"We all have secrets: the ones we keep... and the ones that are kept from us."
I'll be the first to admit that I used to be one of those type of people who automatically disliked anything with the words "reboot" or "remake" attached to it, especially the latter as I didn't like the thought of something I already enjoyed a lot having its legacy ruined. However, remakes have actually been just as, if not, better than their originals lately ("Let Me In" and "Fright Night" as prime examples; oddly enough both vampire films). But reboots have actually proven to be very successful, at least in the superhero genre. "Batman Begins" revived a dying franchise that had been extremely panned by both critics and fans alike.
I was actually a HUGE fan of Sam Raimi's work with the Spider-Man films, although I wasn't too fond of "Spider-Man 3" (but after multiple views, I realized it wasn't as bad as people said, just cluttered with too many main characters, but I digress.) I loved his directorial work, and really liked the cast as well, especially Toby Maguire because he portrayed both Peter Parker & Spider-Man so genuinely and naturally. I was actually very excited when talks of Spider-Man 4 began to surface a few years back; John Malkovich as Vulture sounded very promising, and I was looking forward to seeing Anne Hathaway as Felicia Hardy (although I was eventually disappointed to see that she would be some new character called Vulturess instead of one of my all-time Marvel favorites, Black Cat.) That project, however, began to slowly but surely disintegrate, and eventually Sam Raimi dropped from the project, and I believe the main cast followed suit as well. So I was actually relieved to see that the series would just be rebooted instead of continue with replacements, because that's always kind of awkward. A lot of people were automatically angry and hated the film before it was even released, but I was actually kind of excited, and became VERY stoked once I heard Marc Webb would be attached (I loved his work with "(500) Days of Summer.) and that Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone would be in the cast; two of my most favorite young up-and-coming actors. And if you think about it, a LOT has changed since the year 2002, 2004, and even 2007. In the former, the cell phone wasn't even remotely as common as it is now, and smart-phones were young in the latter.
Enter "The Amazing Spider-Man"; did it live up to my expectations? It certainly did, and that's because I knew what to expect. I heard so many unbelievable negative reviews that bashed the film for focusing too much on the origins or having similar scenes to the original. Did we all forget that this is a REBOOT? On the contrary, I actually thought it didn't focus as much on the origins as I expected, I even felt that was all kind of rushed, which was one of the very few minor criticisms I have of the film. The other thing I felt was a bit rushed was the relationship between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, however, their on-screen chemistry is so ridiculously great & intense that it didn't end up mattering at all (and oddly enough, Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are currently dating after meeting on the set.) The only other minor criticism I have is that Andrew Garfield's acting felt just a very tad bit forced as Spider-Man, but it's probably because it's his first role of this kind, so it's something that I know he can and undoubtedly will master. As Peter Parker, though, he is absolutely flawless; he's funny, instantly likable, believable, charming, haunting, and just overall brilliant in that area. Those reasons are exactly why Batman and Spider-Man are two of my favorite superheroes, because their true identities are vastly interesting, more-so than their respective alter-ego. And both the likes of Cristian Bale and Andrew Garfield have hit the mark on fulfilling the aforementioned.
Other than the above-mentioned, there's really no other criticisms. The film delivers what's supposed to be expected. It's well-directed, greatly acted by the entire cast, has cool special-effects and action sequences, and has a pretty good storyline, although I think Sam Raimi's films had more memorable dialogue. I mean, who doesn't remember "With great power, comes great responsibility."?. Another thing I really liked was that the webbing was artificial, which is loyal to the original comics and the 90's TV series that I still love to this day. There's also a good amount of witty humor & comic relief. But to reiterate on earlier, the best scenes are undoubtedly the ones between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, they are so sweet, tender, magical, moving, and they almost feel organic.
Is "The Amazing Spider-Man" a masterpiece, groundbreaking, or the best superhero of the year? Not necessarily, but that isn't a bad thing at all considering it's a reboot. I honestly feel this is merely a prelude for greater things to come. With a very promising director & talented young cast, I expect many incredible things, and I personally can't wait for the upcoming sequels, as I know they'll be superior.
Rating: 4.5/5
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