The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Directed by Marc Webb
Starring Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield and Rhys Ifans
Runtime 136min. - Rated PG-13
3 Stars (out of 4)

There are many obligatory scenes in a Spider-man origins story. There must be a scene of Peter Parker being bitten by a spider. There must be a scene of him adjusting to his new abilities. There must be a scene where he embarrasses someone physically who once embarrassed him. There must be a scene of Peter designing and making his costume. There must be a scene of Peter awkwardly courting a girl. There must be a scene where Peter practices web-slinging. There must be a scene where Peter forgets his duties at home in favor of web-slinging. There are so many "must" scenes that I found myself wishing for a montage. There's even a scene where Spider-man falls through a roof into a wrestling ring and gets the idea for his mask. If Randy Savage was still alive he would have probably made an appearance and given me one more thing to bitch about.


In Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man", uncle Ben dies after Peter declines to stop a robbery due to his disdain for the victim. Then the robber happens upon uncle Ben and kills him, but not before he can tell Peter, "With great power comes great responsibility."

Marc Webb has totally different approach for "The Amazing Spider-Man". In this one, uncle Ben dies after Peter declines to stop a robbery due to his disdain for the victim. Oh wait, that's exactly the same. Webb's uncle Ben isn't as concise as Raimi's. This version of Ben does several minutes of talking that can be summed up by saying, "With great power comes great responsibility."

Not all the news is old news. Emma Stone is stunning. The first time we see her she's wearing a sweater and a skirt that hangs just below the hip. Her socks come up just below the knee leaving the perfect amount of thigh showing. If I were a pervy old man (I am), I'd say she's the classic fantasy school-girl.

In addition to being jail-bait, Gwen Stacy is also a brilliant prospective scientist. She has so much responsibility as a character. Her father is the Spidey-hatin' police chief and she works for Dr. Curt Connors at OsCorp. She's also involved in saving the entire city. Her character is a much more powerful woman than Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane, who's only responsibility was to be a damsel in distress.

Andrew Garfield does a fine job as Peter Parker. He's much more physically animated than Tobey Maguire. He's constantly fidgeting and shuffling when he's out of costume, especially around Gwen Stacy. It's a nice touch that makes the non-combat scenes worthwhile.

The special effects look no better or worse than the original trilogy. Actually, I can't tell the difference at all. You could have probably reused the costumed footage of Spidey jumping around the city and only the hardcore fans would notice.

I like the fact that Spider-man gets some time to save individuals. Saving an entire city never has the personal and emotional impact of saving a single child. Richard Donner's "Superman" movies probably did the best job in that department. "The Avengers" never saved anyone whose face we'd remember.

Spider-Man was an entertaining film despite the hour of rehashed origin scenes. The action was choreographed in a way that allows the viewer to be immersed in the geography of the setting. In other words, it was light on the queasy-cam action. My 7 years-old son enjoyed it quite a bit. It's nice to attend a movie where we can both be a kid. Emma Stone's eyes are beautifully huge. They're like bug eyes, but prettier. That alone is enough to warrant a ticket purchase.

Because I'm sure you've seen the actual trailer, I offer you this: