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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 {Film Review}

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* WARNING! Does contain spoilers *

It has been exactly ten years since Sam Raimi released the first sequel to his 2002 hit, Spider-Man 2. I remember the movie being incredibly fun but also can see and feel the passion behind it. Now it is Marc Webb’s turn with his The Amazing Spider-Man series that we got our first glimpse in 2012 (which resulted to mixed reactions).

 

Andrew Garfield returns as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, continuing his duty help New York City being crime free. While also struggling to keep a promise from Gwen Stacy’s (Emma Stone) father to stay from harm’s way. It’s nice to see him doing more than catching thieves, like stopping a bunch of bullies and walking bullied kid back home. The chemistry between Garfield and Stone are cute and affectionate but all feel contrived to have Peter have another conflict on his plate. The scenes between Peter and Aunt May (Sally Field) are humorous to some level but, again, all feel superfluous (I mean, she seriously can’t tell there isn’t anything going on with Peter from having a dirty face and having the excuse “I was cleaning the chimney”, she catches that by saying “we don’t have a chimney” and he acts flabbergasted?) Star Trek and Transformers writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci were brought in to redraft the script, thus does comes across the movie having way too many cooks. The movie is unfocused with what it really should be and that’s giving a different take of the story but it is more interested on what it is setting up (i.e. the Sinister Six for the most part). More evidence the movie was unfocused was when they shot scenes with Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson but cut them out as they felt it was overstuffed (definitely can tell when watching the final cut).

 

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The villains in this movie is quite embarrassing, trying to give dramatic weight but it all comes flat. Max Dillon / Electro (Jamie Foxx) is basically another fan of the main protagonist but feels betrayed and becomes the villain (similar to Batman Forever and Iron Man 3). Paul Giamatti as Aleksei Sytsevich (though everyone will just remember him as The Rhino) is wasted as he just shouts his lines in a hammy Russian accent and only becomes his alter-ego in the last 5-10 minutes of the movies. Dane De Haan as Harry Osborn is a character that would’ve been beneficial if introduced in the previous movie but felt forced into the movie as if he was put in at the last second (like Venom in Spider-Man 3). Having both Peter and Harry talk about their backstory on their childhood memories all felt forced and empty. All these villains have one purpose; world building and setting up for Sony’s planned sequels and spin-offs. That may be all well and good but doesn’t give us time to care about the story and characters if they’re not fully developed enough. Also Martin Csokas as Dr. Ashley Kafka seemed he came out from auditioning as titular character in Dr. Strangelove but needed a moustache to twirl as he was comically villainous (both Giamatti and Csokas really do feel out of place from its grounded setting and tone).

 

The action sequences are well choreographed and probably the best Spider-Man swinging sequences since Spider-Man 2. The Green Goblin character in particular may have made Dane DeHaan look creepy but the design looked lazy and plain compared the look in the comic books. Electro was probably the most interesting looking villain in the series, which I give credit to the visual effects team at Sony Imageworks. Hans Zimmer scores another comic book blockbuster and it is relatively creative (the idea of using dubstep style music for Electro felt cringe-worthy but it fitted the character). Though one particular set-piece that had similar affect in Spider-Man 3 was Spider-Man and Green Goblin fight and felt it wasn’t given a lot of thought. The only reason this was included so we would have the famous Gwen Stacy death scene that Spider-Man/comic book fans are very familiar with. It comes off the filmmakers felt they were obligated to include this scene (same way audiences would expect Breaking the Bat scene in The Dark Knight Rises). It should’ve come across being shocking but it was predictable and makes this emotional scene fail on all aspects.

 

Overall; this movie is just a product so Sony can keep the rights to Spider-Man rather than revert it back to Marvel. The leads may be charismatic and production value is all there but the movie feels empty underneath its shiny surface (not since Iron Man 2).

 

2 out of 5

The Amazing Spider-man Movie Review

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The Amazing Spider-man catapults onto movie screens with a direction, new actors, a re-buffed script, and some would say darker story-telling than its predecessor, but do these facets make the film more of worthwhile return to the franchise or does this reboot deserve a boot to the chops?

Critics can be forgiven for thinking that this is an ‘all too soon’ reboot for perhaps one of the best loved comic book superheroes of a recent generation. On one hand you had the excellent depiction of Spider-man by Sam Raimi with Tobey Maguire providing perhaps an over innocent and goofy Peter Parker / Spider-man. On the other hand though one could argue that the last series of movies became stale, that there were missed opportunities and that it had definitely run its course. However, Marvel was not ready to throw in the towel and who could blame them; Spider-man had made a lot of money for the studio and undoubtedly put them back on the map. Whatever you may say about reboots it is fast becomingHollywood’s tool-of-choice, especially where successful franchises are perhaps on the way out. For the creators, it’s a handy shortcut and for audiences it is an opportunity to see a new vision of a beloved character. Let’s just hope Harry Potter doesn’t have a reboot any time soon.

I wouldn’t have liked to have been in the head office of Marvel Studios when they came up with the plan to do this reboot. Approaching this movie was going to be a one shot gun; they knew they were either going to re-energise the title or kill it. Restore the hope to millions of spidey fans, or destroy it. They were going to have to throw nothing less than the kitchen sink at it and it shows. Fortunately end result is a film that manages to tread a fine line between being respectful to the original source material and Sam Raimi’s creation whilst bringing something new to the table and, at the same time is genuinely fun and exciting to watch.

Andrew Garfield, steps into the role of Peter Parker / Spider-man. This iteration no longer goofy, hapless or over exaggerated; this Peter Parker is actually smart, stands up to bullies even before he gains his super powers and typical of the ‘Twilight generation’ is always brooding and staring into space. His central love interest here isn’t girl-next-door Mary Jane Watson, but the equally intelligent Gwen Stacy (played by the gorgeous Emma Stone). New to this film is the working on Parker’s history with his parents. Although we are introduced to them only briefly it is their abandonment of Peter which creates a deeper shading of the character not previously seen in the previous carnations.

It’s worth saying at this point that the dynamics between Emma Stone’s character and Andrew Garfield work really, really well. They somehow manage to take the awkwardness of high-school love and make it fun and intense. Sometimes it’s not even what they say it’s what they don’t say. An unforgettable moment involves Peter and Gwen on the top of a roof with Peter trying to explain what has happened to him. ‘I’ve been bitten,’ he stammers. She leans in close with her slow husky whisper: ‘So have I’. Peter grins like a cat that has just got the cream. Now ask yourself what more do I need to say than that?

Everyone should know the plot of Spider-man by now and if you don’t, go and see a Doctor and find out where you have been for the past 10 years. Peter Parker gets bitten by a spider and whilst not gaining the extra 6 hairy legs, finds he embodies all of the positives of spider traits such as sticking to walls having extra perception (spider sense) and increased strength amongst other things.

The problem here is that Sam Raimi really did the bite and the transformation well. After the bite, we get the usual scenes of Peter’s realising he has extra powers, and events transpire that inevitably transform him into your friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler. Director Marc Webb does his best to make these sequences fresh and come at it from a new angle but try as he might you know that you have seen it before. Whilst there are some genuinely original and comic book moments, it’s hard not to fold your arms and sigh as you wait for the movie to get on with things. I also found that this version just seemed to lack that excitement that Peter had actually unlocked something special that was going to change his life or that his life actually needed to change.

Raimi’s creation had webbing ‘secrete’ from Parker’s wrists, however in this much more realistic and truer to the comic book version you see Parker develop the web shooters himself through trial and error. This version of Spider-man is also a lot grittier; every now and then he does something unpredictable which errs on the mentally serious side and you find yourself harking back to Maguire’s goofy jokey Spider-man and you are glad that you are watching this. Far from Raimi’s ideas of super quick healing, this Peter Parker goes home black and blue from bruising; when he gets cut he bleeds and even gets injured to the point where he has to rely on fellow citizens to help.  There are some nice nods towards Raimi’s creation here and there as well, such as the wrestling ring which makes an appearance.

For every hero there is a villain, this new plot concerns the development of Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), experimenting with a serum that eventually turns him into The Lizard. It’s hardly different, in concept or execution, from Willem Dafoe as The Green Goblin complete with him hearing voices. Rhys Ifans does a terrific job with what he has, there just needed to be more in the script for him to do and say. It might also have been worth choosing a different villain to start with owing to the similarities that were bound to be drawn with the Green Goblin.

Despite the various differences, there are some solid key performances Sally Field does a really good job as Parker’s Aunt May and Martin Sheen deserves some credit because, even though I’ve read people accuse him of overacting, he does do a marvellous job as Ben Parker even when the script is thin. Somehow he manages to squeeze more emotional resonance than he has had previously.  Stan Lee appears too in a library scene that will be talked about for a while as one of his best cameos. Dennis Leary though has a character which barely touches on the surface.

When the red and blue costume make an appearance you feel like you are on familiar ground. The new suit which I have never liked has well and truly grown on me. The special effects are fantastic, perhaps never looking so good in 3D and well worth every penny of the extra price to get in. Whereas with the Avengers and Green Lantern movies you got the occasional scene in 3D here, Director Marc Webb treats you to long sweeping vistas of web swinging action. Explosions, debris, webs, it’s got the most 3D I have seen in a superhero movie so far with effects that actually work. When spider-man flies though the air in 3D you take a deep breath, when the camera does switch to 1st person perspective you go ‘wow’ these scenes are shorter than those seen in the trailer which is a shame but they still pack a punch for the eyes.

There are allusions to other characters in the Spider-man universe here as well which give the movie a larger sense of scale for example, you hear Norman Osborne mentioned and it will be interesting to see how he will factor into future movies. The story flows well throughout the entire movie but I found it was weighted kind of oddly with all the action seemingly occurring in the last half of the movie after Peter develops his skills. It is a great deal choppier than Raimi’s creation. However, here we have a Spider-man that’s more human than before and is perhaps just as flawed as the rest of us.  Watching this I didn’t feel like I was looking at a superhero, but a kid in a skin-tight suit that has no idea what the hell he is doing and is making it up as he goes along. It is the moments when there is nothing happening such as when Parker is dangling on a web playing a game on his mobile, or on a statue above the city when he takes a call from Aunt May and agrees to pick up some eggs that give insight to the character. This is what many people love about Spider-man; he is after all just a kid granted special powers and underneath the suit is someone still learning to fit in as well as grow with what he has.

My Verdict

I think Garfield’s work as Peter Parker and Spider-man is the glue that holds this film together. I know I am going to upset Maguire fans but Garfieldis a much better fit for this type of role. His portrayal of Peter is much more angst driven and is still growing and evolving even by the story’s conclusion. The film doesn’t even close with him working at the Daily Bugle he is still at school; therefore you just know there is more to come. I would not say that this film is a new Batman Begins or could even compare to that masterpiece. However, this Spider-man reboot feels like a fresh start; an origin story that can stand on its own or be the start of something even better.  It’s not perfect; weak script, choppy editing, flaws and moments that feel almost staged and even artificial.  But it is an optimistic start, a new direction and new promise. One last word to the wise – stay until after the initial credits…

8 / 10

The Amazing Spider-Man New Trailer Revealed

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The much anticipated new trailer for Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man has just been released to intense acclaim.

Hot on the heels of Marvel’s Avengers Assembled movie it seems there will be no let up to Marvel’s success this year.

I have personally seen the trailer and all I can say is wow. The first trailer looked intriguing, the second one…well it was just more of the same but this one seems to go a long way to perhaps showing what is in store for Spider-man and Marvel fans.

The film stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-man with supporting turns coming from Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen and Sally Field.

The Amazing Spider-Man will hit 2D and 3D theatres from July 3rd, 2012 and is a fully-fledged reboot of the web-slinging franchise which promises a new story to be told from the previous Sam Raimi trilogy.

The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the film in association with Marvel Entertainment for Columbia Pictures, which will open in theatres everywhere in 3D.

For those of you who don’t know – The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today and is troubled by all those angst’s that young people face.

Peter is also dealing with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. An elusive spider bite sets Peter on a different path exposing abilities he never knew he had and as he becomes a hero in the alter-ego of Spider-Man he is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

Fans have already commented on the fact that this iteration of their comic book hero has the fabled web-shooters as opposed to ‘organic’ webbing that used to secrete from the wrists of Sam Rami’s creation. Indicating that the Peter Parker of this generation is perhaps more  of a genius in the making. Personally I prefer the web-shooters to..erm anything organic and the suit looks better now too.

The Amazing Spider-Man will hit 2D and 3D theatres from July 3rd, 2012.

Have a look at the trailer below and don’t forget to give us your comments.