Loved Every Minute Of It: Corny, Action-Packed, Even Sappy At Times

Rating: 9/10 (4 July 2012)

Amazing indeed. They certainly made the right choice for the role of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield, an extremely under-appreciated actor) and Summer-Sweetheart Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. You can't help but love the quirky and awkward chemistry these two have, it gives it that romantic flare that every superhero movie requires for some reason. We start out with a young Peter Parker and his parents who mysteriously vanish for some secretive reason and leave him in the hands of his uncle and aunt. As he grows up, he's the obvious, B-Grade awkward teenager who enjoys riding a skateboard and taking pictures with his old, vintage camera. He's got an an obvious crush on one Gwen Stacy, who's different from Mary Jane in ways that make you root for these two more as a power- couple. She's blonde so you know she's hot, but she wears her it in a ponytail and with straight-across bangs so you know she's a classy, hands-off kind of girl. Peter Parker is less of an outsider in this one and more of a loner. He'a smart and sassy enough to have friends, he just chooses not to. In this reboot, Peter Parker is an effortless genius, chatting it up with soon-to-be-villain as he tries to learn more about his father by talking to this scientist who used to be his father's colleague. Curt Conners is his name, and he's bent on regenerating his arm using lizard DNA. Then they totally lose you and go all scientific, spouting nonsense about algorithms and such until they come up with a formula to regenerate limbs. The formula though has an adverse side-affect that turns you into a monstrous dinosaur-like creature. Soon Connors becomes addicted to the power and tries to destroy the city, blah blah blah, romance brewing, blah blah blah. It's classic superhero flick. So why do I love it so much? I didn't much care for "The Avengers", only so many one-liners can be packed into a non- comedy, and on top of that have an over-enthusiastic battle scene, but this movie did a great job choosing Emma Stone for her role. We know Emma from "Easy A" where she proves she's got the chops for comedy, she's able to a character in this movie without having to have a shtick. Her plucky personality and sun-kissed hair is side-kick gold, and she manages to help out a lot in the end, but it's not so distracting where she's the damsel in distress, unlike Mary Jane who's best assets were complaining and her torso during the kissing-in-the-rain scene. Gwen Stacy likes Peter for Peter, while Mary Jane likes Peter for Spider Man "and I guess Peter too". Andrew Garfield is a great choice for Spider Man. His personality is less over bearing, and his natural flow for things brings more likability than Tobey Maguire ever did. Garfield can joke, while also being serious enough to not ugly-cry so bad it becomes an Internet meme sensation (Tobey Maguire's ugly-cry, Google it). The two stars together are so cute and quirky, it's less forced upon because it's not like the nerd has to beat anyone up or anything like that to get the girl, it happens cuz it happens. The movie of course has that typical Marvel superhero way of making a movie. They care more about audience appeal than they do critic appeal. This movie, however, manages to do both for me. I see it as an enjoyable film, the quirky jokes and one-liners don't bother me because it's less over-bearing. I remember good things rather than being reminded of them. Sure, sometimes the jokes are cheesy, but this movie isn't meant to be taken so seriously. I sometimes detest those Marvel superhero movies for that, but this was a really good crowd-pleaser. The drama in the movie is also not so overbearing so that you forget this is supposed to be an enjoyable movie, but it's good enough so you know this movie's not a total joke. The actors can be serious when they want to, and deliver a better-than-expected performance. And I did enjoy it, the action scenes were riveting, but of course there's that cliché villain who starts out normal, but goes mad because he can't get enough power. It all comes together nicely, and by far surpasses the originals. I can't wait to see Andrew Garfield in the sequels, which you can count on being. Andrew Garfield is the real summer star, much better than butterface Channing Tatum being the constant center of attention, Garfield really deserves it. The only reason it's only a 9 and not a 10 is because of the lack of value it's needs to be an incredible film. It doesn't want to be taken too seriously, like any Nolan DC superhero movie, it wants to be a fan-favorite, and it achieves that on pure likability. It may not be incredible, but it sure is amazing.