The Amazing Spider-Man--A Movie Review

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field
Rating: PG-13
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is a young man looking for answers. It was years ago that, under the cover of darkness and rain, his father and mother dropped him off at Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May's (Sally Field) home, never to be seen or heard from again. It's not that he doesn't love his other family--he really does--and he is a good kid on top of it. Peter just has a lot of pent up emotions and when he stumbles across a file with cryptic codes and formulas, the mystery surrounding his parent's departure grows.


It is in this file that he hears about the name Dr. Curtis Connors (Rhys Ifers), a man who worked with his father on genetic cross-breeding. Example: injecting reptilian venom into a three legged rat in the hopes that rejuvenation would occur. Dr. Connors hoped that one day, the science would be so far advanced that it could be used on people in need of new limbs--like himself. It appears, by all accounts, that Peter's dad held the key, the formula to success the entire time as the first test subject appeared to make progress in the right direction (and without Peter it would have been at a standstill). Success, however, comes with consequences. Peter could never have foreseen what giving up the formula, or even meeting Dr. Connors, would do to him.

In a moment of "chance," Peter is bitten by a spider and not an ordinary one at that. He now can do whatever a spider can or rather, he can do whatever a superhuman spider can. Problem is, this becomes a nightmare for Peter. His personality begins to change and then, when his Uncle Ben is murdered, Peter goes on a mission of "vigilante justice," seeking out the man that killed his uncle.

His mission puts him at odds with Captain Stacy (Denis Leary) of the NYPD...and he is the father of Peter's potential girlfriend, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). Indeed, Peter and Gwen do not have what could be classified as a normal relationship. Relationships, and even vigilante justice, are put on hold though when Peter discovers that by giving Dr. Connors that formula, he created a monster. Literally.

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This is my second viewing in as many months of a superhero/comic book adaptation. Up until recently, I would not have said that these were in my personality. I'm the chick flick movie by day, crime drama by night type of girl. Superheroes like Captain America and now Spider-Man do not exactly fit into that mold. And yet, I shouldn't be surprised that I like them. I like the whole "truth, justice and the American way, save the world and get the girl" type of stuff. (Yes, I know the first part is Superman....you just get the idea). My enjoyment of these films has just come a bit later than some.

I have never seen any of the other Spider-Man movies. My knowledge of them only extended as far as that upside down kiss scene. I've also never opened up a comic book in my entire life, so I cannot say whether or not this film met the expectations of its story line faithfully or if it exceeded the latest versions of Spider-Man's tale. It was only ten years old, after all, so I was surprised that a reboot was happening so quickly.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man is a hero that is also human. He's not perfect and he struggles to find his place in the world, especially when he has been "given" his superpowers. I can relate quite easily to those emotions. Andrew Garfield is an actor whom I have never seen before (although I am emphatic about how he needs to be in a remake of Psycho should that ever be done. Come on, he is a dead ringer for Anthony Perkins....or so I believe), yet I think he does a brilliant job portraying Spider-Man. I liked him even when I maybe wasn't supposed to like him. Emma Stone, likewise, was fantastic as Gwen Stacy. She's attracted to Peter Parker and Spider-Man, even when she knows that it probably isn't the wisest thing.

The interaction between Andrew and Emma are some of my most favorite aspects of the movie. I'm a girl who likes chemistry between the leads and let me just say, their chemistry positively sizzled. It jumped off the screen at me. You can tell that the two of them are dating in real life, that is all I can say. I mean, look at these two in the picture below. Aren't they adorable? Even though we know they won't last, it is still cute while it is in occurrence. I'm a hopeless romantic, so a scene involving a New York City rooftop and a spider's web made me very, very happy. The smiles and looks during many different scenes made me want to smile as well....and I did. The ending also made me sad and I even looked up how the "saga" is supposed to go. I'm not too happy about the prospects should sequels indeed come to pass. I want to see what exactly did happen to Peter's mom and dad.


The villain of the story, Dr. Curt Connors, was played very convincingly. Indeed, I didn't think he was going to become bad. (See? You can tell that I really didn't know the story.) The action sequences between Spider-Man and The Lizard were really quite good. However, the most bone chilling part of the entire movie was the post credits scene. I knew the voice speaking from the shadows and I had to look it up when I got home. After all, I knew that it was NOT Dr. Connors--he was in the light. =D The actor in question played Hoyt, the MAJOR bad dude in TNT's Rizzoli and Isles. If HE is going to play a role in a Spider-Man sequel, then you had better believe that I will be there. He is just so darn good at being so bad. I want to see that kind of villain.

I found the musical score to be quite good, which is saying something. I remember thinking that The Avengers lacked such a score. Thankfully, though, The Amazing Spider-Man lacks contact just like other films I have seen this year. Sexual content is a non issue. Its extent is kissing. Language has basic profanities and in one case where you expect something bad, "mother hubbard" is said. Violence, well, it's an action movie so that kind of goes with the territory. For me, it was never anything too drastic or spooky.

I totally plan on seeing The Amazing Spider-Man again, although I might see it in 2D this time. For some reason, and it could have been my theater, but the 3D didn't pop out at me hugely as, say, Titanic did when I saw it. Ah well. It was still a great movie. I was able to spend two hours in sheer relaxation with some popcorn in my hand. I think that is one of the most wonderful ways in which to spend a day off.