Introduction
Ever since Sony cancelled Tobey Maguire's 'Spider-Man 4' following a creative difference between them and director Sam Raimi, fans really looked up to the updates regarding a possible reboot of the iconic web-slinger franchise. Columbia Pictures came along with Sony to develop 'The Amazing Spider-Man', which was set to be helmed by Marc Webb. Quite interestingly, the producers decided to retain 'The Lizard' as the main villain, from their cancelled fourth Spider-Man film! Andrew Garfield was cast as Peter Parker, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy (that's right! This Peter had no MJ), and Rhys Ifans as The Lizard, while the supporting cast included Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen, and Sally Field. This Andrew Garfield led reboot from Sony was a high staked risk in disguise, that successfully went on to be remembered as the Gen-Alpha's evergreen icon! Read along to textually experience the film!
P.S- In spite of a mammoth box-office response, this two-film franchise is widely considered underrated. I would, thus, recommend you to watch both the films if you haven't already, as films like these really deserve appreciation. I've tried to keep spoilers as limited as possible.
Basic Plot
Peter Parker, a high school student, develops superpowers, after getting bitten by a radioactive spider. On the other hand, a reptilian humanoid monster, 'The Lizard', creates havoc in Mew York city.
Positives
Direction and Alignment with Comics
While this film follows the footprints of Sam Raimi's 2002 genesis with a origin story and 'spider-biting' context, this film stands out because of it's 'true to the comics' nature, especially from Spiderman's perspective. Andrew Garfield plays a Spiderman who's neither too much of a tech kid like Tom Holland, nor a beast like Tobey Maguire. Instead, he's the aptly balanced Spiderman, who's stylish, witty, agile, tall, techy, and responsible. He's also shown to make his own web shooters (although Tom Holland does that as well) and that adds more to it's alignment with the comics. Andrew Garfield's casting is also a good call as he matches the physical descriptions of Spiderman, again, as per the comics, and that's again a plus. Now, if we shift our focus from all the comic book homage and references to the direction part, Marc Webb has done a solid job in crafting an origin story that's quite different and modern in terms of look and feel from the Sam Raimi's 2002 counterpart. The 'spider-biting' setup is modern and so is Peter's love interest this time, all of which add up to the freshness of this film. While Kirsten Dunst's MJ got to know about Peter real identity only at the end of Spider-Man 2 (which was a good call considering the development of their character arcs demanded time), the identity reveal comes rather as a confession in the pre-climax of this film, and that's a scene that's so well set up that you don't even feel it to be hurried or given away too early! That was some serious directorial caliber on display, especially when this was only the second film of the director!
Performances, VFX and Action
Performances have always been one of the strongest points of all the Spiderman live action films, and this is film is no different. Andrew Garfield really shines as the newer and modern Spiderman, who's cool, techy, and powerful. I know, his version of Peter Parker isn't the most convincing (he's too cool for Peter Parker), but he redeems that with his alter ego, his newly designed suit, and some gorgeously choreographed action and web slinging! All in all, Andrew really made his own mark as the friendly neighborhood web slinger, which was never easy from where Tobey left in 2007. Emma Stone was quite refreshing as Gwen Stacy and her chemistry with Andrew really, from the development to the climax, was really well done. Credit also goes to Rhys Ifans who seems pretty convincing as The Lizard. He's gritty, he's dangerous, and interestingly, he's also a human. Kudos to the director for showing his human and relatively positive side (Dr Curt Connors) as well. Where the director particularly wins is designing Lizard's character- a simple yet terrifying villain! The supporting cast does well enough to keep up with the momentum and that's a subtle positive as well. Special mention to the synergically crafted VFX and action that makes this film quite dynamic in terms of technicality. This film probably has the best web slinging scenes among all spidey films and the action is terrific as well! The fight choreography is sleek, stylized, and a hell lot of fun! Andrew's Spidey doesn't hold back on using his web, and instead, he does that quite generously, which adds to the fight dynamics- can be seen in quite a few scenes, like the sewer action where Peter hunts like a real Spider. It's crazy fun! The CGI work is fantastic and so there isn't a scene that looks flat or dull. The visuals are stunning with the subtly vibrant use of color tones, and that gives this film a solid edge.
Underwhelming Aspects
Bric-a-Brac in the Screenplay
While this is quite subjective (quite obvious, as that's what film reviews stand for)- I would have liked the screenplay to be a tad better. I mean, it isn't bad by any means, and it's quite engaging by the way, but there are some scenes that could've got a better placing. The whole 'Uncle Ben' and 'Peter's parents' concept felt to be a little misfit, considering how cool the film is otherwise. Especially, the Ben Parker conflict comes at a surprisingly later stage of the film, which takes away Peter's 'crushed but not broken' trope- a commonality in Spiderman origin story which was much superiorly designed by Sam Raimi in his genesis. I feel this to be a particularly serious miss, owing to the importance of Uncle Ben and his influence over Peter's life- you cannot go wrong there especially when crafting a reboot, with the origin story being the prime interest. Andrew's charismatic Peter Parker was a hit and a miss, and if you talk about how well it was improvised- frankly, it didn't quite land. The action scenes in particular have been crafted with some nice detailing infused into them, but they somehow felt to be less epic than what people had already seen earlier. The staging and all were done well, but somehow felt a little less magnetic compared to the Raimi trilogy, and I personally feel the BGM played a slight inch of a spoilsport there.
Conclusion
Marc Webb's modern Spidey offering provides no nonsense entertainment that looks stunning on screen. He uses the CGI to his favor, creating the visual extravaganza that people demand from a Spiderman live action movie. Although some core plot points have received a bit of a shallow treatment from the director, it's mainly the refreshing on screen pairing and their chemistry that keeps the drama moving forward. Combined with a subtle humor, solid action, and a pretty cool but unexpected climax, this film truly felt to be a worthy follow up to the Sam Raimi trilogy (I know I've mentioned the trilogy quite a few times now, but I can't really help- it's that iconic). the Spiderman suit is something to die for and compared to 2012 standards, it was quite ahead of time. No wonder even the suit has a separate fanbase now! The Amazing Spider-Man really levelled up the game in 2012, and while some bits still persist as imperfect, this film holds up damn well. 'I was wrong about you Peter. This city needs you'- says Captain Stacy as he lies dying, and well, Andrew's greatness really proved the skeptics wrong, in the most right way possible!
Watch Out For
- Cast Performances
- Fight sequences
- Climax
- A Irrfan Khan special appearance
WTF Rating
7.5/10