TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion
…because
film is largely subjective
by Frederick William Springer
III
The Amazing Spider-Man
Release Date: 3 July 2012 Runtime: 136 Minutes
Review Date: 2 September 2012 Rating: 4.5 (of 6)
While not a bad movie, an alright way to pass
the time, The Amazing Spider-Man lacks
the magic--depth of story and heart of character--that Sam Raimi's successfully
captured.
It's always good
to see Martin Sheen who I haven't seen much of since The West Wing but he didn't bring much to the character of Uncle
Ben in the short screentime he had. I
was also happy to see Denis Leary, who didn't have all that much more
screentime in comparison, but I think he made the role of Captain Stacey more
his own.
Spider-Man's
costume was neat and I was amused to see it was created by Circus Du
Soleil. (Though, I always have trouble
believing that, in addition to their superpowers, that superheroes suddenly
develop the expert ability to suddenly design and sew an entire costume
together with the perfect fit.)
I did like that
this version of Peter Parker was portrayed more of as a smart ass which I
believe is probably more true to the comic book character. I also liked that he wasn't as mopey as Toby
Maguire's incarnation and that he didn't have the heavy burden of having to
keep this secret, that he actually had confidants. However, it is arguable that that sense of
aloneness and despair was one of the key ingredients that helped the original Spider-Man create lightning in a bottle.
Andrew Garfield
was likeable as Peter, I bought him in the role. Likewise, Emma Stone's Helen felt real and I
liked the character. The two together
worked well; again, not as well as Toby and Kirsten, a different dynamic, but
enjoyable.
If I could only
pick one superhero movie to see this summer, it would still be The Dark Knight Rises but in a distant
second, I just might pick The Amazing
Spider-Man over the overrated Avengers.
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