The Amazing Spider-Man

[Impact]

Review, Discuss and Have Fun!

[FTF]

This is going to be great to read through next week...someone find those Baumer and ijack reviews I wrote and posted weeks ago

[chasmmi]

LEt me start up by saying two things first:1) I do not read comics, I have never read anything Spiderman so my only real knowledge of him is through the films and the odd Top Trumps card set.2) If this was the first major film of the Spiderman Origin story I would probably be raving about how awesome it is.However the fact is that there is a little too much that feels like its ripped from the Maguire version (as in to say essential details of the comic that neither movie could leave out.) This leaves you waiting for things to happen instead of just letting the film take its course. I found myself thinking to myself thing like how Uncle Ben must be due to die by now and when the build up occurs there is no drama to it as you know every step of the next five minutes before it occurs.On top of this, the scenes where Dr Connor is reacting to what is either a voice in his head or an earlier video recording of himself just feels a little to similar to the dynamic used for Goblin so again it feels a little too close to the first movie.Now I don't know the comics, I do not know how these characters and occurances go down there and so I cannot say how unavoidable such things are but it is a shame as I believe for non-comicreading fans of superhero movies it does feels like 30% of what you watch is a rehashed version of the first film and not a massive redo of the style like Batman Begins is to Batman.That in itself is not enough to bring the movie down, there are plenty of positives here and on its own merits is an immensly enjoyable film. The lead actor plays a great Spiderman and there is come good humour and great effects to be seen. Conversly to this I feel that Maguire played a better PEter Parker and that again is the dificulty of making this film now, I remember Maguire's take on the character pretty freshly and so its easy to compare and for me Garfield pulls off an awesome spiderman but is outperformed in the Parker department.So despite being more than adequate as Peter (and one thing I will say is that his character for both parts is by no means a cut out of Maguire's), it falls short because this version has been made too soon.I can add a couple of minor gripes like how there are so many instances where it is impossible to suspend disbelief that the whole school and city do not realise Peter is Spiderman, but all in all I have sadly found mylself being a little too negative about a movie that was very very good and I would rate 8/10.The main problem is that I feel Spiderman 1 (Maguire) was a) a little bit better and too soon ago to be remembered.I highly recommend it, but not as highly as I would have if this was the first version.

[BoxOfficeZ]

Now before I went to see this, I had relatively neutral expectations, despite all the negativity and some anger (understandable, considering the last film). I'm still a comic book fan so I was looking forwarding to this.

First off, the music is not exactly memorable. Its not bad, but not exactly the type that would leave you amazed with the movie. I think it tied fine with the action scenes.

The 3D was alright (way better then The Avengers 3D). Some of the first person point of views were a little hard to take for me (I get headaches watching 3D films after awhile), the action can get confusing. But overall, the camera guys knew what they were doing. I'm still opposed to 3D for superhero films, but it does the job here.

The main cast themselves was excellent. Andrew Garfield delivers his lines very smoothly, plays very well as Spider-Man (There's no lack of enthusiasm there I suppose). Before you ask me to start asking me to compare Maguire and Garfield, I'd say they were well suited for the films they were in respectively. Emma Stone was alright, nothing special, but then again, Dunst wasn't exactly the world's greatest either. The supporting cast was great and did the job just fine. Denis Leary and Martin Sheen were well suited to their roles.

The writers did an excellent job on the dialogue and on the plot somewhat. You can tell that they had some fun revealing Parker's powers in scenes such as the subway and the school scene with the bully. The film feels more teenager focused then Raimi's series, issues with adolescence (that are familiar to all I'm sure) plays throughout the film. I wouldn't really say the film is a way darker origins story, its more like a different take. There's no lack of comedic moments, though some of them feel out of place, while other lines don't seem forced at all. And of course the romance is there, and does the job somewhat.

The web shooters were fine and I'm sure they're pleasing for comic book fans.

Lizard was forgettable, his conversion to a villain seemed a tad too quick, but his fights with Spider-Man were definitely watchable, I won't go into specifics here, but it'll be hard to be bored watching them fight. The CGI on Lizard was somewhat terrible, but nothing really worth complaining about, since you only notice it when he's not moving.

Webb does pull off the action very well, surprising considering he's only directed one other film. I give him props for that. The movie keeps at a light pace and doesn't' drag.

The trailers highlight that its an untold story, but I wouldn't really support that claim. Batman Begins maybe, if you're comparing Batman and Begins. But The Amazing Spider-Man isn't that different from its predecessor series, besides the thing with Parker's dad, even then, it barely glances at it, then moves on.

Overall, I'd say its a satisfying enjoyable movie. Not Oscar winning, but I doubt anyone was expecting that. B

I still prefer Raimi's first two movies over this one, because TASM feels like an unnecessary film when the last film barely came out 5 years ago. I think this will have an impact on potential audiences.

END REVIEW

[baumer]

So a decent movie that neither of you will probably see again. Sounds about right.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

So I watch the DVD about a month ago. Green Goblin is outdated.......... wait a second oh that right they just changed the villain to Gumba and pretty everything else is the same.

[jb007]

Decent movie. The pacing is very slow. While the movie has some really good moments, I felt bored at times. Score is average when it needed to be first rate. The lead actors are fine. Better than SM (2002). But that is not saying much.

The parents' fate is left unexplained for some reason. The pacing and lack of genuine excitement really pulls the movie down.

B

Edited June 30, 2012 by jb007

[haku]

Decent movie. The pacing is very slow. While the movie has some really good moments, I felt bored at times. Score is average when it needed to be first rate. The lead actors are fine. Better than SM (2002). But that is not saying much.

The parents' fate is left unexplained for some reason. The pacing and lack of genuine excitement really pulls the movie down.

B

What I gathered from your review is that it probably deserves a C or C+. Y'know, 'average'. A 'B' is a pretty good score imo.

Nonetheless, I'm probably going to drag myself to the theater because I love comic book movies, even if this one feels like a pointless reboot.

[lab276]

Nah, a B suggests nothing more than ordinary or simply forgettable.

[haku]

Nah, a B suggests nothing more than ordinary or simply forgettable.

Hmm, I guess it depends on how you weigh those grades. I look at it like I do school grades lol. I see a 'B' as a good movie overall, but lacking that extra umph that really would take it to greater heights. C is something that's average/forgettable. In my book anyways.

[Bluebomb]

I loved this. An easy A. Acting, story, direction, special effects, action are all great. The action scenes are very crisp and 3D only enhances these scenes. Easily one of the best movies of the year. (9.5/10)

Edited June 30, 2012 by Bluebomb

[Impact]

Bumps

[The Dark Alfred]

This review contains SPOILERS!!!

The opening credits are awful, the music is pretty bad. Then the first half of the story is surprisingly good. Garfield is adorable, Emma Stone is gorgeous, Martin Sheen is great, so we set off to a decent start. Even though we see SM all over again, it's done with more details and the first act provide some funny moments. Therefore it's an insult that the entire plot gets forgotten. There are two major incidents that get the focus of the entire first half, yet there are no further mentions in the rest of the story. WTF???? I get that they are going try to pull a SW on us in the second film, but maybe they shouldn't have based the entire marketing campaign on a plot that gets forgotten. Man it's beyond bad hoe many times he shows his face. He hardly wears the mask. When he does, he's always on the phone. This Spidey better stay away from Avengers. The Lizard is dull, but you could tell that from the trailer. The final battle is disappointing, the fight between Hulk and Abomination in TIH was way better. The entire third act is a mess. The film has some good moments and altogether it's a good effort, but it's no comparison to SM. Even though there are some truly amazing shots and webslinging action, we never get an uplifting, epic feel, because the music is uncharacteristicly average. They left some POV shots in there. Goodness me. If it wasn't for the brilliant Garfiled and Stone (OMG, those eyes!!!) it would be worse than SM3. It's definitely no comparison to SM. It's a solid B.

B

Edited July 3, 2012 by The Dark Alfred

[skykisser]

I loved this! in fact I rate them TASM > SM2 = SM1 > SM3All the characters and even more importantly their relationships are better developed, so I cared more than I did in previous films. This one just had alot more heart. And then on top of that, the action and webslinging in 3D was great, he actually moved like a real Spider-Man.

Edited July 3, 2012 by skykisser

[The Dark Alfred]

Yea and he made sure the whole of NY knows it. Also proved how important a mobile phone is for a superhero.

[ddddeeee]

B-Great performances and chemistry between the two leads can't shake the fact that this story was told better ten years ago. The sub-plot with Peter's dad is completely irrelevant and Lizard is a truly terrible villain. Horner's score is good and Webb handles the action surprisingly well.

[jb007]

What I gathered from your review is that it probably deserves a C or C+. Y'know, 'average'. A 'B' is a pretty good score imo.

Nonetheless, I'm probably going to drag myself to the theater because I love comic book movies, even if this one feels like a pointless reboot.

This movie lacks the "Pull-in" factor that all major blockbusters do. The villain is lame. The action scenes are ok. The score is average and the story is not portrayed effectively and It does not even have the signature line. They have a lame modified version of the signature line which essentially comes from Uncle Ben (Sheen). Leaving some ends open like the parents fate and Uncle Ben's killer after investing considerable time into those sub-plots seems like lazy writing.

Yeah TASM is the poster child for bland and lame.

Edited July 3, 2012 by jb007

[JackO]

Okay, I slept on it. Here are the positives:

The leads - Garfield - even though I found his character insufferable he was good in most moments opposite of Emma Stone. I did not buy the love story. (oh, our first date isn't even over, he is gonna tell me that he loves me!? and that Twilight crap about not having to see her after Denis Leary dies) but they both powered through the crappy script and gave decent performances.

The school fight and Stan Lee's cameo - One of the only few genuinely funny moments in an otherwise terribad 3rd act.

Dennis Leary - His character seemed like the only one who could see how ridiculous this whole charade was

.....

And now on to what I didn't like:

I didn't like that I already saw at least half the movie through trailers, promo shots, clips, etc. Sony obviously did not know how to market this film since there are zero money shots. None. it is forgettable from beginning to end.

I didn't like that Flash went from bully to almost getting beating up to Peter to being his 'best friend' just because Uncle Ben died.

I didn't like that the film was pretty much 6 degrees of Peter Parker. Every single plot point as related to another plot point every single character was connected to him and only him. Just utterly elementary school storytelling. And to make matters worse the really important plot points were repeated no less then 3 times to make sure every one got it. HE GOT A STAR ON HIS WRISTZ!

I didn't like The Lizard. I mean he was laughably bad. I had Hector Hammond flashbacks witht he talking to himself and the terrible CGI. Just a trainwreck.

I didn't like Douchebag Peter Parker. He had no character arc. Once he got bitten his douchiness just became more exaggerated. There is no growth in the character.

I didnt like the plotholes. Plot points were introduced and forgotten about. Characters were introduced and disappear. I would argue that Rock of Ages had less plot holes.

I didn't like Aunt May. Criminally underused. All she does is cry all film. Really?

Some of the small things like when Peter Parker pressed like 3 buttons to find the the formula to regenerate limbs and the score pops up and it's like he had just won the Olympics or something. It just didn't fit. And just random scenes, like Gwen looking up leaving funeral and peter staring at his mask a la Bruce Wayne after saving the kid. Just random scenes that dont fit. It messes up the tone. The tone that was supposed to be "grounded" yet random crazy things happen and no one bats an eye. Space Jam? A-OK! Fighting random people on a subway because yous tarted a fight? A-OK!

The whole film just felt really weird until the Lizard came in. Like just an air of awkwardness, can't really describe it.

Anyways, I saw it at advance screening but this one felt different. There were a lot of spidey fans. Almost lt like a midnight show. Lots of energy to start. Lots of cheers and applause at laugh lines then 3rd act it got very very quiet. Laugh lines that hit before fell flat. Audience still clapped at the end but they got out of dodge before the end credits scene (which was terrible) even though lights were still off.

I give it a C because the 2/3 of it were so boring and safe and it did not pick up until the Lizard trainwreck. For reference, I gave Green lantern a C+ because at least when they failed, they failed hard.

[The Dark Alfred]

I agree. I thought Garfield was great and I surprisingly enjoyed the first half better. It was the same story, but it was going somewhere and then all of a sudden, bumm, new plot line comes in and they flush the first 40 mins down the toilet, no mentions later. I really hated that he took off the mask so many times. He hardly wears it. When he does, he's always on the phone, it's just looks bad. I didn't get the epic, uplifting feel at all during the amazing shots, because the music just wasn't good enough.

Edited July 3, 2012 by The Dark Alfred

[Hatebox]

What is the end credits sequence?