by Candace Salima, Senior Contributor, US Daily Review,
Movie: The Amazing Spiderman (2012)
Director: Marc Webb
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen and Sally Field
Website: www.theamazingspiderman.com
Rating/Runtime: PG-13, 136 Minutes
To be perfectly frank, the last thing I ever wanted to see again…was another Spiderman movie. I was never that fond of Toby Maguire as Spiderman and those three movies kind of filled my quota of Spidey, for a lifetime. But my husband is a Marvel superhero officianado and just couldn’t wait to see the latest offering on the teenage superhero with the smart mouth. So I anticipated taking a lovely little nap while my husband watched spiders, lizards, mad scientists, science labs, and a cute girl.
So imagine how surprised I was to find myself enjoying Andrew Garfield’s take on the Amazing Spiderman. The story hasn’t changed, but the newer element was Peter Parker as a child and the mysterious leaving of his parents. Uncle Ben and Aunt May were breathed life into by the incomparable Martin Sheen and Sally Field, and they were wonderful, adding dimension to those characters.
When Peter finds out that the famous cross-species geneticist Dr. Curt Connors was his father’s old partner at OSCORP, he sneaks in to try to find out what happened to his parents. Of course, being a curious kid he went places he shouldn’t have and ended up being bit by the infamous radioactive spider. Marc Webb, the director, did a fabulous job with this new take on an old scene. It was magnificent.
It is delightful watching Peter coming into and mastering his powers. All in all, I thought Webb did a fabulous job breathing new life into a character whose had his own comic book series, and 19 television series and/or movies revolving around him. I enjoyed the movie immensely, much to my surprise. There was a greater depth to the characters, and Garfield portrayed a delightful Spiderman, one who begins as the bullied Peter Parker, and emerges as the newly empowered Peter Parker dealing with the aforementioned bully.
And, just as a side note, these new camera techniques of Hollywood made me experience a little vertigo as Spidey was swinging through New York City. The cinemaphotography and special effects were fantastic. Exactly what we expect from the latest movie on one of The Avengers.
My husband assures me that the next Spiderman movie, due for release in 2014, will have to have The Hulk (hopefully portrayed by Mark Ruffalo) in it, because it is The Hulk who draws him into The Avengers. And you know me, I love those Avengers. You know, with the world as chaotic as it is, there is just nothing quite so satisfying as watching bad guys get a serious beat down!
All in all, The Amazing Spiderman was a fun, entertaining, decidedly gross at times, action-packed movie that kept me from my nap, and more than lived up to its title.. I asked my husband how many stars he would give this movie, because he is the superhero expert in our home, and he said 4 out of 5 stars, and I concur.
This is a great family, date, and need-a-break movie. I suggest you go, and get ready for a high octane, Spidey-filled 136 minute movie.
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Candace Salima is a radio talk show host, author, columnist, and makes her home in the Rocky Mountains. Learn more about her at www.CandaceSalima.com. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook.
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