Review: The Amazing Spider-Man



When someone sees this movie, you can't help but to compare it to 2002's Spider-Man.  They're both origin stories with similar elements, but the framework are really the only similarities.  ASM is darker in many ways.  SM seemed a bit more campy and light hearted, from approaching the main villian to how characters die.

The movie starts out with a very young Peter playing hide and seek with his father.  After someone broke into their house, Peter's parents take him to stay with his aunt and uncle for a while.  The time flashes to the present,where Peter is in high school.  Peter's parents were not in the original trilogy, so getting some insight about them is already drastically different.  His father was helping, Curt Connors create a formula for cross species genetics.  This is at least a better explaination for the spider transferring it's powers to Peter than in SM2002.  Peter finds some of his father's work and helps Connors complete the experiment.  Oscorp tries to pull the funding, so Connors injects himself with part of the serum combined with that of a lizard.  Connors' right arm is missing, so he hopes to regrow his missing limb.  This works, but he turns into a giant humanoid lizard.  This makes him go insane and so hatches a plot to 'fix' humanity with cross species genetics.

The plot about The Lizard sounds a little outlandish, but it's done very well.  The Lizard himself looks pretty good, but there are a couple CGy moments where you're taken out of the movie by the effects.  A lot of the stunts seem to be done in a live action manner or with very well done CG.  I watched the 2002 Spider-Man two days ago, and this movie's effects are several notches above the previous movies.

Uncle Ben does die in this movie.  I was a little unsure going into the movie whether he would or not, but he does.  The scene where he dies feels a lot grittier than the 2002 movie.  He doesn't talk to Peter, he's just dead, on the sidewalk.  It's really sad.  Peter doesn't stop a convienence store robbery by a man with a star tatoo on his left wrist.  He starts fighting crime specifically to find the man that killed Uncle Ben.  You see him develop his outfit, which is something I felt the other movie lacked.  Peter does not wrestle any in ASM.  I think this would have created way too many similarities with the 2002 movie and it's better for it.  He is influenced by a wrestler's mask to create his outfit.

Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy really well.  She is intellegent and quirky in ways that MJ just isn't.  Most people I know like Stacy more than MJ.  She has a unique prescence in all of her scenes and you just fall in love with the character.

Andrew Garfield does a way better job at Peter Parker than I thought he would.  I felt they were trying too hard to update the character in the trailers, but I was wrong to worry.  He is a skater kid, but it doesn't hurt the character at all.  His board is broken at one point, and I felt bad, because that's a major part of his life.  He was soft spoken as Peter (at first), but compensates as a very quippy Spider-Man.  The one liners and smart ass comments we were missing from most of the old series are on full display in ASM.  He talks like Spider-Man across the board and nothing felt out of place.  Eventually some of his confidence starts to bleed over into Peter Parker (George Stacy arguement).  When things become dire, he gets serious and his come backs fall to the wayside.

The mechanical webshooters are awesome.  The way that Peter's intellect is displayed is far more prevelant than in the previous movies.  He applies his intellegence to real world problems as well as his super hero life.  This is something that was touched on a little in the other movies, but seemed to take a back seat to his financial problems, MJ problems, or Aunt May problems. 

There are a lot of other positive aspects in the film.  The spider sense is done differently and I feel more accuarately.  The agility that Peter has is done better than in the previous films.  I'm not hating on the other films, it just feels like this movie hit the nail on the head.  It's like comparing Batman 1989 to Batman Begins.  This is a must see for any Spider-Man or comic fan.  I've seen some reviews that said it's more of the same.  No disrespect, but I'm not sure they know what they're talking about.

5 out of 5