A Reboot That Stays True To Its Roots

Rating: 8/10 (7 July 2012)

It was hard for me to imagine the necessity of a reboot of the Spider-Man franchise. After all, hadn't we witnessed the dreadful ending of the franchise not more than 5 years ago? Sam Raimi's version of Spider-Man started off on the right foot, even though it changed a decent amount of material that any casual fan-boy (or girl) noticed. Take the web-sacs on Peter's wrists for example... since when did Peter Parker develop spinnerets? There was of course the love story between Peter and Mary Jane, which was mostly believable (even though Kirsten Dunst seems rather cold throughout the series, reminding me of Tilda Swinton), and fan-favorite villains for Spider-Man to face off with. Something just didn't quite seem to click, though, and as the series progressed, it became more noticeable. The last film of the series tried too hard, everyone from critics to moviegoers noticed, and the series died there. This take on the beginning of Spider-Man was quite different, trying to fit into the dark mold that had been cast by Nolan's Batman franchise. Andrew Garfield plays Peter Parker wonderfully, exuding nerd-ism from his core, he is able to transform into this high-school kid that no one really knows (or if they do, they mock him), and he has a real goofiness about him. Martin Sheen and Sally Field are great as Aunt May and Uncle Ben, though I felt they didn't get a lot of on-screen time to interact with Peter. Come to think of it, the beginning of the story dealing with his parents, their leaving him with his aunt and uncle, felt a bit rushed, but you get the gist of the story when you watch it. Emma Stone is also wonderful as Gwen Stacy, and I can honestly say, the on-screen romance between Peter and Gwen is one of the most believable that I have ever seen on film. Perhaps it helps that they are a couple in real life... nevertheless, there is a certain goofiness, and realism to it, and I thought it seemed very natural. Rhys Ifans does a good job as Dr. Connors, struggling with the want to better himself and the world, and the ability to do just that. There is a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde feel to the relationship between Dr. Connors and the Lizard, and I felt that inner-conflict to mesh up with the comics very well. They may not have stuck exactly to the comics on this one, but I thought they did the best job of any of the superhero movies so far, right in line with the new Batman franchise. In conclusion, if I had to give a quick breakdown, and list pros-cons, it would be this- Pros: really good story, true to the comics (think webbing from devices made by Peter, not spinnerets), well-acted, good camera angles when Spidey is swinging. Cons: somewhat similar to the first Spider-Man (for a true reboot, this was inevitable though), the CGI, especially on the Lizard, could have been better, they abruptly gave up on Peter trying to find his uncle's killer, and nobody seems to know who the second guy is at the end (is it Norman Osborn???). All in all, it was a winner, and a worthwhile trip to the movies.