Wow…just WOW….this movie was freakin’ great. I
honestly didn’t expect it to be so well put together, so well thought out, and
especially so well casted. As a long time spider-fan, I have seen Peter Parker’s
origin story redone an untold amount of times, but never like it was in this
flick. I can go on for hours about this, but since I doubt you’d want to be
here for that long, I’m just going to point out the major things I liked about
it, and the few things I didn’t.
What I liked:
·
Spider-Man’s Updated Origin: We all know
the story. Parker gets bit by a spider, gets super powers, let a robber get
away, robber shoot Uncle Ben, Parker catches robber, Parker becomes Spider-Man.
Not the case in this movie. Without giving too much away, the minds behind this
interpretation actually took their own direction on the beginnings of the hero.
It feels familiar, yet it’s different enough to hold your attention until the
end. For lack of a better world, it feels more modern, and even more realistic.
Now, I’m not one who likes too much realism in a “comic-book” movie, but just
how it shows what Peter goes through and the emotions shown by the character,
it feels like he is really going through this entire trauma, in turn making you
feel more for the character. Also, I love how they displayed Peter’s intial
reaction to receiving his powers. In all the other media before this
(especially the 2002 Spider-Man
movie), Peter just accepts that he has powers. He just says “I can climb walls
now? Neat!” then goes on his merry way. In this film, he’s freaking out! He’s
scared to touch anything in fear of breaking it, he’s paranoid about what’s
around him, he’s tweaking like a drug addict! Then he slowly begins to accept
what happened to him. It’s a lot more powerful and character driven in my
opinion.
·
The Cast: Andrew Garfield is the best
actor to ever portray Spidey. He’s funny and quick with comebacks like how
Spider-Man should be, and socially awkward/weird enough as Peter Parker. Granted,
Parker is more of a rebel-skater genius than a nerdy genius, but I thought that
was a welcome change. He’s a lot better than Tobey Maguire, who I thought
sounded too wimpy when as Spider-Man and just didn’t fit the character’s
behavior at all. Emma Stone was a perfect Gwen Stacy, giving a supporting lead
that actually helped drive the main character’s progression as a super-hero.
Denis Leary, who played Denis Leary playing Cpt. George Stacy, stole the show
in each scene he was in. I love this guy, and his inclusion in the story just
made a great film better. He was hilarious when he needed to be, and kick-ass
when he had to be (which was all the time). Rhys Ifans did a pretty good job as
Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard. The look of the Lizard took some getting used to,
but by the end I grew to like the design. Also, The Lizard felt like a greater
threat to me than the Green Goblin (William Defoe) from the 2002 film. The CGI
was well done for the Lizard as well.
·
Web-Shooters Are Back: ‘nuff said.
·
More Fleshed-Out Story: The story as a
whole felt more thought out than any of the previous films. They were able to
make several references that could be followed for a sequel. And let me tell you,
there will be a sequel. Other than that, the story just feel more inspired by
the comics, with enough originality to be one of the more unique storylines of
the bunch.
Now for the two things I didn’t like:
·
Spider-Sense: They didn’t seem to
completely explain the spider-sense as well as the last films did. In one
scene, it almost felt non-existent because the Lizard was able to sneak behind
Spider-Man without the sense even being tripped…then again, maybe the Lizard is
just that sneaky, like a ninja. That said, if you need an explanation for the
Spider-Sense, you should really consider leaving the rock you’re under.
·
Lack of J.J. Jameson: Parker’s boss at
the Daily Bugle. This will probably be fixed in the next film, and he better be
played by J.K. Simmons!
Well, those are my
thoughts in a nutshell about the film. I could go way more in detail, but
unless you have an extremely great attention span, you’ll be out of it by the 1st
hour. Bottom line, go see this movie. It’s amazing.
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