Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-Man
If you liked 2002’s Spider-Man, you’ll probably like the recently released The Amazing Spider-Man, mostly because it’s pretty much the same movie. Sony decided to reboot a franchise that arguably didn’t really need rebooting (they could have just replaced the cast and kept going), and it especially didn’t need rebooting because they didn’t veer much from the original movie. They changed a few things, such as replacing Mary Jane with Gwen Stacey (but they are pretty much the same character as far as I can tell), and this time around Spider-Man has to engineer his webbing (which from what I understand is how it was in the comics).
All that said, this is a really fun movie, and I think it’s better than the other ones. I like the cast this time around, with Andrew Garfield from The Social Network as Peter Parker, and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey. This Spider-Man, unlike the others, takes itself seriously, and in turn, expects us to as well. It’s grittier, darker, but still has a sense of humor. I really liked the previous movies, but after watching this one, the Sam Raimi versions feel like comedies in some ways. The Amazing Spider-Man seems to capture a tone and feel the is superior to the other movies.
I also thought the villain, The Lizard, is the best so far. He was scary, believable, had an interesting back-story, and kept Spider-Man on his toes.
Much like the 2002 original, the origin story was the most interesting part, and the end felt a bit clunky. But overall, this is a great summer movie that is worth your time and money.
Grade: B+