FILM: The Amazing Spiderman

Family secrecy, abandonment, adolescent angst,self-discovery – it’s the journey of any ‘normal’ superhero right? Peter Parker(Andrew Garfield) knew there was something strange about the way his parentsleft him with his Aunt and Uncle that stormy night, but you can’t blame a kidfor continually trying to figure out, why, right? Why all the secrecy? Why allthe coded language? Why all the precaution? Why did they leave and never comeback? So many questions, so limited places to search for answers – even Google has its limits.

One chance encounter with someone who could have the answerturns into a science experiment from hell! And Peter still doesn’t have theanswers he needs. I suppose it doesn’t help when Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) iseverywhere you…swing.

The Story

Ok, let’s face it, you can’t really change too much for asuperhero franchise that’s had threeprior box-office success, but you make do with what you have. So first thingthat’s got to go (for now) is Miss Mary-Jane and introduce Spiderman’s first love, Gwen Stacy. By comparison,Gwen is a smart and ambitious laboratory intern at Oscorp and also so happens to be in almost all of Peter’s classes.Unlike Mary-Jane, Gwen is a lot bolder and is not much of a damsel in distress– I guess it works when your dad is the Captain of the NYPD. Superheroes alwayshave pool of nemeses that film writers can pick up and write in, so I suppose The Lizard a.k.a. Dr Curt Connors (RhysIfans) is another no brainer for someone that Spiderman has to encounter.

One thing I did like in this reboot of the Spiderman franchise is the twist ofhaving Spiderman as a vigilante by the police force rather than the tabloidslike the previous films have done. As viewers you begin to question whether ornot Spiderman is or isn’t the hero that he claims to be andknow him to be.

I have to say there isn’t anything too ‘new’ that this filmdoes story wise, but it was entertaining to see how they’ve made it differentenough to be enjoyed by a new generation.

The Graphics andCinematography

This area of the film disappointed me, but not to the extentthat I hated it. There were just times I got really dizzy with some of thefocuses in the panning shots at the beginning. It usually happened when thecamera was following a character and slow motion was added to the shot. Thefocus at times was unclear and your eyes drifted between the surroundings andthe back of the character’s head trying to find what the director wants you tosee.

Seeing the trailer, I was already disappointed with thegraphics. I thought they looked like they were pulled out of the video game(which is possible) and placed into the film with dubbing. But I have to say,once I saw them in context, they weren’t too bad. I thought some of thewebbing-through-the-city sequences were a little messy, but they were alright in the scheme of it all.

I have to talk about the web generation. I don’t actuallyknow if the web came from Peter or from Oscorp.He steals the device that shoots out the web, but I’m not sure if the samedevice also provides the source. There’s a scene towards the end where Connorsdestroys the device so Peter cant produce his web, so I’m a little confusedabout why ‘Spider’-man doesn’t genetically produce his own web…

The Cast

Andrew Garfield –“Awkward by nature”, as he describes himself, Garfield brings another quirkyand lovable aspect to the man behind the mask. Toby McGuire brought a strongwilled and shy Peter Parker, but Garfield brings a socially awkward and ingeniousPeter Parker. He redefines Peter and Spiderman as both humorous and dangerous,rather than just the overall hero at the end of the day.

Emma Stone – Comicrelief as always in the films she’s in, but she’s also very good at thedramatic end of the spectrum. She has such a strong screen presence thatbalances the awkwardness that Garfield relays to the audiences. Though she’snot your Megan-Fox-like action female lead, like I said, she’s more of aside-kick rather than a damsel in distress.

Rhys Ifans – Myjaw dropped when I recognised Anonymousstar Rhys Ifans on my screen! I was so excited because he was brilliant in Anonymous and let me tell you, he was nodifferent in this film. He was the perfect balance villain and torturedscientist. Unlike Norman Osborn, Curt Connors just wants to make the world abetter place, but similarly his tortured by the opposing voices in his mind.Ifans was brilliant in playing with the viewer’s emotions – he wasn’tcompletely bad, but he also wasn’t completely good either.

Overall

Overall, there’s nothing too new besides the cast, a twistin the characters and the reason behind why Peter Parker was orphaned.Everything else is pretty familiar, but different enough to enjoy. So go seeit!

sL Star Rating: 4Stars

Next on sL: "Now You Know" EP by Newcastle band, Broadway Mile.