The Amazing Spider-Man (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray / DVD)

Great movie

Amazing Spiderman is really good. Andrew Garfield did a great job as his version of Spiderman. The movie has plenty of action and good story. The visual effects are awesome too

One thing I wish about Spider-Man: that Sony would release the contract to Marvel Studios so Spidey can be in the Avengers where he belongs. But until that glorious day, Spidey will be forced to live on the silver screen all alone with a set of villains that have yet to be in the movies. Sure, I think I read that The Rhino will be in the next one, which is great since Rhino is one of the classics that, until modern CGI technology, couldn't really be done the right way.The previous three films by Sam Raimi were amazing...well, the first two were amazing, but not number three. Ick, not number three. I mean, Topher Grace as Eddie Brock? Did they even read the comic books? Come on Sam, no wonder there was a needed reboot just a few years later. And why throw in the Sandman AND Green Goblin's son back into the mix? It was too much, and therefore nothing was done to the fullest. In my opinion, they should've just stuck to the Venom suit and cast someone much more comic-book-related as Eddie Brock...someone with a more sinister voice.OK, this is just a ranting history lesson leading up to the real review of the reboot. I LOVED this film for many, many reasons. First, the casting was much more well-done. Andrew Garfield plays a much more believable Peter Parker (lankier, goofier, and much more natural on-screen as a nerd than Toby MacGuire). And they didn't include Mary Jane! They started much earlier in Spider-Man's history by giving us Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey. Much, much better in terms of true storyline adherence. In short, the acting was much, much better and tighter for another reboot, which was risky to begin with in my opinion.The best part of the film, was that they never "buffed" Andrew up when he was in the suit. The suit was loose, wrinkly, and he still looked like the little skinny guy that he truly is when Peter Parker. It was awesome that they didn't make Peter some ripped-up muscle-bound hero after the spider bite. Yes, they gave him the necessary augmentations like vision, spider sense, sticky hands and feet, dexterity, etc., but they didn't buff him. I don't know, for someone who's a Spider-Man purist like me, I thought this was a well-thought-out execution of the character. He looks feeble, even in the suit, and that really helped me root for the underdog even more. The Lizard, played by Rhys Ifans, was massive compared to our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which made the fights look awesome.Regarding character development, the storyline differences between Raimi's first film and this one aren't very big. Uncle Ben is still killed "accidentally" by a rogue criminal that Peter arrogantly lets go to "get even" with some minor injustice. The "with great power comes great responsibility" mantra is still intact, and it's a good lesson to learn...and painful in most instances. But Peter's scientific side is much, much more developed in this film because his webbing isn't organically engineered from his own body (as in Raimi's depiction). As in the comic books, Peter is a scientific genius, and develops his own webbing and shooters. Oscorp as a military industrial complex is also much more developed, though we never see hide nor hair of Norman or his son in this film.In summary, I think this reboot of my favorite comic book character of all time is well-done, surpassing - in my humble opinion - that of Raimi's vision. Marc Webb (really...Webb?) did a great job directing and the on-screen outcome is nothing short of brilliant. I'm very excited for the next installment.

Cool

I have never found Spider-Man to be a very appealing character. He seems to be someone that I think everyone except for me can relate to for various reasons. Peter Parker has always been a timid, shy, smart teenager and later he would grow into a very capable and relatable character. Sam Raimi’s trilogy focused too much on Spider-Man as a sort of “everyman” character. However, Marc Webb’s reboot presents a different version of Spider-Man, a version that I personally prefer. The Amazing Spider-Man follows Peter Parker as a high schooler and the struggles and concerns surrounding the life of a teenager. To be fair, Spider-Man was presented as a teenager and works best, to me, in the confines of a young adult growing into the person that he is meant to become. While he is touring the laboratories at Oscorp Industries, Peter is bitten by a radioactive spider which endows him with super human abilities. When a traumatic event occurs in his life, Peter comes to the realization that he has to use his gifts to help others. Many of the movie’s best moments come from the different departures from some of the source material and the movies and cartoons that proceeded it. The Amazing Spider-Man takes inspiration from the Ultimate Spider-Man series which in part explains many of these departures. To begin with the Good Things that the movie presents. The story is very good as an origin story and it presents many things in a different light. Although the main villain’s goals are very murky and questionable, overall the movie has a very compelling story. James Horner’s musical score is very good. Probably not as iconic as Danny Elfman’s from the previous Spider-Man trilogy, but Horner really presents the majesty and playfulness of Spider-Man. In the comics, there is a great deal of mystery surrounding Peter Parker’s childhood and his parent’s death. This movie does a fantastic job of presenting this mystery and gradually contributing to it in the movie, while not giving so much away, this could be seen as an obvious attempt to set up sequels, which is or was a good idea. As I mentioned before, the high school setting for the movie was a great idea and Marc Webb did an amazing job bringing it to film. Andrew Garfield was a great actor to be cast as the young Peter Parker, he does a great job portraying the character from the script…..but does he do a great job portraying the Peter Parker from the comics? Maybe not, but that’s not his fault. Emma Stone is also great as Peter’s love interest, Gwen Stacy. Both of them have great scenes together and really work well with one another, this can be seen in almost all of their scenes, but of course the question persists do they accurately portray the Gwen and Peter from the comics? Probably not, but as I said before, they do a great job portraying the film characters of Peter and Gwen. I enjoyed the presentation of Oscorp Industries headed by the reclusive and ill Norman Osborn, as a mysterious corporation that engages in very worrisome and probably illegal activities involving science. I enjoy that specific presentation of Oscorp, I think a very similar version was presented in an animated television show Spectacular Spider-Man, which was a very good show. Webb presents an arguably accurate depiction of the classical nature of Spider-Man’s powers and the classical web shooters instead of an organic one…..which is kind of weird and creepy. How Webb explores these powers and Peter’s understanding of them is fun and entertaining as well. I am not very familiar with Denis Leary’s performances in other movies, but Leary in this movie portrays a very excellent foil for Spider-Man (as a public figure) in Captain George Stacy, Gwen’s father who is vehemently anti Spider-Man. The movie isn’t without it’s fair share of problems as well. The characterization of Peter is off, he’s quirky, full of himself, and too much like the figure he would later become as a man and not enough like the silent, genius, teenager who is struggling to find himself. He is presented as that “everyman” who takes up for the little guy, a notion and ideal that Peter comes to embrace gradually and isn’t receptive to it initially. Spider-Man’s suit is a point of contention for me as it is very dark and odd looking and doesn’t look like the colorful spandex that we usually see the character wearing. Due to the nature of a reboot, somethings are going to be represented but they aren’t adequately used in a different way in this reboot, particularly Uncle Ben and Aunt May. It’s too much of the “been there, done that” mentality that the writers and Marc Webb really didn’t seem to keen on addressing again for whatever reason. Spider-Man’s enemy in this movie is The Lizard, but if you were to look at him in the film you would have a hard time telling that he is in fact a lizard. The design and the characterization of the Lizard and his alter ego isn’t up to snuff with other comic book villains that we’ve seen before. Lastly, there is a somewhat annoying tendency to use CGI and visual effects in scenes that don’t require CGI, subway trains, New York skyline, Oscorp Tower, etc. Overall the movie is very enjoyable on its own right. But is it a truly accurate presentation of the Spider-Man we see in the comics. No. But it is still a very enjoyable movie.