Warning: A significant amount of spidey-spoilers included*
It's quite brave for a film to label itself and its main character as 'amazing', but 'The Amazing Spider-man' did and - is it as amazing as it thinks it is? No. It isn't. A more appropriate title would have been 'The Pretty Enjoyable But Nothing Special Spider-man'. In many ways, it's miles better than the original version, but there are also plenty of moments that don't sit right. It's stuck between living up to its 'amazing' title and being a film you'd simply rather watch when it's shown on ITV in about 10 years time, split in two halves by the 10 o'clock news.
However, lanky yet buff Andrew Garfield is deffinitely the most convincing Spider-man we've seen on the big screen (so far). He has a strange face, much like Tobey Maguire, but in a sexy way - unlike Toby Maguire. He seems to have fully immersed himself into the role and when he struggles and cries, laughs or feels pain, it seems genuine. While dodging his three dimensional shooty spider webs and perfectly spherical buttocks, it's easy enough to be fooled into thinking that he really does believe he is being Spider-man, and that is precisely what made The Avengers work, and it's probably why The Dark Knight Rises is going to work too. Because, it doesn't matter how dumb or cheesy a film gets so long as it's set in a 'real' universe where every action has a reaction, with 'real' characters that have 'real' faults and 'real' dreams. No matter how absurd, we have to believe all of this is happening. The new Spider-man tries its best and very nearly succeeds, but then we have a giant talking, jacket-wearing, CGI lizard forced on us. On top of that, a child survives being dangled from a bridge in a car that's so hot due to being engulfed in flames that it's actually melting - without a scratch! (This moment would have been far more impactful had the child actually died.) Then, a little later, that child's father ridiculously and convienantly decides to help Spider-man swing his way across the city and, shortly afterwards, we're encouraged to forget that Spider-man had been shot in the leg (and was being a right wimp about it too) while he karate-kicks the shit out of the big bad lizard-man. Little things that don't make much sense eat away at what would otherwise be a damn fine movie. Things like Curt Connors magically producing himself a blanket in the sewers, for example.
The fight scenes are fun, the sad scenes work, the arguments are intense and the sense of danger is almost constant. You're rooting for these characters, you want them to survive, stick together and figure their shit out. It's a good looking movie too - very flashy. The majority of the special effects look fantastic and its quick witted editing style encourages a fair few laughs. The 3D really shines here as well, proving that it isn't just a gimmick and that it can indeed make you flinch.
To be honest, overall, we could have done without it. It's nothing brand new enough to warrant a complete and utter reboot so soon after the original series. That said, it does set up a promising return to the franchise, paving the way for a hopefully intriguing bunch of sequels. But, if you don't like this or the many sequels it's bound to spew out, don't worry - it'll get rebooted again in no time!
*Nothing that the hours and hours of trailers and preview footage didn't spoil anyway.
★★★☆☆
Roo