I’m going to keep this brief, and separate this into things I like and things I dislike about the new Spider-Man reboot. Keep in mind; I’m not an avid comic book fan.
Like 1: Andrew Garfield’s acting.
He knows it as much as the next person. This is the role of his lifetime. And with that in mind he acted his socks off. I noticed him trying to create a unique Peter Parker, not unlike what Johnny Depp did with Captain Jack Sparrow. Every second Andrew is on the screen, he steals it (except when Emma Stone is there). Comparing with the under emoted, dopey Tobey Maguire’s Spider-man, Andrew’s Spider-Man is so much more charismatic and dramatic. You think he had never missed a single acting class. In a nutshell, Andrew blew his predecessor away easily, acting wise.
Like 2: Emma Stone
Forget Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane; Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy is the superhero’s girlfriend I want. For non-Spider-Man comic readers, the blond bombshell Gwen Stacy is Peter Parker’s first love, before they snuffed out her character midway. The striking thing about Emma Stone is not her beauty; it’s her kick ass personality (as seen as the survivor in Zombieland) and that sensual maturity (as seen in Easy A). But here in Spider-man, she is accessible.
Like 3: The Grittier but not necessarily Darker Style
This new incarnation is Spider-Man’s supposed equivalent to Batman’s ‘The Dark Knight’, if the teasers and trailers were anything to go by. Unfortunately, on the darkness meter, it measures somewhere between Thor and Ghost Rider, basically a slight shade darker than the first Spider-Man. Well, they tried, they failed, but this is no Dark Knight. The grittiness here is mostly derived from Andrew doing most of his own stunts, more green screens and less CG.
Like 4: The Romance
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man has the iconic upside down kiss; this one has such no iconic four play tactics. But on the other hand, the kissing scenes are steamier than your average sauna. And now the word on the street is that Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are now dating. One wonders how much actual romance makes it to screen.
Like 5: More Green Screen, Less CG
While Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man web slinging was 100% CG, this new one tries more stunts and green screens, which translates to more realistic whizzing action scenes.
Dislike 1: Casting of Andrew Garfield
Andrew is six feet tall. Andrew is 28 years old. Andrew is also skinny as a rake. Apparently his wiry body type isn’t suitable for beefing up, trainer and actor both gave up and sourced inspiration from Bruce Lee. Despite his talented portrayal of the nerdy web slinger, he’s just not buff enough for a superhero role of today, visually.
Dislike 2: Spidey Costume
The reds are wrong. The blues are wrong. I don’t mind it being ugly if because they designed a suit that an above average high school kid can put together. Not only is it ugly, it looks like it came from the labs of NASA. That is so NOT spandex. Why does it have to be so scaly?
Dislike 3: Cheesy Scene
I got a taste of cheese, and it ain’t from my popcorn. Granted, this Spider-Man reboot only features one cheese worthy scene while its predecessors were curdling in it. It’s the one where all the crane operators line up the crane booms to allow Spider-Man quick passage to Oscorp tower, which leads me to the next point:
Dislike 4: Formulaic Plot
Sony Studios was clearly in charge. They brought together no name directors, no name actors and no one that could stand up against them. The plot itself was clearly written by the execs. While Peter Parker’s and Gwen Stacy’s characters were a breath of fresh air, the villain, ‘The Lizard’s’ character development was to me, run of the mill.
Dislike 5: Spider-Man wise cracks
In the heat of action, Spider-man, once nerdy teenager, is now a wise cracking masked vigilante. Problem is it sounds weird on the big screen.
Dislike 6: Spider-Man Fiction Deviations
I’m not sure if these are plot goofs or plot holes, but some of them interfere with what makes Spider-Man so special.
1) Bitten by a Spider
In Sam Raimi’s Spider-man, there were a handful of genetically modified spiders. One spider got away and bit Peter. In this one, Oscorp was already mass producing genetically modified spiders. There seems to be thousands of them, easily accessible and yet none of them have bitten any of Oscorp staff. But only when Peter stumbles upon them, they bite and he becomes Spider-Man? Logic be gone.
2) Webbings
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man made Peter Parker a biological mutant. He developed webbing glands on his wrists. The original comics depicted Peter as a genius developing his own sticky substance in his garage laboratory. This movie is even weirder. The mass produced genetically modified spiders were bred by Oscorp to produce industrial strength ‘Bio-Cable’ packaged in tiny cartridges. This new Peter Parker steals a boxful of these cartridges and merely devises a way to squirt out the liquid bio-cable which presumably forms into webbing upon ejection. Let’s be clear, this spider man uses commercially sold products for webbings.
3) Peter Parker’s Camera
Peter has an old film camera. I find this confusing as the producers said they wanted to give this version a modern take. Why give Peter Parker a cell phone but not a DSLR? Heck, using his phone’s camera would be more convenient.
If you like Spider-Man and its myth, it is worth a ticket. Its fresh depiction of the two romantic leads is a welcome change but it’s still mired in superhero movie contrivances. 8/10.
Like 1: Andrew Garfield’s acting.
He knows it as much as the next person. This is the role of his lifetime. And with that in mind he acted his socks off. I noticed him trying to create a unique Peter Parker, not unlike what Johnny Depp did with Captain Jack Sparrow. Every second Andrew is on the screen, he steals it (except when Emma Stone is there). Comparing with the under emoted, dopey Tobey Maguire’s Spider-man, Andrew’s Spider-Man is so much more charismatic and dramatic. You think he had never missed a single acting class. In a nutshell, Andrew blew his predecessor away easily, acting wise.
Like 2: Emma Stone
Forget Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane; Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy is the superhero’s girlfriend I want. For non-Spider-Man comic readers, the blond bombshell Gwen Stacy is Peter Parker’s first love, before they snuffed out her character midway. The striking thing about Emma Stone is not her beauty; it’s her kick ass personality (as seen as the survivor in Zombieland) and that sensual maturity (as seen in Easy A). But here in Spider-man, she is accessible.
Like 3: The Grittier but not necessarily Darker Style
This new incarnation is Spider-Man’s supposed equivalent to Batman’s ‘The Dark Knight’, if the teasers and trailers were anything to go by. Unfortunately, on the darkness meter, it measures somewhere between Thor and Ghost Rider, basically a slight shade darker than the first Spider-Man. Well, they tried, they failed, but this is no Dark Knight. The grittiness here is mostly derived from Andrew doing most of his own stunts, more green screens and less CG.
Like 4: The Romance
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man has the iconic upside down kiss; this one has such no iconic four play tactics. But on the other hand, the kissing scenes are steamier than your average sauna. And now the word on the street is that Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are now dating. One wonders how much actual romance makes it to screen.
Like 5: More Green Screen, Less CG
While Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man web slinging was 100% CG, this new one tries more stunts and green screens, which translates to more realistic whizzing action scenes.
Dislike 1: Casting of Andrew Garfield
Andrew is six feet tall. Andrew is 28 years old. Andrew is also skinny as a rake. Apparently his wiry body type isn’t suitable for beefing up, trainer and actor both gave up and sourced inspiration from Bruce Lee. Despite his talented portrayal of the nerdy web slinger, he’s just not buff enough for a superhero role of today, visually.
Dislike 2: Spidey Costume
The reds are wrong. The blues are wrong. I don’t mind it being ugly if because they designed a suit that an above average high school kid can put together. Not only is it ugly, it looks like it came from the labs of NASA. That is so NOT spandex. Why does it have to be so scaly?
Dislike 3: Cheesy Scene
I got a taste of cheese, and it ain’t from my popcorn. Granted, this Spider-Man reboot only features one cheese worthy scene while its predecessors were curdling in it. It’s the one where all the crane operators line up the crane booms to allow Spider-Man quick passage to Oscorp tower, which leads me to the next point:
Dislike 4: Formulaic Plot
Sony Studios was clearly in charge. They brought together no name directors, no name actors and no one that could stand up against them. The plot itself was clearly written by the execs. While Peter Parker’s and Gwen Stacy’s characters were a breath of fresh air, the villain, ‘The Lizard’s’ character development was to me, run of the mill.
Dislike 5: Spider-Man wise cracks
In the heat of action, Spider-man, once nerdy teenager, is now a wise cracking masked vigilante. Problem is it sounds weird on the big screen.
Dislike 6: Spider-Man Fiction Deviations
I’m not sure if these are plot goofs or plot holes, but some of them interfere with what makes Spider-Man so special.
1) Bitten by a Spider
In Sam Raimi’s Spider-man, there were a handful of genetically modified spiders. One spider got away and bit Peter. In this one, Oscorp was already mass producing genetically modified spiders. There seems to be thousands of them, easily accessible and yet none of them have bitten any of Oscorp staff. But only when Peter stumbles upon them, they bite and he becomes Spider-Man? Logic be gone.
2) Webbings
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man made Peter Parker a biological mutant. He developed webbing glands on his wrists. The original comics depicted Peter as a genius developing his own sticky substance in his garage laboratory. This movie is even weirder. The mass produced genetically modified spiders were bred by Oscorp to produce industrial strength ‘Bio-Cable’ packaged in tiny cartridges. This new Peter Parker steals a boxful of these cartridges and merely devises a way to squirt out the liquid bio-cable which presumably forms into webbing upon ejection. Let’s be clear, this spider man uses commercially sold products for webbings.
3) Peter Parker’s Camera
Peter has an old film camera. I find this confusing as the producers said they wanted to give this version a modern take. Why give Peter Parker a cell phone but not a DSLR? Heck, using his phone’s camera would be more convenient.
If you like Spider-Man and its myth, it is worth a ticket. Its fresh depiction of the two romantic leads is a welcome change but it’s still mired in superhero movie contrivances. 8/10.
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