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Is this film even necessary? God, no, seeing as how the Raimi Spider-Man trilogy is roughly only a decade old. Is it a lot of fun, adding more heart and depth of character to Peter Parker? You betcha. Still doesn’t make it necessary, but at least it goes about righting some of the wrongs from Raimi’s trilogy.
Another origin story seems a little excessive given that Spider-Man, like Batman or Superman, seems to have an origin that we all already know as a mass group. But this time around, we’re actually told how and why he came to raised by his strict, loving and caring Aunt May (Sally Field, not given much to do besides look concerned and project maternal warmth) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen, finding a perfect balance between authoritarian and trying to be the “cool” surrogate dad).
Peter Parker’s parents are a topic which typical gets ignored by most adaptations of Spider-Man. The 90s animated series barely tapped that storyline for, maybe, two episodes in a sixty-five episode run. While there are still mysteries left unresolved at the end of this film, at least we know that this variation of the franchise will take a more personal, closer look at Parker and his paternal issues (which is pretty fertile ground).
Two of the major problems with the film tie back in to this vague storyline about his parents, which has a deeper connections to everything that’s happened even if we aren’t totally certain how just yet, and several story-lines have plot holes. When Osborn’s sidekick disappears after an encounter with the Lizard on a bridge, he literally just disappears. No explanation is given as to where he went or how he got there, this is clearly an issue of something being edited out of the film. Another is the time when Lizard creates several minors during the prolonged climatic battle at the end. We’re shown a group of cops turning into humanoid lizard creatures, but we never get a payoff of them doing anything. Yet they still show up at the very end having returned to normal. There are other small examples of these issues, but those two most readily stuck out in my mind.
I’ve never gotten the insistence on maintaining Peter Parker being in high school, especially since Andrew Garfield (adorable and perfect as Parker/Spider-Man) and Emma Stone (a pistol as Gwen Stacy) look older and possess jobs that are far beyond that of any high school age teenager. They both plays their roles well, but it’s distracting how much older they look than the actual high school age extras. And Stacy’s job as chief intern at Oscorp seems much more like a job that a college-age student would have, bumping up their ages would have fixed this problem in no time.
If it seems I am being nit-picky over nerdy, comic book fanboy things, well, you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. The Amazing Spider-Man does so many other things right, that when it goes wrong it just left me frustrated. Finally we have a Spider-Man who cracks jokes and is a complete smart-ass, cocky and blabbering constantly during his heroic deeds. And the attention paid to his costume during the last section of the film should be noted. Unlike most superhero films which see the hero get into a big fight, his suit get damaged only for the next scene to feature restored magically to its pristine condition, this film sees Spider-Man’s suit take damage and consistently deteriorate. A giant slash mark across his chest from an earlier battle with the Lizard remains clearly visible throughout the film. I appreciated this attention to continuity, but it made the lapses in the story more prominent. They could pay attention enough to make sure the costume shows a consistent amount of wear and tear, but not enough to explain where one prominent supporting player wanders off to?
Much of what’s right about this film is thanks to the cast. Garfield excels in the role, making for a far better, more realistic and accurate Spider-Man than Tobey Maguire’s whiny, constantly weeping version. He has a certain spunk and impish spark that is most appealing in the role, and he brings a real sense of joy and exuberance to it. Stone is smart, tart and tough as Gwen Stacy. It’s nice to see a comic book movie give a girl something to do besides stand around waiting to be taken hostage by the villain. In fact, there’s a scene late in the film where she hides and out-smarts the Lizard, trying to locate an antidote for his serum that will turn all of Manhattan into his reptilian kingdom. And Rhys Ifans does a great turn as Dr. Curt Connors, a conflicted man whose hubris proves to be his downfall. As he slowly slips away from reality and sanity preferring to be in his Lizard state, we realize that this serum and its side effects are like a highly addictive drug. His sweaty, almost uncomfortably close to detoxing scenes as Connors in-between the mad thrashing and pure rage of the Lizard are humane and ground the character in some semblance of reality. If he never achieves the same level of greatness that Alfred Molina did as Doctor Octopus, well it’s not for a lack of trying.
Mercifully, The Amazing Spider-Man also gives us action scenes of surprising clarity, mostly forgoing the heavily edited ADHD-style so in vogue lately. We can clearly who is where and their relationship to objects around them. Even if the physics require an extended leap as an audience to buy into them, at least we know where the characters are aiming for and what they’re trying to achieve.
The Amazing Spider-Man may not be a great superhero film, but it’s a lot of fun. And it promises to be a quieter, more warm and heartfelt series than the clanging of metal in Iron Man or the only interesting by half Thor. It has many faults and a serious case of déjà vu in some story beats, but at least it’s trying to accurately capture the tone and spirit of not only its hero, but of his corresponding source material.
