{"id":5345,"date":"2012-07-04T12:34:54","date_gmt":"2012-07-04T19:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wakingideas.com\/blog\/?p=5345"},"modified":"2012-07-04T12:34:54","modified_gmt":"2012-07-04T19:34:54","slug":"review-the-amazing-spider-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theculturednerd.org\/?p=5345","title":{"rendered":"[REVIEW] The Amazing Spider-man"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Although it has been only 10 years since the first Spider-Man<\/strong> movie debuted in theaters, Sony Pictures<\/strong> felt the need to reboot the franchise. The news came as a shock to fans of the Sam Raimi trilogy<\/strong>. On one hand you had a trilogy that helped redefine the superhero genre, and gave audiences something they had never seen before, but on the other hand, you had a trilogy that some felt made fun of Spider-man<\/strong>. That picked and choose what they liked and didn’t like about Spider-man<\/strong>, changed characters (They turned Gwen Stacy<\/strong> into Mary Jane.<\/strong> And vice versa), and with the mixed feelings about the 3rd movie, it made sense that they wanted to go another way with the character.<\/p>\n

Production had already begun on the 4th Spider-Man<\/strong> movie, which when it first was announced, they announced that it was going to star the Vulture<\/strong> as the villain, and John Malkovich<\/strong> was announced to be the Vulture.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But the idea was scrapped. Production halted. And Sony<\/strong> decided it was time for a reboot.<\/p>\n

Marc Webb<\/strong> (500 Days of Summer<\/strong><\/em>) came in to direct a new, fresh take on Spider-man<\/strong>. When Webb<\/strong> announced that he chose Andrew Garfield<\/strong> (The Social Network<\/strong>) many quickly began to speculate what the movie would be like with him in the leads shoes. And IT WORKED. The Amazing Spider-man offers a rare view on how it can and does work when you try to modernize a character, especially one that had previously been seen on screen in a completely different way.<\/p>\n

While the Amazing Spider-man<\/strong><\/em> is indeed a reboot, it shows Spider-man’s<\/strong> origin in a very different way. The story this time around heavily relies on the inclusion of Peter Parker’s\u00a0<\/strong> parents (whom if i recall correctly didn’t even get mentioned in the last movies) and his high school love, Gwen Stacy<\/strong> (played by Emma Stone<\/strong>). Some parts of this movie felt like Deja Vu, seeing peter get bullied by Flash Thompson<\/strong>, lectured about responsibility by Uncle Ben<\/strong>, etc. But what it did change, was very welcomed. The character felt fresh, new, exciting again. And I found myself getting upset about halfway through the movie because I knew that I would have to wait several years for the sequel, which was set up for in several ways throughout the movie.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rhys Ifans (<\/strong>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows \u2013 Part 1)<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong>plays Dr. Curt Conners<\/strong> aka The Lizard<\/strong>. The role heavily plays on the ideas that Conners<\/strong> isn’t the bad guy he starts out to be. Like all great villains, you feel for him, you understand him and why hes doing what he is doing. And when he falls into the darkness, you sympathize with him h<\/strong>e\u00a0<\/strong>plays this role perfectly. The character is played very mysteriously, obviously knowing much more about Peter’s parents than he lets on.<\/p>\n

The movie takes a very realistic approach to all the characters involved. From the awkward scene where Peter<\/strong> asks Gwen<\/strong> out on a date, to Spider-man<\/strong> playing video games on his phone while waiting for the Lizard<\/strong> to appear. It all felt very real.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: The movie was easily the best Spider-man<\/strong> yet, and personally the only thing that takes away from the movie, is it being compared to the last 3.<\/p>\n

The Amazing Spider-man<\/em> 4.5\/5 \u2013 A<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Below the break is a Longer Spoiler-Filled Review<\/strong><\/p>\n

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*If you do not want key moments of the movie ruined for you, do not read any further.*<\/p>\n

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The Amazing Spider-man<\/em><\/strong> takes a whole new approach at the character, one that is very welcomed. Taking its cues from the pages of The Amazing Spider-man<\/strong> comics and Ultimate Spider-man<\/strong> comics, as well as some very new ideas,\u00a0 this version of Spider-man<\/strong> is one that actually feels real, and relevant.<\/p>\n

The movie starts with Peter’s<\/strong> parents. A friendly game of hide and seek, where a young Peter<\/strong> discovers that his dads office has been broken into. Calling for help, his father rushes in. Upon seeing his office torn apart, his frantically searches for a file, hidden in a desk drawer. Finally he finds it. Then tells his wife its time to go. They arrive at Uncle Ben’<\/strong>s, say there goodbyes to Peter<\/strong>. Then they’re gone forever.<\/p>\n

The movie’s introduction sets the stage for a Spider-man<\/strong> movie like nothing ever seen before. Peter<\/strong> feels like he was abandoned. Years later, he finds something his father had hidden, a briefcase with the file his father was so frantically searching for, which sets him on a quest for answers.<\/p>\n

Everything is connected to this moment. Peter’s<\/strong> meeting this Dr. Conner<\/strong>s, getting bit by the spider that later gives him his powers, his connection with Gwen,<\/strong> and even Uncle Ben’s<\/strong> death. All stemmed from the single moment Peter<\/strong> decided to find out what happened to his parents.<\/p>\n

What I liked:<\/p>\n