The Best Superhero Film I Have Ever Seen

Rating: 9/10 (28 November 2012)

Let me just say before I get in depth here that I thoroughly enjoyed the original Spiderman trilogy. Spiderman (2002) is a classic superhero film that understandably so gets put right in line with Superman (1978) and Batman (1989), and for good reason. The film was fantastic. It had humor, great special effects, action, good acting, and an incredible story. It truly was one of the greatest superhero films up to that point of time. Then, Spiderman 2 (2004) came along and shocked the world as possibly the greatest superhero film ever made. It outdid the original with the same corny humor, the same effects, the same action, same good acting as the original, but an even more incredible story. The dual characterization of whether Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) truly wanted to be Spiderman or not took the thrill right out of all of us for a superhero, solely, and put us right in the middle of a very well done drama. Spiderman 2 was one for the ages in the class of superhero films. Then, came Spiderman 3 (2007), which was not as good as either the first two , or even in the same league. However, despite the heavy criticism that Spiderman 3 has received over the years, I was somewhat used to the format which it took, following that of it's two predecessors, in terms of its humor and reaches for an epic climax to the franchise, and enjoyed it for what it was.
The original trilogy really did it for me. I was sorely convinced that the idea of even doing another Spiderman film, let alone with 10 years of the original, was a horrible idea. What else could we expect? I walked into the movie theater to see The Amazing Spiderman with that attitude, expecting to see a movie that would not even come close in terms of the original. The attitude that I walked out with was far beyond unexpected.
The Amazing Spiderman immediately takes it's audience into the back story of Peter Parker, showing him as a child searching for his father in a game of hide and seek, a very subtle reference as to what Peter originally sets out for in this film. As we all know, he is taken to live with his Aunt May (Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen), but in doing so also gives us something we didn't originally know, the perception that Mr. and Mrs. Parker seem to be running from something. They die in a plane accident and what was thought to be a temporary living condition for Peter ends up becoming the household that he is raised under, all the way up until his older teenage years (Andrew Garfield). Peter develops into a socially awkward young man, quite noticeably choosing to exclude himself from the norms of his fellow classmates at Midtown Science Highschool.
The story really begins when Peter stumbles upon a briefcase that once belonged to his father, and in a hidden compartment inside are long forgotten documents... documents that point to some mysterious scientific experiments that his father worked on a long time ago with another man, Dr. Curtis Conners (Rhys Ifans). Peter takes it upon himself to visit Oscorp Industries where his father once worked, and where Conners still remains. He does not reveal who he is to Conners, but during his visit curiosity overwhelms him and leads to his finding of a room filled with genetically enhanced spiders, bred by his own father coincidentally. Peter is bit by one and begins to experience some extreme changes and enhances in terms of his physical capabilities. During his phase of change, his Uncle Ben tries desperately to help Peter become the man that he is capable of being. And after an argument with Peter, which leads to the young man storming out of the house, Uncle Ben is shot and killed while looking for him. The loss of his only real father figure leads Peter to begin searching for the shooter.
But, in the midst of all of this, love begins to slip its way into Peter's mind as well when a classmate of his, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) begins to show interest in him. "He's second in his class," Gwen tells Dr. Conners during Peters visit to Oscorp. "Second?" Peter asks, smirking from her gloating, to which Gwen flirtatiously grins and responds, "I'm pretty sure". And aside from the girl, Peter also visits Dr. Conner's at his private residence and finally reveals himself to b Richard Parker's son, shocking Conners from being reunited with his long lost colleague's only child. The two hit it off immediately, and using his father's notes from the briefcase, Peter helps Dr. Conners develop a serum to try and regrow limbs, influenced by Conner's missing right arm. However, the serum develops side effects and begins to turn Dr. Conners into a vicious lizard monster, battling Peter as he develops into the Amazing Spiderman.
This film did many things for me as a viewer. I literally sat back and watched as a very good love story for a adolescent character in a superhero film was shown before me. And the acting was far superior to that of the original trilogy. Also, the characters are developed far more smoothly and emotionally, taking the humor the original trilogy had out of their growth and replacing it with serious backgrounds and story lines. This film really overwhelmed me, and surprised me in every way. I had walked into that movie theater thinking that I was in store for a crappy reboot, and in the end gave me a movie that outdid the entire trilogy of original Spiderman films. This film may in fact be the best overall superhero film I have ever seen.