The comic book Web-Slinger comes to life.
Spider-Man. As an icon in the comic book realm since his first appearance in 1963’s “Amazing Fantasy #15”, Spider-Man has been synonymous with the meaningful words of hope, courage and responsibility. The same words that his alter ego Peter Parker, and fans of the franchise, took to heart as his uncle Ben died in his arms.
Director Marc Webb take this concept with amazing attention to detail, exceptional story, and daring scenes.
Starting immediately after the first Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) continues to enjoy the thrills of being his masked doppelganger. But as personal issues with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and his missing father Richard Parker (Campbell Scott) as well as powerful enemies put the weight of the world on his shoulders, Peter learns the price he must pay for being Spider-Man.
Andrew Garfield plays well as Spider-Man but as Peter Parker, there may be a bit of a diffusion between the red and blue thighs and his street clothes. Peter is cocky at times compared to his comic book variant, though that could be chalked up to him being young and learning what it means to be Spider-Man.
Speaking of which, the scenes with Spider-Man are exciting and breathtaking. Webb perfectly captures the sensation of being a super-powered man, swinging at high speeds and impossible heights all the way down to the narrow streets of New York and up again. Athletic flips, inhuman reflexes, witty and sarcastic remarks, quick decisions and resourceful tactics are in every moment you see the web-head.
Supporting characters are hit and miss. Emma Stone is a good actress, but her character isn’t memorable without Peter Parker in the same scene, though said scenes are satisfying to see unfold. Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon and Electro is superb. The introduction of the character was fun and told a lot about who he is. At times, he was more enjoyable to watch than Peter Parker. His transformation as Electro is intense thanks to Max’s unstable psychology.
As for Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), his introduction was limited to spoken conversations about his past. This works, but doesn’t show how much of a living hell he claims to have experienced that would push him into becoming the Green Goblin.
As a sequel, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” just continues an adventure that can stand on it’s own. Though all personal subplots are interwoven into a bigger picture of the mystery that hides in Oscorp, a corporation of scientific studies for advancement but with dangerous intents Peter’s father tries to stop. This helps the story span through multiple movies and creates massive conflicts for Peter Parker. But this specific story structure comes with a price.
Without spoiling the movie, I can’t say what the film’s biggest downfall is. But if you know the comics, it goes against characters that are in the movie and are going to be in the sequels. Hopefully as the next few installments play out, we see reasons behind what is right now a seemingly hasty decision to introduce characters from now on.
Spider-Man is a well represented hero, thanks to Columbia Pictures. Visual effects lets viewers fly through the air with the web slinger. Writers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner let us experience the hardship of being everyone’s hope, and Marc Webb brought all the elements together to what might be not only the best Spider-Man film to date, but one that may stand proudly next to “Amazing Fantasy #15.”
