The Amazingly Soulless Spider-Man

Rating: 5/10 (17 May 2014)

I guess it was inevitable that the Spider-Man franchise would get rebooted. I mean, Spider-Man 3 generated a huge backlash with things like "emo Peter", not much Venom, too many characters etc. Things weren't any better behind-the-scenes as Sam Raimi left due to differences with the studio and thus, causing the cast to leave as well. So as a backup, Sony decided to completely REBOOT the franchise with a new director, new cast, and an all-around new vision to keep the rights to the character. So, is The Amazing Spider-Man really... amazing? Let's find out!
The plot of The Amazing Spider-Man is basically a re-telling of the origin but in this version, Peter Parker is a socially-awkward teenager with a past hidden from him as his parents mysteriously left him one night in the belonging of Uncle Ben and Aunt May with no explanation whatsoever. He goes to Oscorp one day to try to find some stuff regarding his parents after finding a briefcase in his house with info on them leading him there, where he ultimately gets bit by a genetically-enhanced spider that ends up giving him superpowers. At first, he uses it irresponsibly, but after Uncle Ben dies because of Peter letting a thief escape, he decides to use his powers for good and fight crime known as Spider-Man.
While The Amazing Spider-Man isn't a terrible film, it is, however, a soulless film. The movie feels like a business decision on Sony's part and not a story a writer and director wanted to tell. But first, let's get the good stuff out of the way, shall we?
The cast is mostly solid. Garfield is very convincing as the socially-awkward Peter Parker, his constant stuttering and twitching make you believe that a guy like him would get picked on in high-school. But as Spider-Man, he came across as a really obnoxious, unfunny douche. I know this is faithful to how he acts like in the comics but this constant cracking of lame jokes and puns just don't work on FILM. Emma Stone is typically likable here as Gwen Stacy and her chemistry with Garfield is excellent. You really believe these two in a relationship together. Martin Sheen does a great job as Uncle Ben, with a believable concern and care for Peter. But Sally Field just doesn't work as Aunt May, she comes across as an annoying nag rather than a moral guidance for Peter. But everyone else was good in the cast.
The film also LOOKS quite good. Spider-Man looks better than he ever has on film. The way he swings through New York and does all his acrobatic movements are very well-done. The scene that showcased this the best was probably the scene where Spidey swings through multiple cranes set up for him to get to Oscorp, that was a fun scene. While the action doesn't exactly rival The Dark Knight Rises or The Avengers, they WERE good and a lot of it felt like watching a comic-book on screen. Especially the fight with the Lizard in the school hallway.
But while the film has those things, it ultimately feels soulless. What I mean by this, is that, the story just doesn't need to be told again. This film basically follows the same structure and many of the same plot points of the 2002 film and that's NOT the way to do a reboot. The point of a reboot is to tell a story that hasn't been told before under a new timeline. When you just re-hash what was done before except make a few tweaks so it could be labeled a reboot and not a remake, it just comes across as a business decision, and not a story with any flesh and bone. And since we all know this story point by point by now, the impact of seeing things like Spidey swinging on web or using his spider-sense for the first time just doesn't have much of an impact now.
The one element they incorporated from the comics that was absent from the Raimi films, was the whole mystery behind what happened to Peter's parents. While this sounded good on paper, the film never goes anywhere with it after setting it up and now that the sequel has come out and we learn that the whole mystery basically amounts to "Oscorp = bad", it makes this even more disappointing.
While Stone and Garfield really do have good chemistry on screen, the way their romance is written and developed, leaves a little to be desired. For one thing, it's REALLY cliché. The script ticks all the boxes of a generic high-school romance. First, they have an awkward conversation in the school hallway, then they have an awkward date, then they kiss. It's also rushed. They look as though they're ready to have spider-sex right after their first date.
Even WORSE, is the villain. I know this sound really controversial but I thought the Lizard was one of the worst villains in a comic-book movie. Yes, he was that bad. Why? Well, for one thing, he doesn't fit in the film's tone. This film takes a somewhat more SERIOUS approach with the Spider-Man origin and it shows with the color palette(which was unnecessarily dreary) so a villain like this just feels out of place. Another problem is that they try too hard to make him a "complex" and "sympathetic" villain. They try to parallel him missing an arm to Peter missing his parents which doesn't work, because the circumstances are just far too different. And to top it all off, his motivations are really rushed. His switch from noble scientist to savage beast is done in like, a minute. So yeah, he sucks.
Overall, while The Amazing Spider-Man is certainly flawed, it could've been forgiven if the film just wasn't so SOULLESS. And that's really why the film didn't work, it was JUST a business decision. 5/10