Movie Review : The Amazing Spider-Man

"I'm gonna throw you out the window now" - Peter Parker/Spider-Man

     Just 5 years after Tobey Maguire last dawned the Spiderman suit, Andrew Garfield steps in as the next web slinger in The Amazing Spider-Man. However, unlike Sam Raimi's series of films, Marc Webb decided on a more comic book story approach. In Webb's rebooted version, Spider-Man's love interest is Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) instead of Raimi's Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). I felt that Stone was a better leading woman because unlike Dunst's character, she wasn't portrayed as the damsel in distress but rather smart and involved, which is one of the reasons Spidey defeated the Lizard. Another similarity to the comic is Spider-Mans web slinging ability. Don't get me wrong he still swings through the city, but it's artificial webbing shot out of a device that Peter Parker invented. Garfield portrayed Peter as a cool geek, and the reason I say that is because he is a geek in all senses of the word,he's smart and loves science, but he still has his skateboard (at least until he gets his Spidey abilities) and he loses the glasses. We also get to see Dr. Connors not only as Peters mentor, but also his main nemesis of the film. While there are still aspects of Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy that will always be famous (e.g the upside down kiss), The Amazing Spider-Man still managed to stay with it. One of the only real complaints I had was the time it took for Spidey to emerge. For the first half of the movie your getting an introduction to Peter before he's Spider-Mans, which isn't bad but for those who watch superhero movies for the epic fight scenes and the awesome arch enemies, it was an excruciatingly long wait. Lizard was a cool bad guy, but he was too much like the Hulk. Turning into this horrible beast and having no control over what it does. And the fight between Spider-Man and Lizard wasn't as great as they could have made it, I mean it didn't really last that long and the main fight they had been building up for was kind of a disappointment. As for my opinion on the movie, I really thought they did a nice job giving the story from the comic perspective and showing Spider-Man as a high school kid in a suit and not some unstoppable force. Even though there were some things about the movie I didn't care for, it did keep my attention and that's really all you can ask for in a good movie.

Pros: Amazing graphics/ Comic book feel/ better leading woman

Cons: Disappointing final battle/  Takes too long to actually get Spidey suit/ not enough fight scenes

Final Verdict: 8.25/10

-Tiffany


Second Opinion :

Visual effects have come a long ways since Sam Raimi's Spider-Man hit theaters. The effects are beautiful, but to me the gem of the movie is Andrew Garfield, the new and improved Peter Parker. In nearly every way, Garfield is a better Peter. He's funnier, more charming, and most importantly, much truer to the comics. There are faults in the story, as this is a brand new take on spidey's story, although it's still truer to paper than most other versions. But all that can be forgiven due to the acting and cast of the film. If you didn't read my Avengers review, then I mentioned that Marvel Studios is possibly the best company in the business at casting. This continues that streak, and was an absolute joy for me.

9 out of 10