"What? a Spider-man re-boot?...but but..."
Yes folks, even after its release the majority of fans in terms of Spider-man and movies in general still cannot believe their eyes! 10 years since Sam Raimi created the big screen synopsis of Peter Parker/Spider man, Marc Webb takes a crack of the whip. (Webb? how convenient)
Webb, who brought us a delightful flick in 500 Days of summer back in 2009, opens up a new path in the spider-man saga. Not necessarily a new concept in terms of Peter Parker's origin, but an attractive cast and the possibility of a breath-taking plot in relation to the mysterious disappearance of Peter's parents.
Peter (Andrew Garfield) is your typical quirky high-school lonesome who in some way seems geeky through the eyes of the students around him. His geeky character is a disguise for his genius knowledge in synthetic biology. We see previously the distraught and realism to come as we witness numerous flashbacks of the brief child-hood Peter shared with his parents. The next of kin in his eyes is now his uncle and best friend Ben...as in uncle Ben! (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field).
Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) is the attractive sweet heart. An intern in Peter's school, her genuine personality and kind hearted likeness quickly lures Peter to her feet. Peter is obviously the underrated photographer and grows in time as we well know. He uses Gwen as an excuse to use his camera as we see his persona shine whenever she is present. There is huge difference in chemistry in terms of Parker's previous on-screen love Mary-Jane. There is no fight here, it is immediate love and proves a pleasure to endure romance at its realist.
As the path to Spider-man is played out (longer than expected might I add), a serious lack of information on his parents disappearance leads Peter on a hot trail which results in a convenient connection with Oscorp. The genetics empire is run by Dr Connors (Rhys Ifans), a one armed genius who is destined to change the way of the living world in terms of animal biology and other weird scientific nonsense to be blunt! It is not the knowledge of Connors that attracts Parker and the audience, it is the convenient relation between Peters father and Connors himself. Then happens the birth we have all grown to know and love. Peter is curious to speak to Connors and gets himself into Oscorp along with a group of other folks absorbing the De-tour. Curiosity killed the cat they say, In Peters case it just got him bitten by a nasty spider resulting in eh'... SPIDER-MAN!
So a montage of sequences show us the freaky results of Peters incident, giving him some amazing abilities including the ability to scale walls, fine awareness (Spider-sense) and a beast in the owl fighting techniques. I never quite got that to be fair, how does this result him being a top-class fighter? anyway, that's the case. A new life awaits the soon to be "Friendly neighbour hoo ah forget it!
Sam Webb's Spider-man provides a new contrast but in small parts. Obviously the introduction to any Spider-man origin is the incident that creates the hero, but it is what follows that can make a significant difference in relation to Sam Raimi's take on the web-slinger. Spidey's villain is Dr Connors' eventual transformation, the Lizard. On all accounts, and honesty, I was not pushed on what was revealed in trailers in terms of the lizard concept. It turns out I was wrong, he looked quality and could possible be CGI at its best. A fine result of the gruelling abilities and vicious mind-set that is revealed when the Lizard prowls the streets and sewers. Rhys Ifans is a tremendous actor with a fine career. His inclusion was always going to mark a good result whether Webb's portrayal was a success or not. The audience will enjoy the all-round cast but in fairness, Martin Sheen played a typical uncle Ben and Field's Aunt May could never fail. It was easy work supplied by qualified acting. I believe the controversy following this re-boot is the copy-cat sequences in terms of it's predecessor. By all means not by myself but the real critics of course! This review is not a comparison, more of a recommendation to the fans of the franchise to see this re-boot.
Andrew Garfield is a perfect fit for the red and blue spandex, just like when Tobey Maguire was back in 2002. The difference? Not much, well, age and maybe the ability to bring some seriousness to the franchise. I know Spider-Man 3 (2007) was not Tobey's fault but The Amazing Spider-man brings something new to the table in terms of darkness, drama and a much needed birth of new romance. The action scenes are quite brilliant also taking into account the 3D sequences that are unexpectedly fantastic and highly memorable. (Dam it, I kind of compared just there, didn't I?). The suit is beautiful and easy on the eye even though Webb pushed for a darker contrast. The web slinging and overall situations Spidey gets into makes this the best movie I have seen in 3D so far. (And I hate 3D!)Bear in mind folks there are weaknesses to this re-boot. I am not talking "needle in a haystack" stuff I will leave that for the "Spidey fanatics". The plot is far from convincing. You are lead to believe Peter Parker's curiosity into his parents disappearance will lead to an exciting investigation and overall climax. As exciting and entertaining the two hours were, I felt let down as I was forced to settle for high expectations in terms of a sequel. (A recently released statement admitted a trilogy by the way). There is an explanation that awaits the audience, one that in my opinion should have been settled a lot sooner.
My advice on the Amazing Spider-man is see it at once and enjoy it for what it is. Although It has only been 10 years, embrace and admire the new era of Spidey that Mr Webb is attempting to throw at us. As repetitive as some scenes might be, and a minor let-down does not take away the fact that the Amazing Spider-man was hugely entertaining with a tremendous acting performance from both Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.
Overall: A slightly fresh and enjoyable movie with a memorable performance from Garfield.
7.5/10
