REVIEW #84 The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

The Amazing Spider-Man, directed by Marc Webb is the second live action version of the Marvel web slinger. Bitten by a radioactive spider at OSCORP, Peter Parker soon finds himself forced to use his newfound abilities to battle the Lizard.

CAST & THE ACTING

Andrew Garfield takes on the iconic role of Spider-Man in this instalment and in my opinion he is the most underrated and disrespected actor out of the three who have taken on the role. The more I watch this film the more I like Garfields performance! I think he plays the transition very well, from the shy ‘geeky’ school photographer to being Spider-Man, inheriting the confidence that comes with his abilities. He also delivers a great performance in the more emotional moments of the film, such as uncle Ben’s death, showing range in his acting abilities. Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacey and I believe she takes to the character nicely, in the absence of Mary Jane in The Amazing Spider-Man I think she plays a much better love interest, always looking to support Peter and is much more then just a damsel in distress but actually an intelligent ally. Rhys Ifans plays Dr Curt Connors and portrays the character well. I also think Sally Field and Martin Sheen are a great Aunt May and Uncle Ben!

PLOT & THE STORYLINE 

We get to see the origins again in The Amazing Spider-Man and I think the spider bite scene was a lot better in this film compared to the original Spider-Man. It had a little more meaning to it, with Peter going to Oscorp to see Dr Connors in the hope of connecting with his late parents former lives. The villain in this film is the Lizard, the alter ego of Dr Connors who transforms himself when trying to find a way to grow back his lost limb. I think this was a good villain and it tied in really nicely with the death of Peters parents.

I also liked the fact Gwen Stacey was the main love interest for Peter Parker in this version, as I mentioned earlier in the review Gwen is much more than a damsel in distress, she’s intelligent and brave always looking to help Peter. It was a nice change compared to Kristen Dunst’s MJ in the original trilogy. I see a lot of people criticise Garfields incarnation because they believe he wasn’t a good Peter Parker, I disagree! It correctly shows his interest in photography, whilst also emphasising his intelligence and ability to make his own gadgets. He’s still an outcast in high school before his powers, perhaps not as much so as Maguires Peter Parker but definitely more so then Holland’s version! Which is why I believe Garfield is the most underrated version because I think he makes a great Spider-Man. What I do think the film lacks is a friend for Peter, I think it would have been better to introduce Harry Osborne in this film because the only person he has is his aunt May and Gwen Stacy. 

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL EFFECTS 

The cinematography is great in this film, there are a lot of good web slinging scenes which is must for a Spider-Man film and one that stands out is the first person view of Spider-Man. He finally lands on the New York sky scraper and sees himself in the reflection on the windows. That was a really nice way to show off the character, the audience is experiencing his powers for the first time just like Peter is and that’s represented by the first person account. The special effects are also very good, everything looks really convincing and they created a really good design for the Lizard. The Spider-Man suit in this film is also one of my favourites and a lot of the scenes really compliment it. The pacing of the film was also pretty good, they moved nicely through the origins and the death of uncle Ben into the the main antagonist quite smoothly, which meant that I didn’t lose interest. 

OVERALL (7.9/10)

I really enjoyed The Amazing Spider-Man and the more I watch this film and the sequel the more I like Andrew Garfields version of the character. I have always said Maguire was my favourite Spider-Man due to growing up with those films but I actually do think Garfield could now be my favourite out of the three and yes I know that is a very unpopular opinion! The cinematography and effects are really good and compliment Spider-Man’s abilities and the web slinging scenes look great which is what I feel Tom Holland’s film seriously lacks. I liked the fact Gwen Stacy was the love interest for Peter, it was a nice change from the original trilogy. The Lizard was a great villain and although we already witnessed the origins of Spider-Man in the original films, I did rate how they approached it in The Amazing Spider-Man. I do prefer the sequel to this film but nonetheless this was a very good film too. 

Thanks for reading.

Callan