Vs. The Webb of Spider-Man

Spider-Man 2099 2012

The last Spider-Man  movie was released just five years ago. It may have earned bug bucks at the box office, but both critics and especially the average film viewers were not happy with the finished product. Sony could have cared less, they had distributed another cash cow that was first conceived ten years ago. All was well with Sony eyeing a Spidey 4 release date for May 5, 2011. Before the 'fourquel' could get set into motion, everything just went to hell. The writers ran out of ideas, Sam Raimi felt pressured by Sony to fast track the movie, and Tobey Maguire followed suit. Suddenly, Spider-man 4 was no more.



So Sony decided it would be brilliant to reboot their franchise. Apparently, Sony didn't understand Uncle Ben's famous words to Peter. To Sony, 'With great power comes a shitload of money... and there's always room for more!' As with all reboots these days, Sony felt it necessary to breathe new life into the character for the millions of viewers who CLEARLY forgot about the first trilogy. I'm assuming it probably played out like this.

Greedy Sony exec 1: Reboot! Spider-Man! Money!

Greedy Sony exec 2: Sweet!

Greedy Sony exec 3: Then it's all set, let's reboot the hell out of this shit!

Christian Bale: Rebooting a franchise doesn't guarantee success, you need the right elements.

Exec (screw the numbers, they're all the same):  Shit Bale! Where the hell did you come from?! Formula for a successful reboot? Please! Make Spidey darker, bolder, edgier, dirtier, bloodier, gorier, sexier.....

Bale: Those can work, but I believe the word you're searching for is *cough* (goddamn batman voice) Grittier!

Exec: What?

Bale: Grittier!!

Exec: Dude, I can barely make out what you're saying.

Bale: Grittier!!!

Exec: Bale, what's wrong with your voi-

Bale: GRITTIER!!!!!

Exec: Calm down man!

Bale: Raacheellllll!!!!!!!!! Raacheelllll!!!!!!!

Exec: Holy! What the hell is goin.....

Bale: Swear to me! 

Exec: Wait, why?

Bale: Swear to ME!!!

Exec: WHY?!

Bale: SWEAR! TO! ME!!!!

Exec: Alright dammit! I don't know why but we swear.

Bale: SWEAR to.... *cough* (normal voice) err.... grittier.... I guess I got carried away.

Exec: No shit.

GRITTIFIED Spidey is born!

I'm sure you've heard that word being used by a critic or even a friend when commenting on a movie that was rebooted. Is the new Spider-man film gritty? To some degree, yes, but what it also brings along to the table is some true heart felt moments and tender intimacy to some old and new characters. Amazingly (pun not intended), the movie succeeds more often than not.

Let me come right out and say it: I've never been a fan of the Sam Raimi installments. Sure, they had their moments, but with the exception of Spider-Man 2 (a superb example of how to do a sequel right), they weren't really all that special.  The Raimi trilogy focused more on the 'Friendly Neighborhood' side of the character, which is why I believe they chose Tobey Maguire to play Parker. He's a pretty good fit for the 'gee whiz boy next door' but he was never able to successfully juggle between his portrayal of Parker and Spider-Man.

In this adaptation, Andrew Garfield is a more suited choice as Spider-Man.. I enjoyed the hell out of his performance. You actually care about the internal struggles and development over the course of the narrative. Additionally, the script is much more character driven, making Peter Parker a much more multi-layered and interesting figure.  If you've read the Ultimate version of Spider-Man,  you know exactly what I'm talking about here. The trials and tribulations of Peter Parker can be just as interesting as his alter-ego.   

Director Marc Webb does a pretty decent job in his sophomore effort. He may not be accustomed to the grander set pieces of the movie but there are a number of action oriented scenes that Webb does right. For instance, the scene where Spider-Man constructs an enormous web in the sewers to bait the movie's villain. This scene makes use of Spidey's guile (Raimi's version never successfully captured the ingenuity of Parker)  as he uses the vibration of his webbing to gauge the distance between him and Dr. Curt 'The Lizard' Connors. Another scene that comes to mind is the face-off at the school. The action here is tight and intuitive. Spider-man uses speed and agility over brute strength as he leaps, slides and shoots his webbing in rapid succession to subdue our antagonist. It's a perfect example of how to do a Spider-man fight properly.  Plus, Stan Lee's cameo in the movie is sheer brilliance, you can't miss it.   

The movie really shines in the smaller more intimate moments The drama is riveting, and the narrative takes audiences into Peter Parker's intimate world and Webb deftly handles the human interactions. 500 Days of Summer was a great take on the highs and lows of an individual and he carries over many positive elements from that film. Peter's actions and it's consequences are handled more skillfully in this outing. You can feel the tortured experience of Spider-Man as a disaffected teenager with his biting reaction to Uncle Ben at the mention of his long deceased parents. Their is actual weight brought to the death scenes here and Uncle Ben's plays out more plausible this time around. This is a Spider-Man that is still working out the kinks as a superhero - errors are made. He loses his mask  (one too many times perhaps), he nabs shots of the Lizard using a camera with his name on it, and he painstakingly limps from building to building as he strives to prevent an outbreak in his city. In short, he is a teenager with real problems, filled with insecurities and fears. He makes mistakes and he alienates those close to him. This is a Spider-man you can relate to.

Let me get back to Garfield. I won't deny my obvious man crush on his portrayal of Parker - the role belongs to him.  He's able to handle the challenge of teen angst and mean spirited humor with aplomb. Him and Emma Stone have great on-screen chemistry. They are able to play off each other smartly and Peter and Gwen's romance comes off more believable than Mary Jane's in the first installment. The other supporting characters do splendid jobs as well. Kudos to Martin Sheen and Rhys Ifans in bringing depth and gravitas to their roles, the film greatly benefits from it.

  

The Amazing Spider-Man does tread in familiar narrative territory as Spider-Man (evident in the first hour of the film), but does enough to distinguish it as a successful stand-alone movie. Webb and crew clearly have a firmer footing in this first installment as opposed to Raimi's version. With the origin story out of the way, they now have more room for a tighter and more interesting plot for the succeeding film. You can count me in on opening day for the eventual sequel.