Oliver Brooks Portfolio: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

My Spider-sense is tingling... why is every f***ing new movie a f***ing remake, jesus sweet GOD!! Now they're doing Spider-man JESUS CHRIST!!! Well let's go see this:

136 minutes later...

Oh-my-God! This movie was... incredible... This was a fantastic movie. A very good ADAPTATION. Let's just get this clear, it's not a remake it is an adaptation. I was just joking before, but I've seen people refer to this as a remake, reboot, but anyway let's review.

WARNING SPOILERS

I suppose I should compare this to the previous films. First the characters.

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/ Spider-Man was fantastic. I liked the fact that they made him intelligent, which is who Peter is. In the other films, I never felt as though Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man was scientifically minded and he seemed too muscly. Plus Garfield was a better actor. He was really funny as well. He does all funny lines that Spider-Man has, but it wasn't corny. He had a great doofy dorkness to him. When he gets emotional the audience does and its much better than that thing Maguire does when he is upset:

Jeez.

Now the girlfriend. AT LAST! A superhero girlfriend who isn't a complete idiot! Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy was incredible. So intelligent and not just "Oh, stick her in a lab coat and make her say science things", no as in actually using her brain. Not once is she hanging out of a window waiting for Spider-Man to save her. There's one bit where the lizard has her cornered and you think, "Oh God here we are, typical Damsel in Distre..." But no, she was waiting for him armed with a lighter and spray can! BRILLIANT!! And she makes the antidote that saves the day. My God, are you even in the right film. I liked the 60s look to her as well, since Gwen is a classic Spider-Man character. I hope they don't follow the same story lone as the comics, because it really would be tragic. Gwen was always my favourite of Peter's girlfriends, even more than MJ.

Rhys Ifans was also great as the Dr. Curt Conners/ The Lizard. He was a sympathetic character, not because his wife died, or his father was "murdered" by Spider-Man (I hated that storyline). He was sympathetic because he lost his arm. That's all, but he lost it before the film. There was no story to it, like his wife and son were mugged by a mutated Piranha, or something. My favourite shot of the film was of Dr. Conners raising his "Good" arm to a sheet of glass almost completing his body. It was really touching, but also reminded me of Brazil!

Now for the story. I was feeling that it was just going feel like a repeat of the Uncle Ben story that we have sen so many times. Therefore a waste of time. But no, it involved the (as yet) unsolved mystery of Peter's parents, you got to know Uncle Ben better and I liked the fact that the Spider bite weaved (sorry) into the plot. Denis Leary was great as Captain Stacy of the Police. Not only is he Gwen's father, but he also has to bring in Spider-man, thought to be a vigilante. I personally don't like it in Superhero films when the police are after the hero. It just slows the film for me. But here it worked, because it didn't get in the way. I also really liked the costume a lot better. I never liked the Sam Raimi costume. I could never work out why either. I think it was the raised silver. Here, I think it was the shades of Red and Blue I liked. I don't know, you decide.