The Amazing Spider-Man

After a decade of the 2002 franchise gathering cobwebs, The Amazing Spider-man bursts onto the big screen with enough emphasis to make us Marvel (tehe). Starring Andrew Garfield as the comic book hero, the plot centers around Peter Parker discovering his alter ego, and facing the challenges of the confusion of the police force, a giant lizard-man hybrid and, worst of all, meeting the protective parents of his love interest.

With a surname like that, I can't help feeling that Marc Webb was made to direct this film. Best known for his quirky indie rom-com 500 Days of Summer (2009) the same feelings of youthful highs and angsts are encapsulated in The Amazing Spider-man. Maybe I'm being a little patriotic, but I'd argue that the 'rising star' Brit Andrew Garfield, is majorly responsible for this vibe.

Garfield is perfect for the outcast teenager Parker. He balloons from tortured and uncertain, even awkward at times, to sarcastic and arrogant in his mask, crying at a car thief who has just withdrawn a weapon: "you found my weakness, it's small knives!" before dispatching him with his nifty web-shooter. The way Parker's discovery of his super-strength is revealed is hilarious, with him waking up and smashing his alarm clock, and in attempt to brush his teeth incidentally destroying the bathroom sink and mirror. Somehow though Andrew Garfield manages, something I didn't feel Maguire ever pulled off, to make the guy in a red and blue spandex suit cool. 


 



In terms of visuals, I would recommend you see this in 3D - the CGI as Spiderman swoops the Big Apple is aesthetically astounding, particularly the series of point-of-view shots which literally thrusts us into his perspective as he scales skyscrapers, filling the audience with a rush of absolute vertigo. It's worth waiting to the last sequence of the film simply to experience the acrobatic wonder of Parker, clad in Spider-lycra ensemble, somersaulting, bounding and corkscrewing across midnight New York. It really is a visionary sensation.







Furthermore, the collaborative screenplay is sharp, current and convincing:


GWEN STACY: What's your name?
PETER PARKER: You don't know my name?
GWEN STACY: Of course I do, I was just checking you know it.


The narrative is satisfying - and even tear-jerking at points, if you're a wuss like me - and the rest of the cast, such as the ever-likable Emma Stone, gets a thumbs up too. A must Summer Movie for film fans, don't be left on the sidewalk as The Amazing Spider-man swings past.






P.S, don't forget to wait for after the credits for an extra clip ;)