Peter Parker is swinging back across the Manhattan skyline for a more personal story of boy meets radioactive spider. Brilliant in the mind but a loner in popularity, Peter Parker gets by in his simple life of science that is until he discoveries a long hidden mystery that led to his parents death. Looking for answers Peter sneaks into Oscorp Industries in hope of finding out what his father was working on, while it leads him into a more personal relationship with intern and classmate Gwen Stacy, Peter also makes the acquaintance of Dr Curtis Connors a enigmatic old friend of his fathers. His journey through Oscorp tower takes Peter to a room filled with artificially enhanced spiders and one of which take a liking to Parker, being on the end of a nasty bite Peter soon learns he's gained some nimble new abilities, though on sharing a scientific algorithm Peter helps Dr Connors on his own scaly metamorphosis of chaos. Dealing with death in the family, a mutated scientist, teenage angst and half of Manhattans police force on his trailing webs Peter Parker must learn that with great power comes a red and blue spandex costume as he sets out to right the wrongs he's caused and put a stop to the Lizard.
Andrew Garfield breathes a fresh dose of life into the amusing teen years of a young Parker while not as awkward and lonesome as Tobey Maguire's stint Garfield throws his all in giving a troubled yet likable tale of the boy before the spandex and just how much the bite turns his world upside down. If someone rivals and possibly overthrows Garfield's screen presence it would have to be the beautiful Emma Stone who brings a mix of brains, beauty and even that pinch of bravado in the form of Gwen Stacy. It makes her just as strong in development terms as Parker's own story and the role she plays seems worlds ahead of the damsel in distress role that Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane found herself routed to. Rhys Ifans loses an arm and gains some scales to bring Dr Curtis Connors, the Lizard to CGI life. It's not Ifans' strongest role in comparison to his past castings and I felt that the emotional weight and likability of the character was traded for gimmicky CGI presence which left the villain of the piece feeling rather drab. Martin Sheen and Sally Field pair up to make the infamous Uncle Ben and Aunt May respectively, both give warmth to the heart of the film and a strong family feel also offering comedic moments for Garfield to play off against which helps the pace of the film. the final stand out performance comes from the Dennis Leary and his take on the cynical yet brilliant Captain Stacy, Gwen's ftaher and the man at the head of the police spider hunt, his dry humor and ability to steal the scene makes the his character a stand out piece even when up against the man in spandex.
Ten years on from Maguire's first spandex outfit and a new Spidey is taking up the tights, while not the greatest acting in the history of cinema Maguire had brought the geeky Parker to the screens with applause from fans and yet not long after fans are now issuing in the era of Garfield with much the same glee. Garfield's Parker is much in the same vain as previously portrayed but has changed with the times and fits in both realistically and with his comic-book existence rather well. Though Parker and his personal life are gleaming gems of how to do the character justice, Spider-man himself isn't as prominent on the screen and with the 2 hours and more time frame you notice that more pressing issues with teen romance, a certain Miss Stacy and rebellious teenage angst are much more common place than Spidey's own crime fighting antics. With that point comes the obvious question, did it really need that much time to remind us of Peter's origins? While done well it feels at times too familiar territory, especially as it's a reboot so soon after the originals have only just been pushed out of memory. Even that though is made up for with the quirky nature of the characters and engaging performance of Garfield which does leave you entertained, the only exception being the Lizard who feels empty not compared to the hall of villains Spidey could have faced but because of the way he was portrayed and with little confrontation or actual logical plan, the Lizard was a CGI fly swatting at the narrative throughout. Giving away very little of the mystery the film originally promised, the untold story is pretty close to the story we all already know in truth but this is more likely to keep mystery alive for a sequel. So you've seen much of the same before but Marc Webb's take still has that indie quirk that shines on the leads and supporting cast making you care about their fates, and when Spidey does appear he appears with enough style to keep you interested. Chances are this wont leave you as enthralled as The Avengers and the previous Marvel titles strewn over the years but Sony's Amazing Spider-man is worth a watch and still packs enough webbing to keep you entangled to an origin tale of everyone's friendly neighborhood Spider-man.
7 / 10
FIN.
Andrew Garfield breathes a fresh dose of life into the amusing teen years of a young Parker while not as awkward and lonesome as Tobey Maguire's stint Garfield throws his all in giving a troubled yet likable tale of the boy before the spandex and just how much the bite turns his world upside down. If someone rivals and possibly overthrows Garfield's screen presence it would have to be the beautiful Emma Stone who brings a mix of brains, beauty and even that pinch of bravado in the form of Gwen Stacy. It makes her just as strong in development terms as Parker's own story and the role she plays seems worlds ahead of the damsel in distress role that Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane found herself routed to. Rhys Ifans loses an arm and gains some scales to bring Dr Curtis Connors, the Lizard to CGI life. It's not Ifans' strongest role in comparison to his past castings and I felt that the emotional weight and likability of the character was traded for gimmicky CGI presence which left the villain of the piece feeling rather drab. Martin Sheen and Sally Field pair up to make the infamous Uncle Ben and Aunt May respectively, both give warmth to the heart of the film and a strong family feel also offering comedic moments for Garfield to play off against which helps the pace of the film. the final stand out performance comes from the Dennis Leary and his take on the cynical yet brilliant Captain Stacy, Gwen's ftaher and the man at the head of the police spider hunt, his dry humor and ability to steal the scene makes the his character a stand out piece even when up against the man in spandex.
Ten years on from Maguire's first spandex outfit and a new Spidey is taking up the tights, while not the greatest acting in the history of cinema Maguire had brought the geeky Parker to the screens with applause from fans and yet not long after fans are now issuing in the era of Garfield with much the same glee. Garfield's Parker is much in the same vain as previously portrayed but has changed with the times and fits in both realistically and with his comic-book existence rather well. Though Parker and his personal life are gleaming gems of how to do the character justice, Spider-man himself isn't as prominent on the screen and with the 2 hours and more time frame you notice that more pressing issues with teen romance, a certain Miss Stacy and rebellious teenage angst are much more common place than Spidey's own crime fighting antics. With that point comes the obvious question, did it really need that much time to remind us of Peter's origins? While done well it feels at times too familiar territory, especially as it's a reboot so soon after the originals have only just been pushed out of memory. Even that though is made up for with the quirky nature of the characters and engaging performance of Garfield which does leave you entertained, the only exception being the Lizard who feels empty not compared to the hall of villains Spidey could have faced but because of the way he was portrayed and with little confrontation or actual logical plan, the Lizard was a CGI fly swatting at the narrative throughout. Giving away very little of the mystery the film originally promised, the untold story is pretty close to the story we all already know in truth but this is more likely to keep mystery alive for a sequel. So you've seen much of the same before but Marc Webb's take still has that indie quirk that shines on the leads and supporting cast making you care about their fates, and when Spidey does appear he appears with enough style to keep you interested. Chances are this wont leave you as enthralled as The Avengers and the previous Marvel titles strewn over the years but Sony's Amazing Spider-man is worth a watch and still packs enough webbing to keep you entangled to an origin tale of everyone's friendly neighborhood Spider-man.
7 / 10
FIN.
Comments
Post a Comment