The Amazing Spider-Man

I have been a Spiderman fan since I was a kid. The fantasy became a reality back in 2002 when Sam Raimi released the first Spider-Man film with Tobey Maguire behind the red and blue spandex and Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson. The casting was perfect right from Peter to Mary Jane, Uncle Ben and Aunt May. When the second installment was released, it was one of the best sequels ever made for a superhero movie, second only to Nolan's The Dark Knight. There was a sense of being with all the conflicts going on to Peter as he tries to balance everything while saving New York from Dock Ock. Due to the success of the second film, Raimi was in deep pressure to upstage the previous installment with the third chapter opting him to bring in 3 villains at the same time which compromised the whole story. But even with a lackluster 3rd installment, Spiderman is still one of the best superhero trilogies ever made. 5 years after Spider-Man was seen spinning his web in the streets of Ney York, he is back with a new set of actors and a director with only one film behind his name.

Spider-Man brings back the origin of the friendly neighborhood superhero, how he came into being and become who he is. There were a lot of changes to fit the story line. He meets Gwen Stacy and become his love interest. Dr. Connors was not his teacher in this film, rather he is a scientist working for Oscorp. Osborne did not make any appearance in the film. Peter does not have a bestfriend making him a loner in this film. Spider-Man fans will feel that there a lot of missing pieces in the film. There are a lot of elements that were injected in the film carelessly. There are no wisecrack from J. Jonah Jameson. Peter does not struggle making a living for them. The film missed the essence of Peter's character. In this film, he is not the Peter who has to be multitasker rather he is the Peter that is only pre-occupied with love and the struggle to avenge the death of his Uncle Ben.

The villain lacks the motivation to become the bad guy since he is not robbed of anything by society however unleashes revenge to the city. The madness Lizard had was unconventional but not believable. The film also tackled Peter's parents which was not even mention in Raimi's Spider-Man. Comic book readers know that Peter's parents were killed in an airplane crash and was known to be enemies of the state after they were framed as spies for The Red Skull, in the film, it was different. 

I like how Andrew Garfield played Peter Parker as the nerdy type by actions and not only words which lacked in Maguire's Spiderman. I hate his suit especially the mask. Emma Stone was cast perfectly as Gwen Stacy, sweet and lovable. I don't think that Sally Field is the right part for Aunt May, Field's Aunt May is so strong unlike Rosemary Harris' portrayal which is more motherly and frail just like in the comic books.

Marc Webb made Spider-Man a superhero movie with elements of high school and puppy love and you can see that he is great in conveying those scene especially during the school hallways scene with Parker and Stacy. The action scenes are great. The first person perspective while Spidey is swinging and crawling in New York is awesome. However, Webb seemed not to understand Spidey's world and how important are the elements which were left out.

The Amazing Spider-Man may be rebooted too soon. Marc Webb may not be the perfect director to helm this reboot and there were a lot of casting issues but at least he made the webbing right.

GRADE: B-


PS. Stan Lee made his best cameo in this film


trailer