Film Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

Cinema: The Amazing Spider-Man  6/10

Director: Marc Webb

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans

Plot: a boy named Peter Parker attempts to understand how and why his parents disappeared and a strange occurrence leads him to face a man named Dr. Curt Connors who knew Peter’s father.

Following the successful reboot of Batman, it was only a matter of time before another famous superhero film was to be remade. Spider-Man seems to have beaten everyone else to it (Superman/Man of Steel shall be released next year). Marc Webb, director of 500 Days of Summer (a fantastic romantic comedy that twists the genre into something quite interesting), takes on the new Spider Man series here with success. The film should   be praised for its additional scenes, especially those showing Peter’s parents leaving him and his father at work on top secret projects. Whilst these scenes aren’t crucial they allow the audience to have a deeper understanding of how Peter’s life has played out; it allows more sympathy to be applied too. Scenes such as these were perhaps the only reason for there to be a reboot and perhaps to have a brand new storyline for its sequel.

On the down side the film cannot help but redo events that have already happened back in the 2002 version and whilst this had to happen it does feel a little clumsy in parts; however, many of the events are done to a better standard, thanks to a huge improvement in special effects.

Andrew Garfield steps into the role of Peter Parker quite well, whilst there wasn’t anything wrong with the original Tobey Maguire; Garfield adds a more modern feel to the role. Emma Stone who plays Gwen Stacy is perhaps the biggest improvement on the original; Stone adds such a fresh vibe to the film with her witty lines and powerful, independent figure that Kirsten Dunst never achieved in the original. Rhys Ifans (Dr. Curt Connors) isn’t given nearly enough character development to become the ultimate villain; however he plays his scenes well and is just one of a whole array of talented actors in the production.

In Conclusion: The Amazing Spider-Man is not the best film of the year, nor is it the best superhero film of the year but it is an extremely entertaining blockbuster that will make you ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ as you see the webbed hero swing from building to building. You’ll definitely laugh and perhaps even cry, with top-notch effects and an array of A-list actors and actresses, it is bound to be enjoyed by the masses but die-hard fans may be missing the deeper details that they were hoping for.