Is It Good? Listen, Bud...

Opening day for The Amazing Spider-Man, I was there. I loved Raimi's trilogy and while I was sceptical about the reboot, it won me over with time (it helped that Robert Pattinson didn't get the title role) and I was very much looking forward to this.

I'll go over Spider-Man's creation another time, since chances are this will be a long blog.

The origin is so well known at this point that it almost feels insulting to describe it. But for those still unaware, I will go over it (I should point out, though, there are little differences here and there).

Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) has been living with his uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and aunt May (Saly Field) since the death of his parents several years ago. He seeks answers from a colleague of theirs, Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), but suspects there's more to it. During an initial attempt to contact Connors, a spider bites him and Peter gains superhuman abilities.

Yeah, that's pretty much the abridged version of just the intro, but there's more to it than that, like Peter's blossoming relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) or Connors' experimenting with lizard DNA to regain his right arm (for those unaware, the Lizard is a long time Spider-Man foe and was actually the first villain he faced in the 1994 animated series).

This review will probably end up having spoilers, so you have been warned.

While it seems so typically Hollywood to reboot something when something doesn't go its way, there are some times when it works. And this is one of them. Not only does it work, it might even rival the original Raimi film. So, in short, I loved it.

Throughout the review, I'm going to try and limit the comparisons I make to the first Raimi film and judge it on its own merits.

Let's start with the main man himself: Andrew Garfield is a sensational Spider-Man. He gets the awkwardness, the mood swings, the inquisitive nature down pat. And best of all, when he dons the Spider-Man costume, he gets to crack wise. A lot. And be as heroic as we expect our Spider-Men to be.

Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy... oh man, she's fantastic. But then, Emma's a fantastic actress. She's not the damsel in distress here either, and actively assists Peter's effort in the final confrontation (for anyone who's read my blogs on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you remember what I was saying about Marvel writing their women well? Same thing here).

The chemistry between Andrew and Emma is so real, probably helped by the fact that the two are actually dating off-screen and you cheer a little inside when Peter and Gwen finally get together.

Even though I said I'd try to limit the comparisons, this film has the better uncle Ben, pure and simple. Martin Sheen acts like a firm but fair father, and isn't afraid to get stern when he's required to be.

The death scene (whoa! Spoiler!) is actually much better here, too. It's much harsher and more personal, if that makes sense. In this version, after Ben goes looking for Peter, who has stormed off, he gets shot by the man Peter could have apprehended (as per the origins in most comics), with Peter finding him and screaming for help. But no one responds. And Ben doesn't say anything to Peter, he never gets the chance. Even though Peter (OK, this next part is a genuine spoiler of-sorts) finds out he has a phone message from Ben that he listens to later on, for the time being, Peter never gets any closure, no chance to make amends.

And Rhys Ifans as Connors/the Lizard more than makes up for that vile pile of crap The Five Year Engagement (though he didn't suck in it, it's nice to be reminded he can be in GOOD movies), being a sympathetic character but also true to the villain's motivations from the comic (the CGI takes a little getting used to, since in the wrong light he looks like an odd form of Killer Croc).

Action-wise, it's marvelous. Whether it's Spidey shooting multiple webs at a random car thief, or taking on the Lizard, it's Spidey doing what he does best: slinging webs while cracking jokes.

Now, for a couple things I really need to point out, because I love these aspects:

One of the neat reoccurring features of the film are the POV shots of Spidey shooting webs from his wrist and swinging along. Even though I saw the movie in 2D, those shots made it seem like you were right there, they were so immersive. I hope to see more of these in the sequel.

Another is one scene in particular: Spider-Man's been shot in the leg, and he's worried he won't be able to make it to Oscorp to stop the Lizard. This ends up on the news and one of the people watching is a construction worker whose son was saved from drowning by Spider-Man. He resolves to help Spider-Man out by getting cranes set up to give him objects to swing to and make a clearer path. I swear I nearly had tears in my eyes, and it makes me want to say to the Marvel writers “Why can't you write more citizens like this?!” Seriously, in Marvel comics, a lot of the average citizens are arseholes who act like they're better than superheroes. Piss off, you're just jealous that you're lower on the food chain now. Be more like the DC universe, whose citizens are proud to have heroes like Superman and the Flash protecting the Earth. Or this guy, be like this guy.

Despite all this, I have two gripes, nothing huge but still.

One is the performance of Irrfan Kahn as Dr. Rajit Ratha. I'm sorry but I could only understand what he was saying half the time. It distracted me, and it's one of the reasons I watch DVD's with subtitles on whenever possible.

The other, and this is also a comparison to the first Raimi film, is the under-use of aunt May. Her role mainly consists of “Oh Peter, I'm so worried about you!” and such. In the Raimi film, she also serves as a matchmaker of sorts for Peter and MJ, indirectly. She's there to be the guiding hand in Peter's life. But this movie, she's not all that developed. Hopefully that'll be rectified in the sequel.

I could be for hours talking about Spider-Man and this film in particular, but apart from saying Denis Leary was also a great addition, I should wrap this up now. But in a nutshell, the greatest thing about the film is that it's not a lazy rehash. It doesn't go "You know the origin, blah blah blah, here's some fight stuff". It makes you care all over again, it has heart.

 Despite my apprehension to the initial announcement of the reboot, it won me over and it's a fantastic film. I'll get to the other films somewhere down the line, but until then, I urge you to go out and see this movie. Have a slinging time. 4.5/5