As a big fan of Sam Raimi's original 2002 adaptation of Marvel's most classic character, I had my doubts about any new film in franchise that wasn't called "Spider-Man 4". But, as time went on, I gradually began to like the idea of a new start for Peter Parker's story, and now that it's here, I'm glad to say I was not disappointed. For his very first big-budget film and second film ever, director Marc Webb (I'm also surprised no one has been cracking Spider-Man jokes about his last name) certainly delivers the material well.
One of the tremendous challenges facing a Spidey reboot is the fact that it has been released a mere ten years after the first installment of the last series. Because of this, the writers has to add a new twist to the origin story so it doesn't simply become a rehash of what we have already seen. The challenge within that challenge is making sure that this twist isn't so odd that it doesn't not belong in Spider-Man's world.
This new twist is that Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) has become the first successful subject of what the film calls "cross-species genetics". This is the concept of taking certain genes from the animal kingdom and merging them with human DNA, which in this case is of course genes from Arachnids. The concept was apparently explored by Peter's father, who disappeared when he was young. Another scientist who also worked with his father on the project is an amputee named Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) who later becomes a very unsuccessful subject of cross-species genetics. Serving as both a mentor and an enemy to Peter, Connors holds the key to him unraveling the mystery not only behind the disappearance of his parents, but also behind his very identity as Spider-Man.
The nature behind Andrew Garfield's version of Peter Parker is the sense that he is a lost soul desperately attempting to find himself. This makes the story's struggle not only a physical struggle, but an emotional one.He must learn the classic lesson of "with great power comes great responsibility." This emotional struggle is made very believable with great performances from every actor. Garfield brings a deeper, more thoughtful take on Peter Parker while Emma Stone, Dennis Leary, and Rhys Ifans bring new characters to life that we haven't seen before.
The visual effects are very fun to look at, and the action scenes are much more grounded in style and choreographed in a way that is easy to process. Mindless violence is non-existent in the story, and when there is violence it is for a very specific reason, especially the action scenes that take place long before the hero dawns the tights.
Overall, "The Amazing Spider-Man" triumphs over the 2002 original. I am happy to be as blown away walking out of the theater from this film as I was walking out of the original film. The performances are great, the plot, despite a few loose ends, goes where it needs to go, and it brings a new interpretation of Spider-Man's story to the screen in spectacular fashion.
