THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: MOVIE REVIEW

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

Release Date: 3rd July (UK)

Director: Marc Webb

Running Time: 136 Minutes

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field

Screening Reviewed: UK Theatrical Release

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

In opting to reboot the Spider-man franchise only a handful of years after it’s most recent installment opened to widespread dissatisfaction, those in charge of taking it forward were in quite the awkward position. Many fans of the Spidey franchise deplored the colossal misfire that was Spider-Man 3, yet few felt enough time had passed to warrant a complete reboot of the saga. Meanwhile the superhero genre was exploding and suddenly the adventures of Peter Parker seemed to be old hat in comparison to the wry wit of Tony Stark, the forthcoming powerhouse of the Avengers initiative and the sombre epic ebb of Nolan’s new-Gotham. And so Marvel turned to relative newcomer Marc Webb, fresh off his unconventional yet critically acclaimed rom-com (500) Days of Summer, in the hopes of crafting something equally new and unique, yet a movie which was still able to honour the brand, appease the fans and draw in the crowds and figures the character usually commands.

Hiring Webb (no lingering on the irony of his surname... oh, wait...) proved to be an inspired choice, for his superb instincts for character so evident in (500) days shines through in The Amazing Spider-Man and helps bring what deserves to become the definitive interpretation of it’s central character to the big screen. Much of what we see in the film is a re-tread or re-imagination of what has come before during Raimi’s tenure, making some of it a little overly familiar and redundant for any who are fans of the original, and in some scenes you can almost sense the cast and crew awkwardly sidling around what has come before or the writers banging their heads over copies of the 2001 screenplay looking for alternate ways around key moments or ideas. However, despite the film re-treading plenty of not-particularly-old ground and walking over the freshly dug graves of Tobey Maguire and company, there is an authenticity and conviction here that makes The Amazing Spider-Man a worthy successor and certainly deserving of its own audience and subsequent franchise.