The Amazing Spider-Man Review

3.8 out of 5

Action, Superhero

The Verdict

Thumbs Up: Stream It

Spider-Man fans who want a fresh start on the character. It’s rated PG-13 for sequences of action and violence.

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Synopsis

Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is a high school student living in Queens with his Aunt May (Sally Fields) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen). He goes through all of the “normal” high school events like having a crush on a classmate named Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). One day his life is turned upside down by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp giving him super powers. Peter will have many lessons in his life, some stemming from his interactions with Gwen’s dad (Dennis Leary) and Dr. Curt Conners (Rhys Ifans). The most important one coming from his Uncle Ben saying “With great power comes great responsibility”.

Spoiler Warning!!! Full Review Below

Full Review (Spoilers)

Producers: Laura Ziskin

The Good

This movie revived the Spider-Man franchise. It brought a lot of comedy, action and drama to the world of Peter Parker. The web-crawlers suit design was a great addition to the movie.

Martin Sheen played a great Uncle Ben. His portrayal of the character was amazing. The phone recording he left for Peter would make you cry or at least become misty eyed. He was a stern but cool father figure.

Spider-Man came back in full form. Instead of being a stiff web-crawler, this version’s movements were fluid. He’s able to zip around and even give off a lot of spider characteristics. The fight with the Lizard in Peter’s school proved this point perfectly. Even the web shooters showcased a new and cool sound when in use.

The graphics for this movie were amazing, pun intended. If you watched this movie on a High Definition screen then the movie

The Bad

You couldn’t tell if Peter was a nerd or a regular outcast. If he’s able to create a function web shooter then why would he need to learn physics from fellow classmates. He should be able to figure it out without eavesdropping.

The Lizard attended the school of villains and graduated with flying colors. He managed to tell Spider-Man his master plan by leaving it out running on a loop on his computer. You would think the Lizard is smart enough to erase the evidence. Maybe he wanted to remind himself of his inevitable demise.

The last 20 minutes of the movie felt a bit dull. You could blame the marketing team for this happening. If you watched the trailers then you basically watched the ending of the movie. It left nothing to the mystery.

Dennis Leary’s last request and death were cliche. You felt the pain for the character but you could tell what he would request before he says it.

Originally published on the Bring On The Reviews Blogspot blog on March 9, 2014.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) Cast and Details

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) is directed by Marc Webb and stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen and Sally Field. It runs 136 minutes and is rated PG-13. You can look up the full cast and crew on IMDb. You might also like my Gravity review.

DC's Hypothetical Corner

Let’s say I change one thing. Maybe that one thing will make this movie better or more watchable.

Imagine if Uncle Ben lived through that assault from the thief. Peter might have spent his night getting a stern lecture or maybe some grounding time. It would be a different movie if Peter never handed over the equation to Curt. It could possible cancel out the entire movie all together. Maybe then Peter could spend more time beating up small time crooks and less time saving the city. Just picture this movie with Zac Efron as Peter Parker, Bill Murray as Uncle Ben, Glenn Close as Aunt May and Edward Norton as Curt Conners. Think of it as making Spider-Man with a lot of comedy featuring ghost, dalmatians and big green men. Wait.. well at least we have part of that already with the Lizard.

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