Blu-ray Review The Amazing Spider-Man
Directed by: Marc Webb Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field Running Time: 2 hrs 16 mins Rating: PG-13 Due Out: November 9, 2012
Additional info: The Amazing Spider-Man Second Screen App, available exclusively for the Sony Tablet™ S, Sony Xperia™ Tablet S and Apple iPad. The Second Screen App, which syncs only with the Blu-ray Disc™, transforms the movie-watching experience, giving users behind-the-scenes access into the amazing world of Spider-Man throughout the film. Additionally, the App will unlock new content each week with all content available by the November 9th release of The Amazing Spider-Man on Blu-ray.
PLOT: Peter Parker (Garfield) tries to find out what happened to his parents, which leads him to Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans) and some mysterious genetic testing with other species.
WHO’S IT FOR? Superhero fans, and those who can still tap into some teenage angst.
MOVIE:
I liked watching everything that Spider-Man was doing, and hated listening to everything that he was saying. The following example is the perfect showcase for what I am talking about. Spider-Man says this while happily swinging away through the streets of New York.
“Hey watch out. I’m swingin’ here, I’m swingin’ here!”
You could end it with Peter simply loving Midnight Cowboy and attempting to make that phrase his own. I’m not going to. The cocky Spider-Man is not fun, yet that’s exactly who Peter becomes. Think about the timing … he’s on a mission to search for his Uncle’s killer and bring him some sort of justice. He’s also an incredibly awkward, nerdy kid. He gets powers, becomes arrogant, and also loses track of how awful he feels that he’s directly related to his Uncle’s death. That’s not creative story telling, that’s just messy. It’s sticking us with a superhero who is difficult to root for. Plus, if you don’t do this at all, then you end up either feeling bad Peter is swinging around with all of this guilt (adding to a darker tone, which the movie tries to go for) or you just get to enjoy Spider-Man doing really cool things without the cheesy/arrogant one-liners that are attempted throughout the film. I don’t care if it’s accurate that a teenager would become cocky, it’s not fun or moving to watch. It also feels like something Garfield’s Peter wouldn’t do.
Garfield and Stone are OK together, but I felt like the most enjoyable moments that each character had was when the other wasn’t around. Sheen’s Uncle Ben adds some weight, but then becomes forgotten within the film when the Lizard shows up. Visually, it’s dynamic and the Spidey-vision we occasionally enter is tremendous fun. Not every visual is perfect though. At one point a line of lizards are somehow drawn to the Lizard. It’s never explained, and immediately had me thinking about the Penguin (Batman Returns) and his gang of penguins, but without any camp quality.
Since Spider-Man and its sequels went from 2002 to 2007, none of this feels necessary. Then again, how many movies truly are? It’s difficult to separate, but I’ll continue to give my time to Spider-Man on the big screen and small, even it this entire film didn’t feel amazing.
FINAL SCORE: 7/10
EXTRAS
The Amazing Spider-Man Second Screen App Rite of Passsage: The Amazing Spider-Man Reborn Pre-Visualization Sequences Image Progression Reels Deleted Scenes Audio Commentary with Marc Webb, Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach Stunt Rehearsals The Oscorp Archives — Production Art Gallery