The Reboot is "Amazing"

Rating: 7/10 (11 July 2012)

I was never a fan of the Spider-Man Trilogy that debuted 10 years ago starring Toby McGuire, Kirsten Dunst, Norman Osborn, and James Franco. So when I learned a quick reboot was coming down the pipes I was somewhat on the fence about it. On one hand, I was eager to see if director Marc Webb could pull it off any better. On the other hand, I wasn't optimistic that any reboot this soon (and with some of the same production team members) would be able to let go of the roots planted by Sam Raimi's movies. I'm glad to say that I was wrong. I liked The Amazing Spider-Man. Was it a slam-dunk? No, but it succeeded in my book in besting the previous Spider-Man movies and blazing its own path. This movie succeeds because Raimi kept things simple. He didn't try to "out do" the previous trilogy and he had a solid cast in place along with nice special effects. So, in the theme of this film, I'm going to keep this review simple.
Here's what worked: 1. The Cast - Who could ask for a better cast? Andrew Garfield looks much more at home in the role as Spidey than Maguire did. But like Maguire, Spider-Man is sure to make him a household name. Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy does a great job. She has a much greater "on-screen" presence than Dunst did as Mary Jane Watson, and she's prettier too! The chemistry between the two young stars is so hot and natural. I wouldn't be surprised if these two started dating in real life. And what can I say, both Martin Sheen and Sally Fields were great in this movie as the Parkers, but Sheen stole the show as Uncle Ben. Denis Leary gave a solid perform as Captain George Stacy of the NYPD and Gwen's father, and Rhys Ifan's performance as Dr. Curt Connors aka The Lizard was quite chilling.
2. Special effects (minus 3D) - Overall, the special effects were very good, and the Lizard villain, although obviously CG, still looked life-like and was not overly done. (He had a grin so very reminiscent of Heather Leadger's Joker in The Dark Knight (2008). Was it a rip-off? Nope, I actually like it.) 3. Simple, simple, simple. As I said before, the director kept it simple with this film. The main characters are all well-rounded and likable - even the Dr. Curt Connors, and nothing here is overly done. Note - the train ride home after Peter gains his powers is classic!!!
Here's what didn't work: 1. 3D Application - Overall I liked the special effects but really, the application of 3D in this film was seriously lacking. They could have shot this film conventionally and it wouldn't have made much difference. I saw more 3D effects in the 60-second previews that preceded the movie than I did in the actual movie.
2. Storyline/Plot - It's great that they changed up a lot of elements to "try" to make this movie stand apart from its predecessors, but there were a few things that were problematic for me and the plot was still anything but fresh. First off, the previews and the intro make it seem as if the movie will go deep into Peter's background and what happened to his parents. Well, it disappointed on that part. While I do like that things were simple, I think maybe his parent's story/sub-plot was a little too simple. In my opinion, their story only serves as a vehicle to set up Peter's spider bite. After that, they don't talk much about his folks, and we don't ever get resolution to what happened to them. What we did learn up to that point where Peter was bitten was just not very compelling. I guess they are saving something for the sequels to come, maybe? Secondly, the villain and chief antagonist in this film, the Lizard aka Dr. Curt Connors, reminds me too much of Dr. Otto Octavius aka Doc Ock from Spider-Man 2 (2004) with their Jackal & Hyde personalities and strikingly similar, twisted agendas. The Lizard's agenda also cuts too close to Magneto's agenda in the first X-Men film (2000). Plus what happens to Dr. Rajit Ratha, Dr. Connors evil boss? He clearly had malevolent intentions with Dr. Connors new drug but after being saved by Spidey from an attack by the Lizard, he is never seen in the film again. I also can't believe filmmakers are still using the "high school bully gets his butt kicked by super hero that used to be a dork" sub-plot (although one of the handsomest dorks I've ever seen). It's way past old and makes you think these people don't have a creative bone left in their bodies.
Go see the movie, despite a stale plot with holes bigger than a basketball, the charm of the characters and decent special effects make up for it. Just don't get too excited about it being in 3D, you'll hardly notice.