The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Genre: Superhero

Directed by: Marc Webb

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Denis Leary

Running time: 136 minutes

This reboot of the Spider-Man franchise, with new actors and actresses and a different director, tells again the story of Peter Parker from the beginning. We begin from the start, when Parker is left with his aunt and uncle before his folks disappear. Then, he gains all that power, and his uncle Ben is killed. That’s when he decides to become a superhero and seeks to bring justice in his world.

Visually speaking, this 2012 flick is truly amazing. The special effects, the Spider-Man costume, the visuals and everything just comes together to make this a pleasant experience. I personally prefer Andrew Garfield’s take on the character to Tobey Maguire’s, though Maguire was not bad either. A true gem in here for me is Emma Stone. I truly like her. There is something special about her, a little je-ne-sais-quoi that I like. Here again, she does a great job on screen. Denis Leary is up to his usual self here, and we can recognize some of his personal antics in this role. He was good for what he had to do.

I like how this movie touched upon different genres throughout. It was an action/superhero movie, but there was also a bit of physical comedy as Peter Parker learns to deal with his newfound strengths. That was certainly good for a few chuckles. The dosage was just right on that. There was also some comedy in the dialogue sometimes, and, again, the dosage was right. It dealt with emotional stuff, but didn’t get too sappy in the process. The visuals of The Lizard’s transformation were really nicely done. The resolution of this first installment may have been a little too easy, but they had to end somewhere and it was already a long film. The setup was a little long, but they had to build the action on something solid.

Overall, The Amazing Spider-Man is a very good superhero film that will certainly please the fans of the genre.

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