The Amazing Spider-Man Review 

More average than Amazing Spider-Man

3/5

It’s hard to believe that it has already been a decade since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man hit  the theaters. Back then, we were lucky if we saw one superhero movie a year. They were new, exciting and fun. Boy times have changed and now Marvel movies are some of the biggest box office draws of the summer. Does this amazing Spider-Man live up to his name, or is he just your average Spider-Man?

In this new movie, director Marc Webb borrows heavily from Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. The Amazing Spider-Man has the same tone, look and even film composer as Batman Begins. Now I know this will immediately make true die hard Spidey fans cringe, but due to the story being told here it works...to some degree.

To achieve this darker tone for Spider-Man, the story goes into Peter Parker’s 

childhood and we see how he came to live with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. The film also touches on how Peter deals with his parents being gone. Offering you a deeper insight to Peter’s psyche and a new approach to the classic Spider-Man origin. 

One aspect I wish Marc Webb didn’t copy from Batman Begins were the action sequences. Most of the action sequences take place at night and are shot too close. Making it very difficult to see what’s going on. This is really to bad because Spider-Man has an awesome new lucha libre fighting style. The 1st person view shots were a nice touch, and the CGI for The Lizard looked okay. Unfortunately there was nothing here that screamed amazing. The cast on the other hand was spectacular.

Taking over the lead role of Spider-Man is Andrew Garfield, he is definitely a much better Peter Parker than Tobey Maguire. Peter’s new love interest Gwen Stacy played by Emma Stone is fine. Gwen and Peter are perfect. They are much more natural together then Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. There is also a new villain too, The Lizard. Fans of Raimi’s Spider-Man films have been teased with this villain for the past ten years and it’s fantastic to finally see him on the big screen. Rhys Ifans plays the Lizard and has a great performance. Other note worthy performances are Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben and Dennis Leary’s Captain George Stacy. 

For those of you who are looking for the classic Spider-Man story you may be disappointed with this incarnation, but those of you who are looking for a little different take on your favorite web-slinger then check this out.