Review: The Amazing Spiderman

Swinging again?

I recently had the misfortune of watching the new Conan the Barbarian (2011), and while it feels like nearly 2 hours that I won't get back, it did nothing to tarnish the brilliance of the '81 and '84 Schwarzenegger films.  In fact, it spurred me on to return to them in all their muscled masculine cheese, which is no bad thing.  However, The Amazing Spiderman is in new territory when it comes to reboots.  It is returning to the comic franchise after the last trilogy ended on a low note a mere 5 years ago, meaning they still feel new(ish), and the actual release weekends are relatively fresh in many a memory.  Furthermore, we all know Sony are doing this because of increasing Marvel film successes - they're in it for money, money and more money.  With that in mind, can another new Spiderman film/franchise hold up?


By casting Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, Sony immediately set a different tone with Amazing.  His sharp wit and charisma are a far cry from the awkward geekiness of Tobey Maguire, and translate particularly well post web-slinging transformation.  Peter's maturing character and sense of responsibility also develop more organically than before.  Similarly, Emma Stone is well cast as Gwen Stacey - a far stronger supporting role than Kirsten Dunst's whining and despondent Mary Jane.  As you can probably guess, I prefer the characters in this film.  The supporting cast, including Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Dennis Leary and especially Rhys Ifans, are all excellent.  (Any extra character detail here would likely bring spoilers, and I'll assume you've avoided the copious trailerage and do not wish to be spoiled).


Being a superhero movie I expect a certain amount of action, and in this regard Amazing holds up well, but does little to truly enthrall or amaze.  The battles throughout the action-laden second half feel rather formulaic; with the comic book superhero film filling to saturation point, something has to be spectacular - or spectacularly different - to really grip nowadays.  However, previous investment in the characters does help here, and some small neat touches around Spiderman's web-slingers and movements keep things interesting enough.


Once the film reaches it's somewhat predictable but nevertheless satisfying conclusion, you are treated to that other superhero movie staple, the credits teaser.  Barring financial failure we'll be seeing more of this iteration of Spiderman, and given the promise this film holds that's no bad thing.

Many people find the constant rehashing, reinventing and rebooting in today's media world a bore, but so long as studios keep doing a decent job of it, I'm game.

7/10