“One of the most anticipated movies of this summer is also the most hotly debated: The Amazing Spider-Man. Regardless of how you feel about the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire trilogy (or at least how you feel about where it ended up) you prolly agree that five years is ridiculously crazy too soon to reboot a franchise. Yeah, I’ve done my homework on it. The reasons for wanting to reboot all make sense. The Raimi/Maguire trilogy really had run its course. Spiderman 3 simply got too big for his spandex and there wasn’t anywhere else to take the series. That’s all well and good. But starting over after only five years? Rationalize it all you want, but a rush like that just screams “”I’m doing this for money””. My posse is discussing this in the car on the way over. Our driver comments “”No matter how good the movie may be, it’s still gonna feel dirty, no matter what””. My thoughts exactly.
Oh that’s right, I had a posse, and driving was involved. That can only mean one thing. IMAX, bitches!! I’d been watching the website for a month and a half in advance, waiting for tix to go on sale (for this and another superhero movie coming out later this month). The minute they did, I snatched up as many tickets as I could fit corresponding people into a car, and then found said people. Good times.
I dont know if I wanna go so far as to say this is how Spidey should have been done to begin with (the previous series does have its merits), but I certainly like the direction this one took. At the helm this time is Marc Webb, best known for (or really only known for) (500) Days of Summer. While it seems an odd choice, it was actually rather inspired. The film was put in the hands of someone who understands character development and quirk. Sounds like a winning combo for our favorite arachnid.
The first half of the movie, was backstory we all knew was coming (orphan > spider bite > Uncle Ben). The beauty was in the details. Things played out different, there was a whole new vibe (more grit, less camp), different players were introduced. You really didnt realize that we’d been told this story a mere ten years ago. Then the big bad came into play in the second half, and he was a fresh and new addition and direction to what we’d seen.
Wins for the cast as well. I’ve been an Andrew Garfield fan for a while. I first saw him in The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, and I paid more attention to him than to Heath. That’s saying something. Garfield brought depth to Peter Parker. You felt his outcast pain and his desire to find his family. And this Parker seemed smarter than ever. They decided to go old school and actually have Parker create his own webshooters. But he still had such an adoraable charm. He flashed the doofiest smile a couple of times (like how one would use puppy eyes) and I need that to be my desktop wallpaper. I could have used a bit more of the quips and banter that I’ve come to love from Peter Parker, but I’m not complaining about what I got.
Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, vast improvement over Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson. Stacey is smart, and confident, and so not whiny. She is that rare girl that I wanna hang out with, and Stone portrayed her so effortlessly. She has so much fun getting lost in her character, you dont know where Stone edns and Stacy begins.
Oh and y’know how I was saying I saw this at the IMAX? Totally \m/ worth it. The action shots are just so conducive to the larger than life screen, and the 3D was actually well utilized. Absolutely mesmorizing visual, and the technology has really come a long way in the past ten years.
Definitely Spidey done well, but to repeat earlier sentiments, only five years? I feel dirty.
The Amazing Spider-Man – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/