Wearing a mask means not hiding, but being empowered—in a quite unorthodox take, where Ifans shows brio, and E. Stone—arresting legs

Rating: 9/10 (29 August 2012)

Nowadays kids know perhaps less about the three Spider—Man movies made, tailored from TV footage—they have been released between '77—'79. Then the wrist—shooter guy, whom many have come to like, has been optioned by Corman, and after-wards by The Cannon; nothing came of these—how could it have, one wonders now? The 21st century cinema gave life, or in some instances new life, to many franchises, as a matter of fact the trend began in the late '90s. The Spider—Man, the most photogenic of the superheroes, is also the most graceful, wearing the best—looking suit. An adolescent, and a proletarian superhero, the Spider—Man is endearingly youthful; these are the best things—the suit, the gracefulness, the moves of the character, his dry one—liners and teases when addressing punks. To me, that's the most fanciful of the franchises.
In my hierarchy of the superheroes, Spider—Man ranks no. 1, followed by Batman, then Superman; I didn't enjoy the X—Men, I don't know the Hulk shows—have only seen Lou Ferrigno as a guest star in a sitcom.
Now, if I understood well, Raimi has been more or less kicked out of the franchise. They decided to start it all over again instead.
The 1st installment of the relaunched, reignited franchise, in Romanian UIMITORUL OM PĂIANJEN, where Parker defeats Curtis Connors—an intensely dis-likable mad scientist (played with amazing gusto and brio by Ifans—the guy has a really screwed name ), changes some bits of a storyline, e. g. the mutagen is different, as for an updated scientific level—genetic crossing instead of radiations, etc., otherwise it has wonderful assets, a likable cast and a charming lead, the Spider—Man looks great, Gwen has awesome legs, the fight scenes, the action, the special effects are very good, often exciting and suspenseful, and if the directing lacks a bit of personality, the storytelling is gripping, relentlessly and genuinely thrilling, with patches of dream logic and even incoherences (Parker should of found information about Curtis, via Google searches, earlier, since he was presumably keen on anything concerning his lost family); I have watched it in a movie theater I hadn't set foot in since the summer of '97—15 yrs ago—but the Spider—Man provided enough of a momentum for me to set foot again in the VICTORIA movie theater.
So, yeah, Garfield makes a good Spider—Man—while the storytelling and FX are engrossing. E. Stone is conventionally nice, of a very Germanic, Anglo—Saxon type; there are some arousing shots of her legs. I would of liked more of the idyll, more love scenes—and a bit spicier, more daring. Otherwise, the cast might seem quite meager numerically, quite reduced.
Curtis Connors is the foremost herpetologist, and a conflicted, mitigated villain; while scarier villains are only alluded to—and then, vaguely—like a forehead, enshrined in mists, of a giant , like a barely sketched land beyond the known—in this installment. And aside from Ifans' rants, I do have my reservations about calling his character a villain.
The fancifulness of the franchise was served by the comments made by Parker when confronting thugs, his wry playfulness, his utterly graceful moves, and he has a nice line about being empowered by the mask—when he saves that recalcitrant, scared, perhaps nasty kid, during the fight on the bridge; Curtis has also got some good one—liners.
I didn't like the look of the lizard—man, the head should of looked different, more oblong, it's as if Connors doesn't morph sufficiently, gets glued, caught in that viscous, organic magma, between reigns; sometimes, he's definitely more goofy than menacing.
There's also an interesting moral aside, when Parker tries to hide from Gwen the reason for his unwillingness to meet her again; she guesses it, asks him, Parker doesn't answer verbally. He tries to conceal the pledge asked by her now deceased father. Well, where's the moral in posturing as a bad kid, and breaking the girl's heart? He strives to rescue the policeman's memory—but he does so by wronging his own image—which is also immoral.
So, UIMITORUL OM PĂIANJEN, an urban thriller about an adolescent superhero with the best—looking suit (and girlfriend), registers as a lively, enjoyable, even engrossing movie, revealing the authentic richness of the franchise's world; I liked spending time with Garfield, Ifans and E. Stone. I would of enjoyed more romance—and also —but the action scenes were a knockout, and Parker's training, after he discovers his new powers—and the scene in the subway—the beer bottle, the beer drop scene, with Parker jumping on the ceiling; Sheen was something of a bore, but I suppose he was meant to, and I liked the adolescent's retort and burst when being lectured about responsibility. Parker chooses the suit of a Crusader, we are shown, which is apposite, since the spider wears a cross—as Blaga knew. As a footnote, the lizard was still Curtis, so it wasn't a mutant lizard—but a mutant scientist; there again, the reptile should of looked more scary, more menacing. The determination of the policemen in shooting to kill, after Gwen's dad shouts he wants the Spider—Man off the streets, the one who had saved the boy on the bridge—and the cops must of known about that act of his—is puzzling. Otherwise, the citizens in this 1st installment of the awaited reboot show a nice team spirit, willingness to help, and nonjudgmental attitude (which is a bit at odds with what I happen to know about the early comics); and I liked Parker's final resolution to neglect what he had been promising to the old fart.
And the tag-line is: Wearing a mask means not hiding, but being empowered—in a quite unorthodox take, where Ifans shows brio, and E. Stone—arresting legs (I wouldn't of mentioned it if it had been vice versa). So let Ifans show ahead more brio, and Gwen—the same legs!