July 7th 2012
"The Amazing Spiderman" (2012) by Marc Webb
There are endless joys of watching a superhero protagonist on film. Particular to the Spiderman series is the pleasure of watching Peter Parker transform from an astute but socially awkward high schooler into an agile and capable vigilante. There is plenty to Parker's back-story that we already know about, both to hardcore comics fans and the viewers of the blockbuster feature film franchise that spanned the early-mid 2000's. Webb is good to restart the story though, as any good reboot should; while The Amazing Spiderman doesn't spend much time on Uncle Ben and Peter's relationship with him, the film makes up for it with sound plot development and pace.
Peter (played by Andrew Garfield) is a good character. Likeable in his aloofness and passion for science and photography, the teenage boy is troubled by his past and the unexplained absence of his parents very early on in his life. As a result of stumbling onto his father's unfinished work, Peter finds his way to the corporation OSCORP and the lead scientist of the cross-genetic bioengineering project Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), who once worked with Peter's father. Connors has placed much of his faith in what science can achieve, driven to transfer the regenerative abilities of reptiles to human tissue. And Peter "gets bitten" while at OSCORP - by both a genetically-modified spider and fellow classmate Gwen Stacy.
Both teenagers have a powerful chemistry that is a joy to watch, namely because of Emma Stone's stellar performance and the accurate portrait of pubescence and young love that she and Garfield convey. Webb makes sure to focus on the burden that comes with heroic abilities, though in the film Uncle Ben never says outright "With great power comes great responsibility." As Peter becomes physically enhanced with superhuman reflexes and energy, the mental transition may come off as a little extreme, given he starts freely taunting high school bullies, New York's villains, and even his main antagonist. Though this playful attitude is accurate to the Peter Parker we know, Garfield's character feels a tad unnatural when he begins to border arrogance. But make his pre-Spidey days more confident? There is no easy way to make the transition less jarring.
The visuals are excellent, both in the camera shots and angles as well as the 3D effects. Webb's team filmed the respective footage using specialized technology, and the effect of tailing Spiderman swinging through downtown Manhattan is less uncomfortable than the product of a visual conversion would've been. Likewise the action-packed combat footage is second to none, and audiences will be on the edge of their seats to see if Spiderman can save the world (and keep the girl).
Naturally there will be those wondering what ever happened to Peter's day job at the Daily Bugle and assignments to photograph Spiderman, but Webb delivers a promising reboot of a previous superhero franchise that started strong and ended on a sour note. The Amazing Spiderman may be lacking in characterization here and there - and, unless I happened to miss it, the few notes in the famous Spiderman-riff - but compels us to sympathize, root, and believe in the hero behind the mask.