Film: The Amazing Spider-man
The plot is at its core is very similar to the first film of the other series but with some minor differences. Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is bitten by a radioactive spider and gains superpowers, deciding to become a hero after the death of his grandfather; fighting a mentor who's science experiments have gone too far. However whereas the previous films skipped over the high school and power discovery scenes in quick fashion, Amazing Spider-man gives these a key focus. Webb and Garfield create a Peter far closer to his comic book counterpart, quick to make a quip in a fight with his intellect being more central to the plot, particularly in the invention of his web-shooters.
His love interest, Gwen Stacy, seems far better suited for him than Mary Jane; being a nervous science nerd too. Emma Stone (a favourite actress of mine) plays the role beautifully, providing the perfect balance smartness and sweetness that is required for such a character. She takes a character I've never much cared for in the comics and turns her in to my favourite character of the reboot. As a result the romance subplot seems far more genuine, their awkward dialogue being typical of a high school romance. And when Peter tells her he's Spider-man it feels like a natural progression of their relationship.
The villain of the film, despite turning in to a giant lizard, has a realistic motive that was often lacking from the previous Spider-man films. Having lost an arm many years ago Dr Curt Connors hopes to use cross species genetics to gain the ability to regrow a limb, an ability attributed to certain forms of lizard. I don't think it's a spoiler to say this doesn't go well for him. I was initially unsure of Rhys Ifans in the role but he gives a good performance, his desperation to rise above his weak status grounding certain scenes. The CGI portrayal of The Lizard is top notch, the transformation scenes looking spectacularly gruesome and the creature not looking totally ridiculous as he could have if they'd gone down the man in a suit route.
The supporting characters aren't as impressive as the main cast, although Martin Sheen seems like great casting he isn't really given much to do before he's dispatched. And the rewording of the classic 'with great power comes great responsibility' line is rather infuriating. Sally Field as Aunt May is mostly only memorable for being far less annoying than Rosemary Harris was in the same role. There seem to be times when they almost take her down the 'cool aunt' route of the Ultimate Spider-man comics but she instead stays somewhere in the middle of the two different versions. However her absence in most of the final act is quite apparent. Captain Stacy is similarly a bit damp, only really shining in the dinner scene, which owes a far bit to a speech of Harvey Dent's in The Dark Knight.
The film touches on a subject totally ignored in Raimi's films, what happened to Peter's parents. In the previous films his parents are never mentioned but in this film the opening scene introduces them and presents a mystery about how and why they died, one which isn't rapped up in the film's runtime. Connors appears to know more about their deaths than he reveals to Peter, giving him a darker side even before he gets too obsessed with his experiments. Their is also some mystery around the owner of Oscorp, Norman Osborn the comic's Green Goblin. He isn't seen but is mentioned to be dying hoping that Connor's research will find a cure; possibly setting him up as the villain for the inevitable sequel.
Balancing a different style with a superb main cast, this film is truly amazing (sorry).
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