The Amazing Spider-Man

“The Amazing Spider-Man” has no reason to exist. Spider-man is a hero everyone knows. He´s been around for so long everyone is familiar with his origin, comic fan or not. Its basic pop culture. Then you have the Sam Raimi´s movies. Everyone saw them. They made loads of money and they´re always on tv. They are entertaining movies. “Spider-Man” gave us a good origin story in 2002. This movie simply wasn't needed. Now I gave it the benefit of the doubt. There´s Burton´s Batman and Nolan´s. Maybe this was a different Spider-Man. A more “dark” vision perhaps! Maybe the movie spent a few minutes on the origin and then wisely moved on with its story. Maybe... well maybe it wasn't just another rehash. A shameless attempt to remake, or how they say it these days, reboot the same idea with minimal changes except the cast. I was naive. The whole movie is about Spider-Man´s origin. They traded Mary Jane for another love interest and held off on “The Green Goblin” because that would be too much “rubbing it in the face” for the fans, I guess. We get Gwen Stacy and “The Lizard”. The rest is same old, same old. The same uncle Ben plot, the same scenes about making the suit, learning how to control powers, the search for the criminal Spider-man lets get away with horrific results. Same thing. Except everything is done without a spark of energy or creativity. Raimi´s movies were energetic, flowing with excitement. They were “new”. Seeing Spider-Man on the big screen, webbing all over the city, fighting “The Green Goblin”, it was amazing. We didn't have “The Avengers” back there, or “Iron Man”. This was like a dream come true for comic fans. “The Amazing Spider-Man” smells of old cheese. I tried to take the movie for what it was but it was impossible. My mind would not let me. I knew what was going to happen next. I knew all the plots! I´d seen it all before! But even ignoring that the movie just does not work. Its slow, turgid with an unlikable Peter Parker and a CGI lizard...

This is the fourth spider man movie although it is not the fourth sequel but rather one of these reboots which seems to be so popular today. I found the movie to be quite enjoyable but at the same time a bit of a let-down.

In some ways it is better than the previous trilogy by Sam Raimi (well it is not very hard to make something that is better than the 2nd installment in that trilogy of course). The film is darker, more serious and Spider Man is not so silly and a total mess-up when out of his costume as the character portrayed by Toby Maquire.

However, this movie has its own faults which makes me have to think hard whether it is really that much of an improvement over the previous movie and this is what makes me feel a bit let-down since I had hope that this reboot would be that “real” Spider Man movie that enabled me to forget about the previous ones.

A lot of not so interesting scenes are really dragged out and the important stuff is rushed. Peter Parker’s transition to Spider Man after his bitten is over and done with quite quickly. In another scene he spends 5 minutes trying to talk some kid out of a car. He even takes off his mask and gives it to him (what the f…) and in the end just zips him out with a net shot. He could have done that right away and spared us the boring time.

Generally I think this movie is indeed a better Spider Man movie than the previous ones though and I quite enjoyed the movie evening yesterday, just not as much as I hoped.

Webb's Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does what ever a Spider can.

The Amazing Spider-Man is directed by Marc Webb and collectively written by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves. It stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen and Sally Field. Music is by James Horner and cinematography by John Schwartzman.

Peter Parker (Garfield) was orphaned as a boy when his parents were killed in a plane crash, raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field), he is a clever lad but something of an outcast at high school. While investigating the disappearance of his parents and sporting a crush on class mate Gwen Stacy (Stone), Peter's life is tipped upside down when he is bitten by a radioactive spider that gives him abnormal powers.

While the Spider-Man franchise doesn't (thankfully) come packaged with the kind of bizarre mania that comes with Batman, the acolytes are a tough bunch to figure out. Sam Raimi's trilogy garnered close towards $2.5 billion worldwide, yet now, with this reboot (actually it's a reimaging) trundled off of the Sony production line, there are plenty of "fans" coming forward to say they never rated Raimi's films! Magurie was this, Dunst was that, Raimi missed the beat of the comic version of Spidey and etc and etc. Well I'm sorry, but I just don't remember any fall out apart from the near unanimously agreed upon over stuffing of Raimi's part 3. Perhaps I just didn't go on the right Spider-Man forums? But even then it's hard to argue with a box office take of $2.5 billion, those figures have to be made up of a good proportion of Spidey fans, surely? You would reasonably think.

I mention it because The Amazing Spider-Man has met with reviews from each end of the scale. Those at the high end who support the "reimaging" seem to focus on it being close to the real Spidey universe they wanted, with great casting, better effects work and a origin story of worth. At the other end is the arguments that "reimag...

I enjoyed this. One of the great advantages of the whole "Spiderman" concept is that it can be reinvented time and time again without really compromising the original character - a decent but lonely young man trying to make his way in the world and to get his girl. Like Tobey Maguire before him, the casting of the largely unknown Andrew Garfield works well - it allows a whole new generation of fans to follow their hero. The fact that he is cute in tights doesn't do him any harm either. Emma Stone is quite good, too, as the object of his affections "Mary Jane" and the whole look of the film is sophisticated and colourful. The story is very derivative, however - and that is the problem with this film. Though there is plenty of action, it becomes a little repetitive and uninspired. The CGI will always look good, and will increasingly do most of the work with these kind of films - indeed, just about everything in the Marvel Universe is 90% style over substance; but so long as they can still recruit enthusiastic actors to play the roles than the franchise might still have legs (though hopefully not eight) for the future. Martin Sheen and Sally Field add a little gravitas to the proceedings - the former has one of these wonderful Churchillian style voices that just goes on resonating, and Rhys Ifans makes for an OK mad scientist. As a stand alone adventure this works fine. Maybe a bit too long, but a cinema experience to be relished - then, maybe, just put away again for seven years.