Many critics and audiences agree that the Andrew Garfield-led (The Social Network, Never Let Me Go) reboot of Spider-Man occurred too soon after the completion of the Toby Maguire trilogy. Because it was a given that the reboot would generate hundreds of millions of dollars on name alone, many wondered how strong of an effort there would be to tell a great story. On the other hand, an uninteresting story and poor reviews from the critics that still resulted in $200 million would have devastated superhero movies. Heck, Ryan Reynolds’ disaster The Green Lantern earned a measly 27% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and still made $116 million at the box office. Fortunately, while there were many parallels to the Tobey franchise, this movie was much darker. This was my number one criterion going in. I just wanted it to be more adult-oriented. Some thought it was too dark, saying things like Spider-Man isn’t Batman, but as a guy in his mid-30s, I’d rather see any PG-13/R type superhero movie over a PG/PG-13 type one.
When I first heard that Andrew Garfield was the choice to play Spider-Man, I couldn’t believe it. Sure, he was excellent in The Social Network, but he was mainly a side character. This was also really the only movie he had to his name. Sure, he had been in other films, but you were probably more likely to say, “Who’s that guy” rather than, “Oh, there’s Andrew Garfield.” With that said, he did a tremendous job. Sure, it was hard getting past the idea that a 28-year-old was playing a 17-year-old, but I digress. If you can forget that, you’ll enjoy Garfield’s performance. Was it as good as Maguire’s? Was it better? You ask 100 people, and you might get a 50/50 split. I thought Maguire did a great job, but, as I said, I was looking for a darker version of the film, and that’s what I got. Props to Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) in just his second movie directed, for making this more adult-oriented than the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy.
I’ll try not to compare the movie to Maguire’s original, but the story has many similarities. It had so many parallels that I sometimes wanted to ask myself why I was watching this newer version. But each time that thought came into my head, something extraordinary happened. Garfield was more of a nerd than Maguire so that aspect was remarkable. The backstory was great. It was nearly an hour into the movie before Garfield even dawned on the Spider-Man mask for the first time. This was perfectly acceptable to me. We all know this franchise will go into 3+ movies, so why rush the story? Garfield’s Peter Park is a classic nerd, but one that we root for. A lot of that has to do with two things. The first and most apparent is that we know this man will soon be Spider-Man. The second is that he’s a good kid who tries to do the right thing. He sticks up for his classmates. He tries to talk to girls only to get shot down by them. He’s an aspiring photographer and pretty good at it.
Parker’s love interest in this movie is Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone – Crazy, Stupid, Love., The Help), the only other student in his high school senior class who might be as intelligent as he is. The difference is that while Parker is a gawky nerd, Gwen is a smokin’ hot babe. Mutual respect between the two soon grows into a romantic relationship. This aspect of the story will likely garner the attention of moviegoers who might not see a superhero movie otherwise).
The chemistry between Garfield and Stone works well. She becomes his sole confidant and helps him as he struggles with his new identity. To make matters worse for Parker, Gwen’s father (Dennis Leary – television’s Rescue Me, Ice Age) is the chief of the New York City Police Department. His not-too-likable appraisal of Spider-Man’s impact on fighting crime rubs Parker the wrong way when the family invites the teen over for dinner one night. If you’ve ever seen Leary’s Tommy Gavin character on the television show Rescue Me, you’ll find yourself laughing out loud during some of his conversations with Gwen in this movie. Some of the interactions are eerily reminiscent. In any case, Leary was a good choice for this character. Martin Sheen (television’s The West Wing, Apocalypse Now) and Sally Field (Forrest Gump, Norma Rae) also star in this movie as Parker’s Uncle Ben and Aunt May. They, too, were excellent choices.
In the end, was this movie necessary? Probably not. But at the same time, it could have been made haphazardly and still earned over $200 million. It could have easily been shuffled aside by the two biggest superhero movies ever (as of 2012) in The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers. However, the Amazing Spider-Man held its own, making The Avengers look like a little kid movie. I liked The Avengers less after seeing The Amazing Spider-Man. This was because The Amazing Spider-Man played to an older crowd and tried to tell a good story and develop multiple characters. At the same time, The Avengers was just a showcase to bring together Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, etc.
Plot 7.5/10
Character Development 9.5/10
Character Chemistry 9.5/10
Acting 9.5/10
Screenplay 8.5/10
Directing 8.5/10
Cinematography 10/10
Sound 9.5/10
Hook and Reel 10/10
Universal Relevance 7.5/10
90%
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