FILM REVIEW: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (12A)

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary

Director: Marc Webb

Running time: 136 minutes

Released 3rd July

Released by: Sony Pictures

Several years ago Marvel Comics decided to give their figurehead character, Spider-man, what amounted to no less than a complete overhaul. Suddenly his marriage to Mary Jane had magically never happened, his secret identity - exposed in the publisher's epic Civil War saga - was once again secret. It was a Brand New Day and to this day there are some who felt this was a reboot too far, but it seems to have stuck. So it's understandable that when Sony announced they were taking the highly-profitable cinematic version of the character and completely going back to basics, some fans were mystified at the reasoning and skeptical of the outcome. Would this be a new day or just an old brand?

Recast, re-imagined and somewhat respun, The Amazing Spider-man's first task was always going to be about re-establishing its credentials.  Most of the mainstays of Marvel's mythology remain intact, but director Webb and screenwriter James Vanderbilt have sought to view them from a slightly different viewpoint, taking the familiar and restructuring some of the elements, aligning them in different ways - even if the destination is the same.


Peter Parker is  entrusted to his Aunt May (Field) and Uncle Ben (Sheen) when his parents fear for their own and his safety. After their apparent deaths in a car-accident, Peter is raised by Ben and May, inheriting his father's thirst for knowledge and gift for invention, but suffering in the social-skills department. He finds his father's briefcase and opening a hidden compartment, he also finds the remnants of his father's paperwork and genetic formulas. He searches out his father's scientific colleague Curt Connors (Ifans) now a renown geneticist himself, without realising that Connors is being unreasonably pressured by unseen billionnaire Norman Osborne to find a cure for the billionaire's illness at all costs. The meeting sets a series of events in perilous motion. Richard Parker's formula leads to breakthrough for Connors, but he is forced to experiment on himself with reptillian consequences. Peter too finds part of his life transformed after being bitten by a spider in Connors' lab... and realises he's picked up some interesting new abilities.  However they will come at a great personal cost when he fails to use them wisely. A confrontation between spider and lizard is inevitable...

Garfield is very good in the roles of Peter Parker and his alter-ego, the thirty-year-old perfectly capturing those awkward teenage years where the character goes from zero to hero but stumbles along the way. This is an actor comfortable in the skin of a character who isn't comfortable in their own. Peter is a child deserted and a young man underestimated, loved by his aunt and uncle but who feels on the fringes of his own life. Garfield measures that mix perfectly.  Equally Emma Stone gives some real depth to a role utterly ignored in previous cinema outings. Within the original comics,  Gwen Stacy would play a gigantic, fateful role in the direction of the title character and here we get to see why Peter would fall for her (and she him) in the first place.


The film's strong casting is also reflected in the supporting players. The ever-reliable Sheen and Field are instantly at home in their guardian roles, their reputations giving a shorthand that helps cut down on exposition. Leary has great fun as Police Captain Stacy and Ifans gives some needed humanity to the conflicted Connors.  

Those expecting a complete self-contained story may be surprised by just how many threads are left dangling. While there's a beginning, middle and end to some extent, Webb clearly sees this as a renewed and potentially ongoing franchise that doesn't have to rush to play all its cards in its 'origin' story. Though the secrets kept by Peter's parents somewhat bookend and inform the plot of the feature, the concentration is on the consequences of such decisions rather than answers as to why they were initially made. This is a first chapter we're seeing , but one that isn't afraid to hint that it's only part of a bigger story that will stretch backwards and forwards as it progresses. Well, hopefully.


The special effects are effective, the 3D elements being used well, if somewhat predictably. The technique of letting the camera provide a POV as we swing through the skyscrapers is a nice stylistic choice, though it is somewhat overplayed as the film goes on and may simply end up making the audience dizzy. The film's only problems are in the fact that this origin story, despite its tweaks, is still possibly too familiar to audience-goers who saw it play out with Tobey Maguire under the mask only a decade ago.  Equally, while Gwen's character is fine, it's just mightily convenient that she's Peter's classmate, Connors' intern and the Police Captain's daughter... all aspects that steer the character's journey.

There will be those who prefer the Raimi-directed trilogy and wonder what would have happened if that partnership continued, but quibbles aside, this is a solid enough romp for fans and the summer marketplace. Its slightly darker and more complex story elements play well  (though it ultimately ends up as more of a love story punctuated by smackdowns) and though they may not threaten the MUCH darker remit of the Dark Knight saga - concluding this month - they do give the webbing some extra tensile strength and backbone within a 12A certificate. Already doing well in Asian markets - where it was released last week - and early US screenings, this should be one of the bigger international hits of the already impressive summer. It won't quite do Avengers numbers, but should be able to spin itself to highly impressive, if not ultimately amazing box-office.

(One thing to note - as with the films produced by Marvel Studios (though Spider-man is a separate Sony release) - it's wise to stick around until mid-credits for another brief extra scene that suggests more questions and further developments, though it will likely mystify rather than inform...) 

4/5