It was too early.
That was my thought when the news about a Spider-Man film franchise reboot was first announced. The last of the Sam Raimi helmed trilogy was released just five years ago. Even in the current world of television and film that seem to resort to adapting everything in sight, it was too early to do a reboot.
Although, I didn't think it was a completely bad idea. If they did a good job, I could forget the debacle that was Spider-Man 3. Even if it did mean having to wade through another origins story that has seen many incarnations for many decades.
I started to warm up to the idea of a reboot more when I heard that the casting included Andrew Garfield as the titular superhero, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben, Sally Field as Aunt May, Dennis Leary as police captain George Stacy, and Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors aka The Lizard. It was a good enough cast to get me interested.
Everyone knows the story of Peter Parker and how he became Spider-Man because of a bite by a radioactive or genetically modified (depending on the version) spider. Everyone knows that Peter was raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Everyone knows that the death of Uncle Ben was a pivotal moment in Peter's life, especially since Peter felt responsible for the incident. Everyone knows that Spider-Man had two major love interests in the comic series, Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Parker. And everyone knows that Spider-Man got to fight a lot of bad guys who were not quite normal themselves.
If you didn't know any of that, then the recently released The Amazing Spider-Man should be a good start to familiarize yourself with New York's web slinging hero. Especially since, despite the obvious fact that Hollywood is never capable of faithful adaptations, this is closer to the source material than the previous trilogy in many ways.
Let me get the comparisons out of the way first. First, this version takes place during Peter Parker's high school years. Second, the origin story featured on the film involves the mysterious disappearance of Peter's parents, instead of just showing he's an orphan raised by his aunt and uncle. Third, the love interest for this film is Gwen Stacy, who was Peter's first love from the comics, not Mary Jane Parker as the previous trilogy indicated. Fourth, this version of Spider-Man uses mechanical web shooters using the biocable produced by Oscorp from the very modified spiders like the one that bit Peter, instead of producing web biologically. Fifth, Andrew Garfield's lanky build is better suited for the role than Tobey Maguire, who looked stocky and squat after building muscle. Sixth, the latest adaptation is also more faithful to the comic book personality of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, who has a smart mouth, can be extremely sarcastic and talks a lot even when fighting (at least, when the enemies are small fries); the previous incarnation came off as dorky. And last, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst's chemistry was nothing compared to the chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.
The Amazing Spider-Man was highly enjoyable to watch, with the Marc Webb helmed installment featuring a great mix of action, drama and humor. And lead Andrew Garfield is more than capable of carrying a film franchise (I don't think anybody would believe that Sony Pictures will stop at one), bringing audiences a performance that is both a fresh take (for film audiences) and a more faithful portrayal (for comic book audiences) of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. It was a key element in the film for Andrew Garfield to make the audience witness the different ends of the teenage emotional spectrum. You get to watch Peter be quiet, snarky, goofy, angry, giddy and sad, basically showing us how crazy emotional your teenage years can be, even without the whole trying to be a superhero bit. His incarnation of the titular character is a more effective take on a
teenager playing at being a superhero and eventually maturing enough to
take the role seriously. And the filmmakers did a great job of setting up the events for the character to reach the moments of realization that would shape Peter Parker to become the superhero Spider-Man.
While there are many who like to latch on to the love story element of anything they watch, no one can doubt that the women in Peter's life contributed greatly to his growth. This is especially true in the case of his first love Gwen Stacy. The decision of the filmmakers to begin the reboot of the franchise with Gwen was a great one, especially if they plan to be faithful to her storyline in the comic series. I believe that will be the case, since they keep dropping Norman Osbourne's name throughout the film. While I think that outcome might upset the audience in the future, I believe it will be more relevant to the franchise in terms of Peter Parker/Spider-Man's development. But I don't think we have to worry about that until the next installment or hopefully the one after that.
As for Gwen Stacy herself, Emma Stone's portrayal is spot on. Well, I can no longer remember Gwen Stacy's personality from the comic series, so I'm just basing my impression on how I generally think that Emma Stone is awesome. And I'm sure that I'm not the only one who thinks that way. Emma Stone gave the audiences a Gwen Stacy who is ridiculously smart, beautiful and cool despite what could have easily become a nerdy persona. I also love the fact that they didn't relegate her in the role of the damsel in distress, and instead made her appear capable of making strategic decisions and bravery worthy of a superhero film. And as for portraying a love interest, Emma Stone's chemistry with Andrew Garfield is off the charts, with their characters exchanging awkward but sweet banter, and eventually, kisses that even made the most hardy men in the audience squee in their minds (though I think it's mostly them imagining they're Peter Parker).
As for the token villain, Rhys Ifans is great as Dr. Curt Connors. In his human form, Dr. Connors come off as supportive and kind but obviously frustrated at his status as a cripple, which isn't helped by the lack of development in his research. While I greatly appreciated Rhys Ifan's turn as the human Dr. Connors, I'm just okay with the Lizard itself. Aside from making it scary enough to justify people screaming as they run away from it, it doesn't convey the intellectual menace brought forth by Doc Ock from the previous franchise's Spider-Man 2. As a friend aptly put it, "They turned him into freaking Godzilla." I do have to concede that he's very good at stomping around, destroying things and scaring the living hell out of regular people who aren't carrying automatic firearms. And his scuffles with Spider-Man made for great fight scenes, from that underwater struggle in the sewers, the fight that destroyed much of Peter's school to the eventual final battle on the OsCorp rooftop.
Speaking of the fights between Spider-Man and the Lizard, the school fight led to a scene where the two crashed into the library, which eventually became an awesome backdrop for Stan Lee's Greatest. Cameo. Spot. Ever.
All in all, The Amazing Spider Man is a great film that is a surefire summer blockbuster. You can expect to be entertained with great action and humor, as well as the token heart tugging drama. They were able to effectively create scenes that made us empathize with Peter Parker/Spider-Man's struggles and feel a collective surge of hope when he receives help from unlikely sources just so he can save the people of the city. I don't think I'd soon forget Spider-Man's painful journey from a far off part of the city just to reach OsCorp so he can stop the Lizard. That journey featured the rousing moment for audiences that not many films can successfully pull off.
If you haven't seen The Amazing Spider-Man and you have the money to spare, watch it on IMAX like what Marvin and I did for his birthday. IMAX will spoil regular 3D for you, but watching this particular film in the format is well worth it. And it's definitely fun seeing other members of the audience trying to avoid something they think is flying at them. It's also quite fun when you realize that you're doing the same.
The Amazing Spider-Man is already shaping up to be the beginning of a new franchise, with the next one slated for a 2014 summer release. And with the mysterious scene shown midway through the credits, it's safe to say that the anticipation to find out what happens next is high. I, for one, can't wait to find out who the next villain is.
And hey, what do you know... I just realized that I liked the film so much, I didn't mind that the reboot came too early after all.
Happy viewing!!Labels: Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Film, Must-Watch, Reboot, Spider-Man, Superhero
