In this day and age, “adults” are also big kids who still see Spider-Man movies, and The Amazing Spider-Man faces the challenge of making both the old and new generations satisfied with a revised vision of an iconic hero. If you fall into the camp of ‘big kids who still love their Spider-Man films,’ know right from the get-go that Amazing Spider-Man covers a familiar origin story – albeit in different fashion than Sam Raimi’s game-changing film did in 2002. If you can’t get behind that idea – even in the slightest – then this movie simply is not for you.
However, for all others:
We pick up the familiar tale of Spider-Man with a re-imagined version of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), a high school geek who exists in the contemporary age of smartphones and social media, in which “the geek,” as an archetype, has become something slightly cooler and more accepted than what it used to be. Garfield’s Peter Parker – with his skateboard, contact lenses and vintage punk band tee-shirts – is definitely the epitome of modern “geek chic”; as such, the goofy nerdisms of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s 1960s Peter Parker have been replaced with deeper emotional troubles centered around Peter’s status as an orphan who never answered the question of his parents’ disappearance.
The chance discovery of his dad’s old research into cross-species genetics (a replacement for the outdated radiation experiments that originally created Spider-Man) sends Peter to the beehive-shaped halls of Oscorp, where his high school crush Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) interns alongside the brilliant but disabled Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), who was once Peter’s father’s closest associate. That meeting results in Connors and young Parker bonding over scientific theory – and of course, Peter stumbles into the chance accident which leaves him endowed with super powers – abilities which the young man at first squanders for selfish gain, resulting in a life-altering tragedy close to home.
Meanwhile, facing coercion from his shadowy employer Norman Osborn, Dr. Connors takes a big risk testing a promising new serum, which has the unfortunate side-effect of transforming him into a humanoid Lizard. With a super-powered monster on the loose, only Spider-Man is up to the task of stopping the threat. But as both his personal and super hero lives begin to collide at every turn, Peter fears that tragedy may strike home all over again.
Amazing Spider-Man arguably gets more right than it gets wrong, but it is far from being a perfect film. At its core, the movie seems to be, in fact, two films: The hour-long teenage character drama that director Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer) invests great time and care in telling – followed by a standard superhero blockbuster, complete with 3D CGI battle sequences and an overly-formulaic structure. The point of debate amongst fans will be the question of which half of the film is the better one, and the answer will largely depend on the preferences and expectations of the viewer.
Martin Sheen, Sally Field and Andrew Garfield in 'Amazing Spider-Man'
For my money, the first hour of Amazing Spider-Man is the more interesting half, as it presents a version of the character we haven’t seen before. Webb creates the world of Peter Parker – and the characters that inhabit it – in a way that few people before him have. In this film, Peter Parker feels like a fully-realized person; the home he shares with his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field) feels like a real place, and the high school he attends feels like one you could walk right into. Andrew Garfield owns the leading role, offering a mix of lanky physicality, sharp wit and carefully measured emotion – traits that are effective on both sides of the mask, and help him to wall-crawl right out of the shadow of Tobey Maguire. The rest of the cast is just as strong; on the whole, the players in this new version far outshine the original ensemble.
Raimi’s film always felt somewhat emotionally distant, while Webb grabs hold of personal turmoil and emotional connections as his primary point of interest. The chemistry between the principal actors – Garfield, Sheen, Field and Denis Leary as Gwen’s father, Captain Stacy – is very palpable and engaging, so that we actually care when reckless super-Peter has his big angry blow up at Uncle Ben and Aunt May, or when he causes tension at the dinner table trading quips with Cpt. Stacy – or the emotional punch we get as Peter listens to the last voice message his Uncle left him, professing fatherly affection. Garfield and Stone have even better chemistry, and indeed Amazing Spider-Man is often at its best when watching the two young leads trading snappy flirtatious dialogue or (in one scene) maturely discussing the dangers of Peter’s heroics. Stone is a much better heroine than Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane (smart and feisty, rather than hapless and dramatic) – though she’s still given little to actually do besides to stare into her co-star’s eyes in key scenes (which she does well).
Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in 'Amazing Spider-Man'
When the first hour is up, and the film inevitably transitions into the superhero blockbuster we’ve been waiting for, the rough seams quickly start show. The studio had to know that an indie director like Marc Webb would be somewhat out of his element handling such big-budget action fare – but to his credit, Webb (with a good deal of assistance, no doubt) manages to keep things together – if only barely.
The Spider-Man action in the film is better than ever, thanks to some improved conceptualization (Spider-Man actually moves and fights like a spider) and a whole lot of superior technology. The cinematography is gorgeous and there are well-staged practical stunts that help avoid an over-reliance on CGI – and even the effects-heavy portions of the film (like the character of The Lizard) are handled reasonably well. The 3D effects are phenomenal whenever Spider-Man suits up to do some web-slinging, but are almost non-existent in the domestic scenes. You could go an hour before really needing to put on the glasses.
Pacing and editing are the two biggest issues in the film – and this is very apparent in some of the rushed set pieces that are wedged into the second and third acts. Example: a second-act sewer battle seeks to build tension and suspense, only to come to an abrupt end – followed by a speedy and awkward transition into a high school battle sequence. The entire character of “Curt Connors” becomes an extraneous narrative concern as the Spider-Man action ramps up, and a lot of the primary plot threads that galvanize the movie get pushed off onto an inevitable sequel, so that time and space are freed up for Spidey to pound on (or get pounded by) the mostly arbitrary villain that is The Lizard.
The Spider-Man action is cooler, but totally at odds with the deeper story that precedes it; the initial character and world building are handled much better than the hollow and cartoonish Raimi film, but those threads are ultimately left dangling without much resolution or acknowledgement. What we’re left with is a pastiche of scenes that are, generally speaking, all interesting, impactful or ‘cool,’ but when looked at as a whole, are clearly the rough stitch-work of an inexperienced tailor.
Whether that “tailor” is Webb, screenwriters James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), Alvin Sargent (the original Spider-Man trilogy) and Steve Kloves (the Harry Potter films) – or simply some meddling studio executives, we may never know. But whatever the case, the fact is that The Amazing Spider-Man is somewhat at odds with itself. And while that might be a fitting metaphor for the character himself, as a film seeking to justify its own new beginning, Amazing Spider-Man ends up being a solid relaunch, rather than a “good” or (wait for it) “amazing” one. The potential is there for a much bigger, better, Spider-Man movie universe to come, even if this movie doesn’t fully realize that potential.
For an in-depth discussion of the film by the Screen Rant team check out our Amazing Spider-Man episode of the SR Underground podcast.
If you want to talk about the movie in detail, head over to our Amazing Spider-Man Spoilers Discussion, or rate the movie for yourself below.
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The Amazing Spider-Man is now playing in theaters. It is Rated PG-13 for sequences of action and violence.
Head to Game Rant for our review of The Amazing Spider-Man tie-in game!
Our Rating:
3.5 out of 5
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Fan-f***ing-tastic. Now THATS how you do a Spider-Man movie. Very well done. And love that it leaves some mystery to it. Will be seeing it again and probably again. BTW, did anyone else’s theater play The Dark Knight trailer twice, back to back? Cinemark was a lil screwy with that lol
Nope…sounds the people at your theatre really want everyone to see the TDKR. Kind of a subliminal thing
Ya I might pass on this. I’m really curious about it, but judging by the review and the comments it sounds like this movie is pretty similar to the first Spider-man movie. Maybe next time. At least we got The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises this summer.
LOL….the story line is pretty much the same as the original just a newer version, IMO.
to be honest, except for following the same main story elements from the COMIC BOOK(let’s not forget that Sam Raimi did not create and write Spidey’s origin), this is completely different.
‘Ya I might pass on this’ —Okay this movie was NOTHING like the original Spider-Man movie. Besides th fact that he lives with his aunt&uncle and uncle gets shot, it is entirely different and in a good way and everything was done better, the visuals, Spider-Man’s suit, his fight scenes, his motions his strategy and tactics in fighting the Lizard and other baddies, So DO NOT let other ppl’s comments affect you and just go see the damn movie.
The Amazing Spider-Man is way bette than the Raimi movies… Will be seeing for a second time this week.
Saw the midnight showing last night and loved it. It’s more along the lines of 4.5 not 3.5. Loved the originals for what they were but going back and rewatching them now they did have some chessiness to them. Especially emo Peter in Spiderman 3. That was just lame when I saw it. Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and the rest of the cast done an amazing(pun intended) job. I’m a huge Emma Stone fan and wouldn’t mind if they alter this continuity to where Gwen doesn’t die and Peter winds up with her and not MJ. Anyway this movie was a fun ride and it handled a teenager gaining superpowers and the emotions he had to go through and was already going through really well. Anyone that gets powers at a young age would freak out and everyone would deal with it differently. Peter was always an outsider at an early age and it made him feel even more so when he gained powers and had to deal with that on top of everything else. Probably my only gripe with the movie was with Great Power comes Great Responsibility. There was talk about responsibility yeah but that line was not actually said. Was hoping it would have been said in the voicemail when he finally listened to all of it. Regardless loved the movie and will be going back later on this week to watch it again. Definitely worth a few watches in theatres.
Meant to say probably my only gripe with the movie was with Great Power comes Great Responsibility was not said. Kind of hard to type and stayed focused when people keep coming in your office.
The next villain will be the rhino
try goblin….
I’m thinking Mysterio.
You guys obviously didn’t stick around for the stinger.
I said this to another guy who said the same thing. Just because Rhino is in the game as one of his next villains (since the game takes place after the end of the movie), does not mean that he is going to be the next villain. Why would they make a Spider-Man film, then make a game, and then make another movie that follows the exact same story of the game that preceded it?
I thought this was great the cast was pretty dam good chemestry between them was awesome looking forward to te sequel
I thought it was a very solid reboot. I liked the chemistry between the cast members. Garfield did a very good job. The action sequences were well constructed. I really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the sequel.
It was not a perfect film. I did have some issues with it, but it was still a good movie in my opinion. I might see it again and I will be buying the Blu Ray.
I think the movie was great. It was a complete success reboot of what was a horrible trilogy named “Spider-Man.” The story, plot and action were much more fluid and not to mention stronger. Spider-Man 3 Harry when he eventually becomes Green Goblin he never helps Parker, he wants to kills him; venom is much bigger and more brutal, and finally Spider-Man never nor will he ever act like a emo d-bag. In my opinion none of those films were good. The reboot called The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield makes sense and is more Spidy like.
I think the movie was great. It was a complete success reboot of what was a horrible trilogy named “Spider-Man.” The story, plot and action were much more fluid and not to mention stronger. Spider-Man 3 Harry when he eventually becomes Green Goblin he never helps Parker, he wants to kills him; venom is much bigger and more brutal, and finally Spider-Man never nor will he ever act like a emo kid. In my opinion none of those films were good
I think the movie was great. It was a complete success reboot of what was a horrible trilogy named “Spider-Man.” The story, plot and action were much more fluid and not to mention stronger. Spider-Man 3 was a joke. Spider-Man never nor will he ever act like a emo kid. In my opinion none of those films were good
The Amazing Spider-man was freaking amazing! I loved everything about the movie. I saw it in 3D, and I can’t wait to see it again on Blu-ray
I don’t even know the word to describe this movie. Honestly. I truly don’t. I am just an average teen girl, fantasizing over Spiderman. So of course when I saw the preview for this movie I pre-ordered tickets and was there at 12 am when the doors opened for the movie. This movie was all of my favs. It was thrilling, romantic, and there was a little bit of comedy in it. It kept me on my toes and wide awake. I never wanted the movie to end! In my opinion Garfield was a better Peter Parker. He just seemed ”right” for the job. Although I do miss Tobey. Even better about the movie, when I got out of the theater, I realized the movie had taught me to enjoy my family and what I have more, and to not take things for granted, and lastly, to just be HAPPY. Amazing movie, I recommend for anyone, not just spidey fans
I agree with Kofi Outlaw’s review above, with one extra criticism. My main problem with TASM was with the timing. Certain dramatic scenes could have been improved with a slower pacing, IMHO. Especially the scenes with Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. I don’t know if this was the fault of the editor, or the director……. or? Fast patter and quick edits work better for comedy. Not good for this movie. It seemed like a weak foundation was built overall for Parker and Stacy to fall in love with each other. The first Spiderman movie did a better job of this.
I almost wish they hadn’t redone the origin story all over again, so soon after the Spiderman trilogy with Toby McGuire. They could have just forged ahead with a new villain, and continued where the end of SM 3 left off. It wouldn’t have bothered me to drop right in with different actors……. who cares? We all know Spiderman’s origin right?
To the good? Action was excellent. I had no pacing problems there. 3D was acceptable and not irritating to my old guy eyes. Acting was ok.
i havent seen the movie yet, (plan on this weekend) but i can tell they are gonna tie spiderman into the avengers, so to do that, they have to redo what ha already been done. my friend says their was something at the end of the credit, but dont tell me, i have a burning hatred for spoilers…
“but i can tell they are gonna tie spiderman into the avengers”
Uuuummm, no they’re not
Well but they couldn’t and then do things like giving him high tech webbing instead of natural ones (like the Raimi version), change the main characters around, have him go BACK to high school, completely change his costume, etc.
That irked me a bit as well. Personally, I felt it would’ve worked pretty well had there been a real moment between them, preferably before the awkward asking out scene. Just something to push it in that direction.
And I look forward to listening to the podcast tomorrow!!
7 out of 10? Seems like the review was going a little easy with the rating here. This seemed like a 6 out of 10 review at best.
Sony didn’t think things through at all, and only hired Marc Webb because they could get him for cheap. Givng a man who’s only directed one movie–even a well-reviewed one–the reigns to a big summer tentpole is a huge joke.
THis movie is extremely awesome and just F****** incredible i highly recommend it if you are a spidey fan
I guess I was watching a different movie, because I thought it was a waste to do a reboot. But, what else can you expect from the very same folks who pushed Venom down Raimi’s throat in the last film.
Spider-Man is my favorite character, but this movie felt like a rerun. Why couldn’t we have just been given a Spidey movie that hit the round running? I would’ve been all for an opening scene that had him taking on Electro or the Rhino without an hour of expository dialogue.
While I really enjoyed the movie and give is a solid 4 stars,I can honestly respect this opinion,because I felt at times that this would’ve been a better route to go.
I wish that reboots would take a cue from Punisher:Warzone or The Incredible Hulk and condense the backstory to nothing more than a few minutes,because it had been done already.
I guess thinking about it more though,they had to establish Peter’s parents,something that none of the Raimi movies even bothered to explore.That exploration of Peter’s parents will probably be a very big plot point in the movies to come.
If they just did another Spider-Man movie, then people would think it’s a sequel to Raimi’s Spider-Man movies.
They’d ask “where is the old Spider-Man” and junk like that…
It seemed pretty obvious to do a full-on reboot, because now they can branch out on their NEWLY created franchise and explore that more.
Expect TASM2 to be “a Spidey movie that hit the [g]round running”.
tempted to watch this, but i sort of want this to fail so that the rights can be reverted back to marvel for a proper spiderman movie (one that also ties into the avengers). the CG for the lizard seem pretty b grade mainly b/c of the texturing on the model (he (lizard) looks out of place and to pale).
Well it has been sinking in the RT ratings. Yesterday it was in the 80′s and today it’s at 72% with about 3/4 of the normal critics reporting.
It will be successful enough unfortunately (since there isn’t much else to see for weeks) that they will make a sequel.
Yeah the reviews are pretty polarized, but when have reviews really impacted a movie like this?
I personally won’t see it, but the lack of my $10 won’t make much of a dent.
Now the deciding thing is if it makes that shadowy “enough money to justify a sequel but only at a reduced cost” then we can get back to wishing for a Marvel Spidey.
Sorry. to many pauses in the seen, broken storyline(i understand it’s a different story), wtf show your identity to everyone(yeah that makes sense). Oh yeah, never mind him catching his uncle’s killer in this movie, but in the next one??? wtf “best reason ever to leave your son” (dumb). The bully becomes a friend of Spidey. OK, i guess this movie is actually called bizzaro spider-man
Yes. No reason to do the origin all over again. The new origin story was different but not better. They reverted back to the original comic book story for the webshooters design, which is nice, but a lot of other details got switched around. Like they knew they had to change things up from the Raimi version, but then made those changes, just because. Not changed for the better. Just changed……
It still bugs me that the strong attachment that seems to have formed between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy wasn’t developed properly. I realize this is an “action/adventure” movie, and not a romance. But still, I think the relationship between Parker and Stacy was clumsy. Not clumsy cute and awkward, in a good way, for geeks to relate. Just clumsy from a directing standpoint. And rushed. No problem with the acting. I blame Webb.
Your right they could of canned all of the high school scenes and jumped right to college since we have seen all that before. Gwen should have been a college sweetheart. It would tie in better with Mary Jane’s involvement with Spidey and not conflict with earlier films. Comic books have consistency that is why fans continue to follow the story; for the drama on their favorite characters.
Good review. I agree with pretty much everything that was said. I wish people would stop thinking about how this is just a money trip for Sony (Which it is, but so what?), or how it tells the same story, or whatever, because reviewers (not you Screenrant) seem to be focusing on those things more than the actual movie itself – which was really pretty good. Yes, it should be mentioned that this is a reboot, but it’s still it’s own film with a completely different tone, different emotions, and different direction. Andrew Garfield was perfect, like, Peter Parker’s actually AWKWARD, but with a sincerity that only Garfield could accomplish. (I mean did you SEE his speech at Comic Con?) Him and Stone had some real chemistry on screen, WAY more than McGuire and Dunst ever had. My least favorite part was the villain. He was really pretty cookie cutter. And his whole plot to *SPOILERS* turn all of New York into lizards was really just … dumb. I’m sure I’ll be seeing it again and will be able to relax and enjoy it a bit more instead of analyzing every detail. (Which I just kind of do automatically.) Sure, it’s a way for Sony to make more money, but you know what? It’s better than Raimi’s – that’s for sure.
Andrew Garfield looks like Andy Murrey.
I thought the action sequences were weak and Spidey’s costume didn’t need to change.
Ok, first let me just say that I’m a huge fan of the ORIGINAL Amazing Spider-Man comic books by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, John Romita, etc. I have dipped into the revamps from time to time, the “Ultimate Spider-Man” books and all that, but I never followed them a whole lot. I’m not hating on those books, it’s just that my heart belongs to the original stories established by Stan Lee and co.
Having said that, I love Sam Raimi’s version of Spider-Man more than this reboot. In my opinion, Raimi’s version is much closer in SPIRIT to the original comics. The origin story was MUCH better in the first movie (the last conversation Pete has with Uncle Ben in the car is so beautiful), the wrestling match, the intense scene where Pete learns how to swing ON THE SPOT in order to catch Ben’s killer, the moment in the warehouse when Pete sees the killer’s face…that was all GREAT!!! Ok, so, Raimi’s version left out the artificial web-shooters, and I was never happy about that. And Raimi’s movie was very campy, but so what??? Why does a movie have to be so damn dark and serious in order to be enjoyable???
I give credit where it’s due on this reboot, I thought it was a really good movie. I pretty much agree with this review, I think 3.5 is a fair rating. All of the actors were great and I’ve always loved Martin Sheen and Sally Field, but to me, they’re just not Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris were more natural and believable in those roles in the first movie. Andrew Garfield was great as the “moody/outsider” version of Peter Parker, but Tobey Maguire really defines the “nerdy/dorky” version of Pete that was established in the original comics. I do prefer Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy over Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson. Rhys Ifans is excellent as Dr. Conners, but The Lizard himself, as a movie villain, is pretty forgettable. The action was really cool, but nothing that blew me away. I do agree that Spidey’s movements, his agility, was much better than in the other movies. But I HATE the new costume! The original costume was better!
Bottom line, I LOVE SPIDEY! But this new version leaves much room for improvement. I’m not saying that Raimi’s movies were perfect, they weren’t. But maybe we need a different director for “Amazing Spider-Man 2″. Just my opinion.
I think this movie was very nicely made, it was more realistic than than previous three, it actually showed how a teenager would behave if he REALLY got those powers… pitfalls, stumbles n all! Very much believable… Also it evokes a sense of nostalgia, those suburbs.. they take you back to the place where it all started – Queens. Quite memorable movie
Hmm.. I found the movie to be pretty average. Everything has been left dangling in the middle of nowhere.. Emotional drama is okay but its a half baked cookie.. Perfect waste of a reboot..
This was up there with The Avengers… i absolutely loved it!! Great Actors, great story great movie! Will be watching this many times in the future.
If I was to give a movie a 3.5 out of 5 – it would be because I wanted to like the movie but it was slightly better than mediocre.
For some reason I felt like this version was more emotionally detached than the Raimi movies – I felt almost nothing. Scenes were slapped together, one after another, with almost no sense of cohesion. Things didn’t happen, they were forced. The storytelling felt sloppy to me. Too much melodrama, but it looked great.