Saturday, October 12, 2013

The Amazing Spider-Man (+ UltraViolet Digital Copy)



The Amazing Spider-Man - point by point
I read a lot of reviews for this movie before watching it myself. In the end, they all boiled down to a few basic criticisms, which I kept in mind as I made my own appraisal. Here are the major problems people seem to have had with Marc Webb's "Amazing Spider-Man", along with my responses.

1. The reboot was too soon.

This more or less depends on your point of view. True, the last Spidey movie was in 2007, a mere five years ago - more than long enough to warrant another Spider-Man film; not exactly long enough to call for a complete reboot. On the other hand, I think a lot of people would agree that it's been more like eight years since the last GOOD Spider-Man film. I loved Raimi's work with the character, though I do criticize him on some minor points. But in the end, he really dropped the ball with Spider-Man 3, running a lot of good characters into the ground and painting himself into a corner with two hours of very messy plotting. In the end, whether a reboot...

Fitting Reboot of a Comic Legend
After watching the first five minutes of The Amazing Spiderman, I knew I was gonna like it; after the first hour (which includes a lot of exposition without being tedious) I actually preferred this one to the Raimi versions mainly cuz I think it possesses an intensity and believability that the previous films lacked.

Marvel seems to be producing more mature, rebooted versions of all their super-hero series and I actually prefer this variation on the Spider Man story as well, especially the disappearance of the pointless Mary Jane obsession (which always made me respect Spidey a little less). I suspect that a more scientifically savvy audience appreciates an ever evolving origins story and I also enjoyed the initial dealing-with-new-superpowers interlude which was very amusing and again just seemed a much more realistic reaction from Peter Parker to his new abilities. Exceptional performances for Peter and Gwen are what truly make this production stand out from every other...

I Miss the Old Peter
I miss the old Peter Parker, from the old comics. The one who was actually a nice guy. The one who acted like a jerk for just one panel of his origin story, and then spent the rest of his life doing good. The one who had a tough life, but who was too busy worrying about others to wallow in self pity. That guy was pleasant company. And if I can't have him, I'll take Toby McGuire.

Just once, I'd like to see a Spiderman movie where Peter keeps his mask on and does not reveal his secret identity, and/or show off his superpowers, to everyone he meets and her dad too. But of course, he must get this credit and applause, because it really is all about him.

Just once, I'd like to see a superhero movie, where the film-makers do not need to resort to the cheap ploy of threatening an entire city with destruction (which we know ain't going to happen). Why are not the lives of individual human beings enough of a threat to sustain our interest and sustain a movie? The...

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