THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
In 2012, many fans were skeptical of a retelling of Spider-Man considering that it was only five years apart from Spider-Man 3, but due to the film's divisive criticism, fans were also willing to see the new approach of the iconic superhero.
PLOT
The Amazing Spider-Man follows teenager Peter Parker living with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, after his parents Richard (Campbell Scott) and Mary (Embeth Davidtz) unknowingly took off and sadly died in a plane crash. One day, he finds a briefcase that once belonged to his father, which sparks his interest in learning more about him. In the bag, he finds a picture of fellow scientist Curtis Connors who stopped contacting the family after his parents died. He visits him at the pharmaceutical company he works for, Oscorp Industries. He poses as an intern and encounters his crush Gwen Stacy, who is Connors’ head intern. Since she knows who he is, she allows him to look around. He does go off course by sneaking into a laboratory filled with genetically modified spiders. When he leaves, one stows away and bites him. As the day progresses, he gains similar abilities like a spider: heightened reflexes, wall crawling, unknowing amount of strength and a spider sense. The next day, he meets Connors at his home and addresses that he’s Richard’s son. The scientist shares that the two were experimenting with cross species genetics, finding a drug that can regenerate limbs. Although Connors was motivated by the loss of of his right arm, he was pushed by Oscorp to create a cure for a terminal illness affecting CEO Norman Osborn. Peter offers to help by laying out a new algorithm that could work. The next day, he stands up to school bully Flash Thompson by humiliating him during his baseball practice, accidentally breaking a hoop in the process. Since Uncle Ben switched the work shift to talk to the principal about the altercation, he requests Peter to pick up Aunt May after school. He ends up forgetting when unlocking a new formula with Connors. His uncle does scold him for his mistake and chooses to remind him that his dad would make his responsibilities a priority. This triggers him to storm off since he is hurt that he hasn’t been there for him before he died. When a store clerk rejects him milk for being two cents short, he allows a fellow customer to rob the deli. When the robber runs away, he stumbles and drops his gun. Uncle Ben who was looking for his nephew, sees the gun and fights the man over it, until the latter pulls the trigger and shoots him, running away in the process. When Peter finds his uncle die from his wound, his guilt drives him to avenge him. This inspires him to don a costume in pursuit, to keep his identity secret. He also builds his weapon that are web shooters that are made up of old watches containing bio cable. During his unsuccessful search for his uncle’s killer, NYPD Captain George Stacy, Gwen’s father, sees him as a threat to the city. Another day, Gwen invites Pete to have dinner with her and her family. It seems to go well until he debates with George over the motives of Spider-Man. Gwen is able to break the ice by having her and Peter get fresh air. He than chooses to reveal his secret before taking off to Williamsburg Bridge, sensing danger. Connors had tested the serum on himself and although he grew a new arm, he became a giant lizard in the process. He goes to the bridge to confront his Oscorp superior Rajit Ratha (Irrfan Khan) who had planned to rush testing his experiments. However, Spider-Man intervenes and saves him before any harm could be made. When the Lizard leaves, he tossed aside many cars in his way to cover his tracks. Luckily, Spider-Man is able to save a boy from falling off and is praised by his father in the process. By the next morning, Peter discovers what Connors has been up to and warns George of it, but doesn’t look into it quickly as suggested. So he chooses to follow him in the sewers to get picture proof of what he’s doing. However when they fight again, the cameras get destroyed and his chest gets slashed, resulting him to flee. However, the Lizard discovers his identity and plans to kill him in order to stop him from delaying his plan. Peter does visit Gwen and when she patches him up, he expresses regret feeling responsible for what’s happened because he provided the algorithm for everything to go in motion. Saying this, he realizes this is likely what got his parents killed in the first place. The next day, Connors confronts him at school in hopes to kill him, but the web slinger is able to defend himself and cause him to flee again. He does follow him to his lair in the sewers and discovers his plan to create a chemical cloud above the Oscorp tower, in which all of New York will be lizards like him. By night, Gwen is able to reach the building and create an antidote. Spider-Man heads his way there, but is delayed by George. When he unmasks him, he is able to let him go when the vigilante explains what’s going on. The Captain does catch up to give the antidote to Peter. When he does, they fight the Lizard together to ensure the antidote disperses. Despite success, he is mortally wounded by the reptilian foe before he reverts back to his human form. In his dying wish, he requests Peter to distant himself from Gwen to keep her safe, in which he hesitantly agrees. This would break her heart in the process. However, Peter decides to break his promise after being encouraged by Aunt May to not chain his heart (despite being completely unaware of what he’s went through). The film ends with a mid credit scene where a now incarcerated Connors is speaks a shadowed figure in his cell, demanding him to leave Peter alone since he doesn’t know the truth of his father.
THOUGHTS
I remember seeing this film in 2012 with my step sister when it first came out and years later, I surprisingly still enjoy it as I did then. Director Marc Webb had big expectations to exceed after such a respected trilogy and I think he did a fine job on making this origin story feel fresh again. What I do respect a lot from it is how it does its best on being closer to the material. Like for example, he has web shooters instead of web fluid and his first love interest is Gwen Stacy instead of Mary Jane Watson. What it does on par is having entertaining fight scenes backed up with fascinating visual effects. Even during a reboot, we get to learn new lessons which I deeply respect: Those who have the ability to do good are morally obligated to help others. You wouldn't get that without Andrew Garfield's spectacular performance of the titular lead. What he does different from Tobey Maguire is that he demonstrates his impressive intelligence as Peter, while also expressing the humorist side of the vigilante he is known for. On top of that, you feel the inspiration he can pass to others to be brave. Saving that kid from the bridge proves otherwise. Our respect for him only goes further with the fact that he was willing to stay away from someone he loved to keep her safe, proving that the hardest choices require the strongest will. But he does choose to go back on it anyway because he realizes that some promises can be impossible to keep as he couldn't bear being alone again. Enter Gwen Stacy, who I thought was played excellently by Emma Stone. She stood out because she is able to avoid being a damsel as much as possible by utilizing her intelligence to contribute to the plot, which I thought was genius. I think the reason that these two connect so well because they both valued the importance of family. Although both actors have the best chemistry, the supporting cast were able to hold up on their end as well. I got to be straight when I say that Denis Leary is easily better than James Cromwell when it came to playing Captain George Stacy. His depth is fleshed out and we get the chance to understand that he is a humble man who cares about protecting the city, and the pressure as a police captain results in making a mix of rational and irrational decisions. I respect his request for Peter to separate himself from his daughter because the last thing he wants is his family to join him in the afterlife, before they could ever get the chance to live it to the fullest. At first, I didn't have much to say when it came to Sally Field and Martin Sheen playing May and Ben, but they grow to me within each viewing. Both of them stood out for being the loving parents Peter couldn't have. May shows Peter to not stop himself from being happy, while Ben reminds him how responsibility is essential in being a good person. The latter's death may have been predictable, but it still hurts to see because everyone knows what it's like to lose a parental figure. I also surprisingly enjoyed Chris Zylka as Flash Thompson. Of course it's easy to dislike him for his bullying nature, but then seeing him eliminating that part of him after Ben died because he realized he was in the wrong. I do wish he had a presence in the sequel because it would've been interesting to see him have a growing friendship with Peter. Last but not least, I knew that the one thing that would make this film stand out the most is using a different villain rather than immediately bringing back someone from Raimi's trilogy. So I was impressed with the decision on introducing the Lizard. Rhys Ifans was a great choice because he portrays him as one passionate with his work, but is pressured into becoming the monstrous side of him, hence becoming a intriguing dual performance. He had the best intentions, but was unable to have the opportunity to look it over before it was too late. So when his work was undone, you respect him trying to do right by Peter because he realized he messed up. His attempt to protect Peter in the end comes to show how much of a tragic figure he is because he was cornered to be something he didn't want to be, hence being able to respect him in the process. Even though this was better than expected, there were moments that I still scratch my head over. Like how did no one notice Peter with his powers before donning his costume? At the train, when he taunts Flash and first swinging across a building are moments where people should’ve tried connecting the dots. If you’re telling me no one ever did, than that’s ridiculous. Even when he snuck into a secret room at Oscorp, it’s insane that there weren’t any cameras in that area because that dot would’ve been connected so quick. I mean I'm baffled that the first mugger he confronted didn't even remember him by the time he made his costume. Imagine the bounty he wouldn't gotten had he did. Another mistake Oscorp makes is not asking for IDs before entering. I know we need an excuse for Peter to get his powers, but that was way too easy for him to get in. It's the 21st century, that should be mandatory. I want to praise their password creativity, but I would've preferred a simple retinal scan. Also, what happened to the lizard rat? It didn’t appear when Gwen entered the building during the third act, so what gives? It would've been a smart Easter egg in the sequel, but that didn't happen like a lot of things. And why didn’t we get a lead up of when George did a background check on Connors? It felt misplaced since he never told Pete about it. Also, why did it take so long for Peter to look up his dad? Considering that he felt so alone without his parents, it's a bigger surprise he didn't do this way before finding his bag. I did laugh when he accidentally broke his sink, but how come that isn't mentioned after that especially when he later breaks the glass door? I mean it would've been a clever pay off for May or Ben to mention he's reckless. I've said before of my loathing of continuity errors, so you bet I was confused with Peter hitting 'Accept Call' when he actually hung up on Ben. I mean if he was really gonna answer, walk away from the screen. If we're top that off, I would remind myself of irritation with Peter not having his backpack when heading to the bridge, only to actually have it by the time he's a building away. You know I don't blame the convenience store owner asking Peter for help because he's close, but you really can't expect a teen to help. And what would Peter do if he really found him? It looked like he could've killed him had the first guy had the matching tattoo. I'm even wondering how does Connors pull off bringing lab equipment to the sewers alone. If no one helped him, then someone if not Peter had to have spotted him struggling. That's more confusing than him figuring out where the high school was from the sewers. Other than that, this movie is fine. In short, The Amazing Spider-Man is a reboot that’ll likely not be better than the predecessor, but is still a fascinating depiction of the iconic superhero nonetheless. If you generally love superheroes, you’ll enjoy this film.
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