I've said it many times before, and I don't think it will ever change, that the Sam Rami films will always be my favorite of the Spider-Man movies. Aside from just being great films, they bring back really good memories of my childhood and also a time when my baby brother, Louis was born. With the new Spider-Man, I have been opposed it for a lot of reasons but decided to watch it anyway. After seeing this movie, I must admit that this new film does bring some new things to the series and shows why Andy Garfield and Emma Stone are becoming great actors. This one does not follow the films before it and and it is kind of a redo of the first movie and it would have been more fun if wasn't so unnecessary.
The new Spider-Man is about Peter Parker (Andy Garfield) and how he loses his parents due to unknown and mysterious reasons. He then lives with his Aunt May (Sally Field) and his Uncle (Martin Sheen). He does not fit in at the local high school and has a love interest in Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). Circumstances at Oscorp Corporation gives him spider powers and turns him into the Spider-Man. He then fights against the Lizard (Rhys Ifans) and learns what it takes to be a hero.
Even though they don't match the Toby Maguire and Kristen Dunst team from the prior movies, Andy Garfield and Emma Stone do make a really good team as the leads and there is a good deal of chemistry between them. It also helps that there is a very good supporting cast including Sheen, Ifans and Field.
Gwen Stacy is a character that was only covered a little in Spider-Man 3 but in this movie, she has a much larger role and I do feel that her character is portrayed much better and more completely. The character is daring, lovable, well-acted and is no doubt a character that I would like to see again.
Along with Gwen Stacy, the Lizard character is also portrayed pretty well. Once again, the character works in part due to good acting. The Lizard is mean in an entertaining way and provides the film with a lot of good action scenes.
With Peter Parker being in high school, a couple of scenes set in the high school felt quite realistic and this included some fight scenes among Peter and classmates, and also some awkward romantic scenes which really capture the high school whole vibe. I found this to be one of the highlights of the film .
The movie does have it's flaws. The one fight scene between Spider-Man and the Lizard in the high school is not bad but the whole set-up is kind of off because no teachers are shown, and the students clear out so quickly and there are very few students shown outside. Also the Lizard builds a laboratory in the sewer with a computer hook-up down there which seems kind of silly. There is also a weird scene at the beginning about how apparently Peter Parker has a black eye and everybody makes a big deal about it even even though he doesn't really have one. There is also an awkward crane scene near the end to help Spider-Man get through the city which seems not very realistic considering how the story developed. That said, these are all small flaws but in one way and another, they do bring the film down a little.
The Amazing Spider-Man is a film I would probably like more if I didn't like the original films so much more. It is not a terrible film and does have some highlights including a good cast, some new characters, high school scenes and some okay action scenes. It is a film that is more really worth a rental for me and something I probably wouldn't watch more than once.
3.5/5
