The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) Review

After the plans for Spider-Man 4 were scrapped when Sam Raimi couldn't meet the deadlines, Sony decided to go back to square one and reboot their Spider-Man franchise with The Amazing Spider-Man. This time, Andrew Garfield plays Peter Parker whom I really admire after I saw him in The Social Network. The story is pretty much the same origin story but with some changes like Peter investigating what happened to his parents who disappeared after they left him with his uncle and aunt when he was young, which leads him into Oscorp where he gets bitten by the spider that gives him his powers. But it goes back to some of its comic book roots like Peter's web shooters are artificial and he makes some quips when he's in action.

While Andrew Garfield shines as Spider-Man, I thought he was too cool looking to be an awkward Peter Parker, though his stammering is done in a good way. Martin Sheen and Sally Field were worthy successors to play Uncle Ben and Aunt May. While Martin Sheen tries to say different lines about "With great power comes great responsibility," Sally Field plays Aunt May as more strict but loving and supportive as well. This time for the romantic interest, they bring in Gwen Stacy and made her one of the main characters as opposed to a minor one in Spider-Man 3. I love Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy a lot more than Mary Jane because she's smart, she helps Peter and defends herself in her own way, and her chemistry with Andrew Garfield is off the charts. They have their awkward moments together but it's done a lot better here than the Raimi trilogy, in my opinion. Peter even has pictures of her on his laptop, but honestly who hasn't had a picture of a woman they love on their computer? As long as it's not exploitative, I see no issues. In fact, I am not ashamed to admit that, on my laptop, I have a picture of Emma Stone in a turning point of her career this year.

So proud of her.

Rhys Ifans plays Dr. Curt Connors who actually becomes the Lizard here. He doesn't do a bad job and he reminds me a lot of David Warner. He and Spidey have some adequate fight scenes together. But his plan to turn everyone into lizards is a bit odd, though this is a comic book movie however it has its limits. Dennis Leary plays Gwen's father, the Captain of the NYC Police. He thinks that Spider-Man is a menace to the city and wants him captured. Hmm, doesn't that sound familiar. Obviously, he's not as enjoyable as JK Simmons' Jameson, but having someone like Leary made me wish he'd have some deadpan funny moments which he does, but it's mostly scarce. Notwithstanding, there were some moments of levity from the other characters. After Peter gets his powers, he accidentally breaks the sink, not knowing the full extent of his strength. It was far more appropriate in this film than in X-Men Origins Wolverine. Even Stan Lee's cameo is a delight, playing a librarian who's unaware of Spidey and Lizzy fighting due to listening to music on headphones.

To sum it all up, The Amazing Spider-Man was a decent reboot with a really good cast and a more serious tone than the Sam Raimi trilogy. I still prefer the latter but this film does improve things like a better relationship between the two leads, following the comics a little more, and seeing the world through Spidey's eyes when he's swinging through the city. Released the same year as Avengers, it was uncertain if Sony could achieve the same success of the Raimi trilogy with this reboot. We got our answer with the sequel and it was quite a doozy.