It doesn't seem like it's been 10 years since the human-arachnid superhero swung his way through the Big Apple. But, it has. Since then, it led to two sequels, with Spider-Man 2 becoming one of the best comic-book films of all time, and Spider-Man 3 ruining what could have been a rare great trilogy (Three villains? An emo Peter Parker?). After that mess of a third installment, the series called for some fine tuning.
Depending on how you look at it, you may think it is or isn't too soon to start over with Spider-Man's story. No matter what, comparisons will be made. In director Marc Webb's retelling, The Amazing Spider-Man, he follows the same basic outline of the hero's origins. But, thankfully, there are a few significant differences that prevent this from being a lazy copy of the original.
After his parents leave him for undisclosed reasons, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) now lives with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May (Martin Sheen and Sally Field). His life at school isn't the best; he doesn't have many friends and is picked on almost every day. His secret crush Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) is the only student who truly acknowledges him. After he finds his father's mysterious briefcase in his basement, the contents lead him to Oscorp, where he meets the one-armed Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) who may have answers concerning his parents' deaths. After Peter gets bitten by a genetically-altered spider, he begins to exhibit enhanced physical abilities that turn him into the titular superhero. Meanwhile, Dr. Connors is developing a serum that has the potential to regenerate limbs based on Lizard DNA. After he tests it on himself, he soon becomes Spider-Man's enemy: The Lizard.
Inevitably, the main comparison between this film and the 2002 original concerns the performances of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. The two actors have considerably different takes on the character. While Maguire's version was the traditionally geeky Peter Parker of the comics, Garfield's is still a loner and brainy, but more of a skater dude. Although the nerdy version of the original Peter is more faithful, Garfield makes it his own with a more edgy take. In his first scene as Spider-Man, Garfield plays him as annoyingly cocky that's meant for laughs, but is rather unfunny. At this point, I was wishing for Maguire to come back because he had a more serious approach. Later on, however, he drops his show-off sensibilities and embraces the less humorous side of his alter ego, making him more adult.
Emma Stone is a more fleshed-out Gwen Stacy than Bryce Dallas Howard was in Spider-Man 3. Her role as Gwen is stronger than Howard's; Stone's is more intelligent, being the head intern at Oscorp, whereas Howard's always looked to Peter for help with her schoolwork. Stone's Gwen Stacey actually helps Peter with his troubles, while Howard's Gwen Stacey did nothing more than hit on Peter and need saving. Judging by this film, the romance between Stone and Garfield has the potential to reach the level of Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst in future installments, but I still don't think anything can top the upside-down kiss from the 2002 film.
Rhys Ifans is the second best villain in the Spider-Man franchise, behind Alfred Molina as Doc Ock. He is a composed and puzzling scientist who knows more about Peter than he's letting on. His villainous alter ego, The Lizard, doesn't appear until the later half of the film, so this allows us to see who Dr. Connors is as a person before he becomes a monster.
Sally Field and Martin Sheen are respectable replacements as Peter's aunt and uncle, who were wonderfully played by Rosemary Harris and Cliff Robertson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films. They provide their wisdom, just like the previous pair, and they treat Peter like he's their own child with the endless love and care they give him. Field shows admirable motherly concern when she sees Peter coming home with injuries from crime-fighting, and Sheen has a very funny scene with Garfield and Stone concerning Peter's love for Gwen.
The screenplay by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves devote enough time for this film to let the audience get used to the reboot's version of these characters before the big action starts. The sufficient time that Peter spends with Gwen, Aunt May, Uncle Ben and Dr. Connors throughout the film help develop his relationships with his friends, family and enemies. The second half has the action scenes that present the new Spider-Man in combat during his latest battle against a powerful enemy.
It was a relief to see director Marc Webb avoid creating a complete copy of the original film. He brings an air of mystery to the story with the addition of the question of what happened to Peter's parents. The main problem is that he has an inconsistent tone throughout the first half of the film, usually jumping from serious to comical and back again. The comical bits include some dialogue that is meant to be funny, but isn't, as well as a scene where Peter tries to show up a school bully that's meant for comedic purposes, but falls flat with its execution and bad music. He does, however, bring back the feel of the other Spider-Man films with the hero's fights against The Lizard, especially in the final showdown atop the Oscorp tower.
There is a suspenseful scene during the credits that suggests we will find out more about Peter's mom and dad in the sequel. Although it still feels a little too soon for a new Spider-Man franchise, the cast and crew have shown that they don't have any intention of ripping off what has already been done, but instead want to do their own thing. The Amazing Spider-Man is a reboot with surprising promise.
Final grade: B
No comments:
Post a Comment