My brief AMAZING SPIDER-MAN movie review
This review is possible because I was able to see the movie last night with a friend who had Infinity Visa preview ticketss to the film.
Director Marc Webb was obviously trying to make a Spidey movie that would not be just like the last few. I think he succeeded here. Amazing Spider-Man is a decent effort and if it was not for recent hero films from Chris Nolan And Joss whedon setting the bar so high, it might be a bigger hit than I expect it will be. (there is likely to be criticism from those saying it is too soon for a reboot of the franchise) Of course there were times when you could tell that they were trying to make a different Spider-Man movie and played with some of the conventions of the character and told then story in ways that strayed with familiar comic traditions. However the action scenes are almost always going to be similar to what has come before out of necessity – Spider-Man as a character moves and operates in a certain way or dynamic and there are only so many successful ways to show that on screen. this incarnation of the franchise looks to be focusing more on the storyline of whatever happened to Peter’s real/birth parents than any of the previous films have and will undoubtedly be picked up as a plot thread in any future sequels.
Andrew Garfield is good as Peter Parker/Spider-man even if his Peter Parker comes off as more of a kooky introverted loner than a high school nerd. However, I think he pulled off the Spidey role pretty well. He is believable while delivering his one liners and he wears the costume well.
The rest of the cast including Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey, Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Conners and the Lizard and Dennis Leary as Captain Stacey are okay, too. Martin Sheen and Sally Field do what they can with the Uncle Ben and Aunt May roles but they are kind of pre-determined and don’t offer the actors anywhere new to go at this point. Having the lizard as the villain seemed a bit of a weird choice especially on his own meaning he had to talk a lot more than you would expect that character to. Also the CGI of the lizard was pushing the limits whenever they showed him talking and had Ifans voice coming out of such a big creature.
The CGI worked and was not just a rehash of the Rami movies. I saw it in 3D and as with many 3D films there were scenes that used it to great effect but often the film seemed too dark if I left the glasses on.
Overall, I think it does the job of being both a successful reboot of a recently stalled franchise as well as a fun Summer flick.
**Make sure you stay past the movie’s end because they took a page out of the recent Marvel house style of movie-making and snuck in an extra scene during the end credits. (weird thing is I’m sure I saw brief part of that scene in a recent trailer)**