Screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves, story by Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel comic by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
Running Time: 137 minutes (2h, 17 mins.)
Rated PG-13 (for sequences of action and violence).
Distributor: Sony (Columbia Pictures)
So here we are again. 10 years after Sam Raimi put one of the most beloved Marvel superheroes to great effect and 5 years after his third installment proved to be less than impressive (but it was still a fine film), Sony has rebooted the franchise to its beginning, a story we all know too well. Being one who reads the comics and has seen all the movies (yes, even the third one) more than once, I was worried. Very worried.
Like anyone, I felt it was too soon to restart and tell the story the first film did a great job of doing. Even the stills (some of which I posted up a year ago) weren't that convincing. The first trailer sort of brought my hopes up, then the second one brought it down, then the third brought it up again and then that 4 minute trailer had me a little more convinced. Even with all that, I promised to keep my expectations low and I did.
With that, I probably don't need to write exactly what it's about. I haven't been doing that a lot lately in my reviews because let's face it, the people who read this are smart enough to know what it's about anyway. If you watched the first film (let's face it, who hasn't?), then let me tell you that this "re-imagining" isn't all that new in the storyline. However, it does manage to play it differently. Such as where 10 years ago, Peter Parker used his newfound skills to enter a wrestling competition for cash, here he uses his powers to test his skateboard skills.
It also brings a bit more realism (in terms of movies today that don't) as this film uses the version of Spidey that shoots artificial webs from wrist-mounted weapons that he built himself as opposed to the naturally shot webs in the previous films. I can name the number of similarities this has to the first film (one of them being the main antagonist is green, in this film being Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard), but there's probably no need since I have a limit to the reviews I write.
Let me get to the performances: Andrew Garfield adds more energy to his portrayal of Peter, acting more like an arrogant, sarcastic individual before he becomes the web-swinger. Sure, Tobey Maguire's version still stays fresh in my mind, but Garfield's is something. Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy, Peter's first love, to good effect. Separately, they're both good. However their romantic scenes together are very mixed for me. At times it was cute and awkward, at other times I felt they (well, mostly Garfield) were just showing off. Hey, I kinda felt the same way when he was with Mary Jane, at least more in the third film. Rhys Ifans is pretty cool as Dr. Connors (who appeared in the second and third films, but didn't turn into the Lizard in that franchise as he was more of a secondary character). Denis Leary is well-cast as Captain George Stacy, as is Martin Sheen and Sally Field as Uncle Ben and Aunt May.
This is Marc Webb's second directorial effort, three years after the remarkable (500) Days of Summer. Now here I go making comparisons again: unlike the romance in the former, this film needed work on the romance between Peter & Gwen, especially since Gwen was his first love interest before Mary Jane came in the picture. I will also mention there are a few plotholes which I can't mention due to spoilers. The visuals (provided like always by Sony Pictures Imageworks) are impressive and the 3D isn't bad, coming into full effect during the battle between Spidey and Lizard.
The bottom line: The Amazing Spider-Man doesn't fully live up to its title, although there are some who think it really has (here's looking at you, Scott Mantz), and the romance could have been worked on more. Despite that however, it still is an entertaining film in its own right with a nicely chosen cast giving nice performances at that, impressive visuals effects and, although this wasn't written in, a script that makes old seems kinda fresh.
Rating: 7.5/10
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