bad was Spiderman 3? It apparently set off a bomb erasing every character and the public’s memory of them from the Marvel Universe. It also caused this writer to hide in the corner of his room in fetal position. The fact that The Amazing Spiderman even exists is a testament to the pinnacle of terribleness that its predecessor represented. But, this might not be a bad thing. As any of the many Spiderman faithful who trekked to the movie’s midnight premiere could tell you, there’s no such thing as too much Spiderman.

Now he is played by a British guy? So what. Love interest Mary Jane Watson apparently doesn’t exist anymore? Big whoop. Peter Parker doesn’t have his best buddy Harry Osbourne around? So it goes.

Tensions may be high in the Middle East, the world economy is in turmoil, Taylor Swift was seen on a date with Schwarzenegger’s son, but as long as I can still go see Spiderman beat up some shady looking ne’er-do-wells, then that’s fine with me.

A lot of The Amazing Spiderman’s success comes from the way it plays mind games with the audience based on their expectations for another Spidey origin story. Likewise, a lot of its missteps are related to repeating mistakes from the originals.

The newest incarnation of the ever-misanthropic Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) takes the story back to the beginning. This time, the plot stems more from the mystery surrounding the death of Peter’s parents, and his discontent with the whole situation. In the original trilogy, 17 year old Peter had seemingly just come to terms with his parents’ death and never brought it up, but here, it gives the character a new level of drive.

The new Spiderman comes off as far less naïve and much more jaded as a result of this. Peter soon begins courting Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), and all is right in the world………..OR IS IT?! Peter’s character foil comes in the form of Dr. Curt Connors, part scientist at Oscorp (making a return from the originals) and part crazy evil green lizard man trying to regrow his missing arm. Truly a tortured villain for the ages. Spiderman tries to stop the Lizard, have a successful relationship with Gwen, and not be arrested by police chief Dennis Leary. All in a day’s work for Spidey.

Garfield thrives by making the part of Spiderman his own, neither mimicking nor deviating ridiculously far from Toby Maguire’s Spiderman. Garfield’s version is more wiry, sardonic, and less dweeby (not that there is anything wrong with a good dweeb). He also possesses the type of street smarts that Maguire’s Spiderman was always lacking. One of the nicest additions Garfield brings to the table is that whenever Spiderman makes one of his catchphrase witty remarks at an armed criminal, you don’t want to hide your face from the awkwardness.

Rhys Ifans does a solid job as the lizard man scientist who is a little bit mad, but who also has a heart, even though his story arc is almost identical to that of the Green Goblin in the original Spiderman… Martin Sheen and Sally Field are perfect as Uncle Ben and Aunt Mae, respectively. By making the characters younger and more vivacious, they become more accessible and human, rather than caricatures. Dennis Leary gives an impressive bout as the police chief and Gwen’s father, but doesn’t quite fill that “dead pan-serious, yet hilarious” void left by the absence of Peter’s beloved newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson.

Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone give the film the pulse it needs, having chemistry and charm, and back-and-forth that never strays into the territory of making the audience think to themselves “I hate these people in love, when will this Spider-guy thing end so I can go home and finish that bottle of Merlot with my cat?” The portrayal of their relationship is about as good as it can get in a movie featuring a big green lizard man.

The script gets the job done with unexpected adrenaline boosts to the storyline at several points (you’ll see what I mean), but it gets held back by a few groan worthy clichés. Did Spiderman really need an exchange of dialogue as dull as “Who are you?” “……I’m Spiderman!”? Much better option would have been “Who are you?” “Come on, buddy…I’ve got a spider on my chest, we’re both covered in web……I’m the Green freakin’ Lantern!.....I’m sorry, that was sassy…..tough day at the office.” Now THAT’S what I call Spiderman dialogue!

The Amazing Spiderman had one goal above all else: make the public forget the vile aftertaste of the egregious Spiderman 3 and earn their forgiveness. The movie did just that, as well as surpassing the meager expectations set for it by fan boy websites across the Internet. Spiderman himself is likable, you get quintessential enjoyable action movie performances, the scenes of Spiderman swinging and fighting two bit hoods are everything you will want, and the script is what it is, but hey, who is complaining? Its Spiderman!

If Spiderman 3 is a one star-er, and The Avengers is a four star-er, then The Amazing Spiderman is a solid 3 out 4 stars.