The Amazing Spider-Man Movie Review

"Secrets have a cost. They're not free. Not now, not ever."

-May Parker

In anticipation for the The Amazing Spider-Man 2 which I'll be seeing in a few hours, I figured why not write a review for the first one. This film definitely had an uphill battle and had to fill some pretty big shoes. Although the first Spider-Man trilogy as a whole wasn't perfect, the first one was amazing and still continues to be many people's favorite superhero movie to date. Sure Toby Maguire played a damn good Peter Parker and it's hard to see someone else take on that role, but I think Andrew Garfield is more than capable as well as being a great actor in my opinion. Director Mark Webb took Spidey in a new direction which I feel is necessary when you have big boys like The Avengers and The Dark Knight  to compare yourself to. Not that this movie was on that level but I didn't think it was horrible either.

To be honest I am a bit tired of origin stories (Man of Steel, Batman Begins etc) but I understand their importance. Some would argue that it was way too soon for a reboot of this franchise, but Sony didn't have much of choice unless they wanted the movie rights to revert back to Marvel (WHERE THEY BELONG!) I mean who doesn't want to see Spider-Man swinging around with the Avengers?? But anyway, I fall somewhere in the middle for this film.

Let's start off with the story. We're taken through the classic story of Peter Parker who grows up with his aunt and uncle after his parents leave, never to return. It's clear that his father was involved in some very dangerous stuff but we're not really sure what. Fast forward to Peter in high school. He's super intelligent and loves photography but isn't exactly a cool kid in school. He stumbles across some of his dad's belongings in the basement which sparks his curiosity and he starts digging wherever he can. He tracks down his dad's old partner Dr. Connors (Rhys Ifans) who works for Oscorp and is working on a formula that could help humans regenerate like reptiles can. Dr. Connors is missing an arm so he has a personal stake in his research. 

One day while visiting Oscorp, Peter begins to snoop around and ends up getting bitten by a genetically engineered spider. He soon realizes that he has incredibly fast reflexes, super strength, and heightened senses. But it takes his uncle Ben getting shot to push Peter to begin using his powers seriously. At first he is on the hunt to find his uncle's killer, but soon has to deal with a much larger problem. After testing a serum on himself, Dr. Connors turns into a huge reptile, Lizard, and begins to terrorize the city. I also can't forget about his love interest, Gwen Stacey, played by Emma Stone. I personally love Emma Stone. She's very talented and beautiful and I think she played her role perfectly.

What I've always loved about Spider-Man is the internal conflict he has between Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Both have responsibilities he cannot ignore and it's great to see this unfold. Not to mention how awesome the CGI was for this film compared to the 2002 Spider-Man. I mean it doesn't make the movie but it's a plus for sure. I think after I got used to seeing Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man the movie began to get better for me. What brings this film down for me was how familiar it felt. Watch awkward Peter Parker bullied at school, get bitten by a spider, beat up the bully at school, take his powers to the street. I feel like Mark Webb could have just made it a bit more interesting for fans of Spidey, less generic maybe. All in all, I enjoyed the film but I am looking forward to the sequel very much. I give The Amazing Spider-Man a generous 6 out of 10.