The Amazing Spider-Man doesn’t offer much in terms of Spider-Man’s origin, as we see Uncle Ben killed off again and offering the advice of responsibility onto Peter Parker. But with fantastic performances from Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone it is enough to make this film enjoyable to watch.
While the retelling of Spider-Man’s origin wasn’t needed considering the previous franchise only ended five years before it; what it does do is insert a new love interest for Peter Parker and creates a mystery surrounding the death of his parents. Nine years on since its release and the on screen chemistry between Andrew’s Peter and Emma’s Gwen is still the highlight of the film and the aspect which carried onto the next installment of this franchise. Watching The Amazing Spider-Man sort of felt like a retelling of Sam Rami’s Spider-Man. We had the classic origin story where the father figure ended up becoming the main villain and a love story which actually kicked into full gear. As mentioned before after the death of Uncle Ben, Rhys Ifans Curt Connors plays the father figure to Peter in this film before succumbing to something darker and becoming a foe for Spider-Man similar to Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborne. Andrew gives it his all as Spider-Man however at times the writing doesn’t do his performance justice. Naturally quippy, Spider-Man is always a joy to watch when bantering with thugs and goons however in this film the quips don’t often land and come off as rather mean spirited.
Visually The Amazing Spider-Man is fantastic, the web slinging motions and mechanics seem natural and the CGI on the Lizard is terrifyingly detailed and holds up to this day. The introduction of Garfield’s Spider-Man is fantastically shot and creative; we get a first person perspective of Spider-Man running across rooftops and swinging across the streets of New York before flinging himself onto a building where we get to see the suit in all its glory through the window’s reflection.
An uninspired origin story, The Amazing Spider-Man mostly works in creating a new identity for Peter Parker and introducing new characters that were hardly featured in the Rami films. The film will mostly be remembered for the performances between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone and the brilliantly executed Stan Lee cameo.
7.2/10
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