Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man
Directed by: Marc Webb (the irony)
Cast:  Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
          Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy
          Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors/The Lizard
          Dennis Leary as Capt. George Stacy
          Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben Parker
          Sally Field as Aunt may Parker
Rated PG-13
*The following may contain spoilers*
"It's too soon for a reboot! Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy was the best!" These were words that I heard quite often. I don't know why I heard them, but I did. Needless to say, I was always pretty excited for this re-imagining of the wall-crawler because, let's face it, Spider-man 3 was a train wreck.

Remember when this was a thing?

So, when Spidey got the scrubdown, I was excited and boy, did they deliver. Of course, everyone knows the story at this point: Nerdy guy gets bitten, fights a villain, gets the girl, loses the girl, repeat steps 2 - 5. But, it was the way that Marc Webb approached the well-known story, making it believable and relatable. It helps that his leads, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone were perfect for their roles.

They're also not 30.

Martin Sheen and Sally Field also did an incredible job as the loving, adopted parental roles while Rhys Ifans was an excellent villain. But that's pretty broad, so let's break it down....

What I Liked
In my opinion, this is the perfect Spider-Man origin movie. As far as continuity to the source material goes, every step is nearly perfect. And on it's own, it's a spectacular superhero movie. As I said above, what sets Spider-Man apart for me is the believability of the whole thing. As Sam Raimi proved, it's not easy to make Spidey's origins realistic, but Webb pulled it off. The pacing, timing and progression of character throughout his beginnings as the hero and the movie as a whole were perfect. His journey from Peter Parker to Spider-Man was actually emotional and powerful, driven by realistic situations. The villains growth and progression was also great, both in timing and emotionally. It also stayed true to the original Lizard character, keeping him a good guy who makes a mistake while trying to do good things.

Finally, Sally Field is an incredible Aunt May, bringing the right mix of emotion, shock and acceptance to the role, creating a real connection between her and Peter by the end of the movie. Martin Sheen and Dennis Leary also do great in their roles, all three coming together to create the perfect support system for Peter, showing in full force that Peter is reliant on his family and friends.

I also really liked the way his web-shooting was explained; again, the machines made sense and seemed realistic enough to be believable. I also loved the way that his web-swinging scenes were shot, putting you in the eyes of Spider-Man and really helping you get in the moment of the action. The way that he learned how to be Spider-Man was also really well done and is nominated for my "Favorite Movie Scene of All Time". It's currently tied with the final scene of Inception.

What I Didn't Like
There wasn't really a whole lot, just a few nit-picky things with the acting, but I can get over them. This really was the perfect Spider-man movie.

(For the record, I saw it three times, so no, this is not just the nerdy fanboy excitement talking.)


Final Thoughts
Everything about this movie was done right, from Peter's parents disappearance to Stan Lee's cameo. It perfectly captured everything that Spider-Man is: humor, charm, good luck and family. Marc Webb, congrats and I can't wait to see what the next movies in this Spidey's legacy brings us. I'm excited, whatever it is.

When Should You See It?
Now. Right now. It's still in theaters. Go. Then buy it on Blu-Ray.


Personal Rating: 9 of 10
Plot: 8.5 of 10
Characters: 9 of 10
Writing: 10 of 10