Jul 5 2012

The Amazing Spider-Man

Richard Parker (Campbell Scott), stumbles onto some research his father was trying to protect. Investigating further, a visit to his father’s former lab partner, Dr. Connors (Rhys Ifans), ends in misadventure as Peter is bitten by a genetically modified spider. Before long Peter begins to take on the characteristics of a spider. But not is all well, on one particular evening dealing with his teen rage Peter witnesses the death of his legal guardian and uncle Ben (Martin Sheen). On a mission to track and stop Ben’s Killer Peter takes to the streets as a masked vigilante, the Spider-man is born. Unfortunately, Spider-Man’s acts of heroism aren’t taken well by NYPD Captain Stacy (Denis Leary) who also happens to be the father of Peter/Spider-man’s girlfriend Gwen (Emma Stone). Twisting things further, Dr. Connors appears to be losing his mind now that Peter has shared his father’s discoveries—this in turn breeds more trouble as Dr. Connors becomes The Lizard, a gigantic genetic mutant of a man. Now to stop the lizard, get on the good side of Captain Stacy, win the heart of Gwen, and live to see another day. Re-booting the Spider-Man legacy director Marc Webb appears to take Spidey to a darker level, much the way Christopher Nolan has re-imagined Batman. It’s all about rain, grit, grime, the harshness of the city and its underworld. But then there’s conflict, countering the grit Webb still makes an attempt to remind us that Peter Parker is an adolescent, almost punkish and for lack of a better adjective “comic bookish.” For all of the darkness, there’s an attitude of a boy that hasn’t matured into a man yet, this unfortunately plays out a bit like a 13 year old boy’s daydream, not really well developed and a bit of an eye roller from time to time. The same can be said for The Lizard’s role, a little too comic bookish, not entirely well developed, and it’s never really clear where his motivations are coming from. Cinematography and graphics feel interesting throughout, although the 3D again DOES NOTHING! My beefs aside, it’s still web slinging fun. The Amazing Spider-Man is rated PG-13.