The Amazing Spider-Man Review

I am a massive fan of Spider-Man, but you probably already knew that. I loved Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films, though Spider-Man 3 did lack in quality compared to the first two. Even though I loved those films I still couldn't wait to see the reboot/remake, even if it was only 5 years after the previous instalment, they do it in the comics all the time! This was my most anticipated film of the year and a couple weeks ago I dedicated a whole blog post to it! So is it as amazing as the title says it is? Thankfully it is! Though it isn't perfect.

I loved the new darker and grounded approach to the character, don't worry it isn't as serious as Christopher Nolan's Batman films but thankfully, it isn't as cheesy as the Raimi trilogy either. The Amazing Spider-Man looks more at the character of Peter Parker, the disappearance of his parents and how these tragedies in his life help shape him into the hero he becomes. It's not an easy path that's for sure. Peter Parker isn't your stereotypical nerd though, now he is a bit more of  a lonely emo type nerd. It's great to see him back at high school even if he does look a tad too old to still be there. It is also great to see Peter standing up for fellow classmates against bullies like Flash Thompson even if he does have to face the consequences. The spider bite that gives him special powers just creates another dilemma in Peter's life that he know must learn to deal with.

This story would not work if it wasn't for Andrew Garfield, who is much more of a Peter Parker to me then Tobey Maguire was. I liked Tobey's version, but he just came across as too whiney. If Tobey was in this film, it wouldn't have been half as good. Andrew plays teenager very well and you can really see what kind of hurt and pain his parents have left on him when they disappeared. This hurt is added too when Uncle Ben dies. The death scene in particular really stands out as being a very powerful and emotional moment in the film. Something that hasn't been touched upon as much before. I definitely felt more emotionally connected to this film then I have on the previous ones. This is mainly due to Andrew Garfield who really is perfect for the role and you can tell how much dedication and heart he has put into the character.

The whole film is cast perfectly, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy is just brilliant, as is Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben. Aunt May played by Sally Field is a bit of a change from the original comics but that's not a bad thing. Rhys Ifans plays a great Curt Connors and motion capture Lizard as well. Although the Lizard isn't perfect, the CGI is pretty good, his storyline is also handled well. I was happy to see that he was still able to speak when in Lizard form, even if he was a very well spoken Lizard.

The CGI for Spider-Man however was spot on. Not once does he look like obvious CGI and director Marc Webb's decision to make a lot of the stunts practical really payed off in making this the most believable Spider-Man yet.

Another great addition are the web shooters, they show off Peter's academic skills and keep more to the comics. They could have been used more in the film though. There is so much you could use in the storyline with the web shooters such as running out of web during a battle or swinging through New York but this is never touched upon. Even when caught by a surprise attack in school Peter still has his web shooters on for some reason. That would have been a cool moment for him to think on his feet without them.

There is a lot more this film could have used to create scenarios we haven't seen in Spider-Man films before. I don't want to spoil the film so I won't go into them but I felt that the scriptwriters cut short on some elements that could have been used to create incredible set pieces.

My other problem with this film was the amount of action, there just wasn't enough Spider-Man. I really enjoyed the love scenes between Peter and Gwen, they had amazing chemistry, but this meant that there was too little of amazing Spider-Man! The action was great when it was there but I just needed more. When Peter was learning how to use his powers it was great and a highlight of the film but we never got to see him use them to his full ability. When there were action scenes though, he had his mask off way too much! Also like Prometheus, more questions are raised then answered which isn't always a bad thing but Peter's parents sub-plot kind of got forgotten after the first half, as did the search for Uncle Ben's killer.

The suit however looks so much better! I really liked the new design and it looked very cool on screen. I doubt it will stay this way for the sequel though, I can see Peter upgrading the suit like in the Batman films. If this was to happen it would be very awesome, maybe he could even have a utility belt like the tie in game has.

I saw this film in 3D and it was pretty good. It wasn't always apparent but looked good when it was. I'm not sure if I would recommend seeing it in 3D, I may actually watch it in 2D in the coming months to see if 3D was better or not. I had heard great things about the 3D though, so the lack of it in my showing may have been down to the screen. I would love to go see this in IMAX!

Some fans may be annoyed at a few of the origin tweaks but I for one thoroughly enjoyed the take on the web slinger. Apart from a few picky bits this film was enjoyable throughout and had some incredible Oscar winning acting that made it live up to its name. It feels as if this is the Batman Begins of the Spider-Man universe and that the sequel to this film has the potential to be more amazing now that we have the origin out of the way. That makes me very excited! Like all Marvel films remember to stay until the end! I am rating the film as a 3/5. P.S - Best Stan Lee cameo yet!

The short film Spider-Man Eclipse, which I talked about in my special Spidey post is now out so please go check that out here: www.spidermaneclipse.com

My review of the short will be online in the next few days.

Thanks for reading!