Maguire move over... Here comes Garfield!

Rating: 7/10 (27 September 2012)

When the publication of rebooting the Spider-man franchise from scratch instead of progressing on with the Toby Maguire/Sam Raimi trilogy, there was a distinctive scepticism surrounding Sony's announcement. Considering the first of Raimi's Spidey outings only hit the screen a decade ago, some documented Mark Webb's -take on the Marvel phenomenon as being too premature.
Arguably every Spider-man fan, artist and costume owner would compare Andrew Garfield's character in relation to Toby Maguire's disposition. Garfield is much more compelling; intriguing to watch and his physic characteristically reminds us of the Peter Parker in the original comic. He carries himself with a professional tone, knowing how to express emotion and anger in a believable manner, unlike Maguire's freaky Gothic outtakes and inarticulate voice tone. Garfield's twenty eight years of maturity celebrates his ability to act like a teenager but with a distinct level of ripeness, helping Mr Parker become an attractive persona beyond the red mask.
The story at times seems a slightly hurried, especially during Peter Parker's transformation from geek to freak in an outfit. But this is fascinating and very articulate on the director's behalf. Even those beyond the audience are conscious of Parker's difficulty to fit in, how he foolishly becomes victim to one of Oscorp's radioactive spiders and so on, yet Webb changes the shade of our hero to a remarkable effect. Rather then studying his new spidey techniques, Webb's adaptation introduces Parker's sudden change with a hint of laughter, causing collisions and confrontation by mistake, overly sticking himself to things and being a little over-aggressive without intending to do so. The element of surprise here keeps the interest with Garfield's volatile persona.
The sequel to Webb's refreshed wall hiker could be enormous in comparison to Raimi's filming. Webb has the delight of deconstructing Raimi's trilogy and pick-pocketing every blunder, potentially turning it into a polished and expansive trilogy that may be difficult to emulate if Spider-man is to continue at the movies in future.