The Amazing Spiderman

Let’s get one thing out of the way, right off the bat: the decision to reboot Spiderman merely 5 years after he last swung into the sunset is no doubt off-putting. That much everyone knows – just look up all the slander and death threats posted on the internet over the past months. There’s still a lot of love out there for Sam Raimi’s trilogy, which makes this new Spidey’s chances of scoring with worldwide audiences much harder.

But here’s the kicker: you may hate what The Amazing Spiderman represents (i.e. shameless cash-in) and yes, the first half does stick a little too close to what we saw on screen ten years ago, but cast aside your cynicism for a couple of hours and you’ll find there is a lot to love about the film.

Like what, you ask? Well for starters, it is a remarkably faithful adaptation that sticks to the tone and original setting of the comic books. Midtown High, Gwen Stacy, mechanical web shooters, a beloved villain from the classic rogues’ gallery… hardcore fans will find their boxes have all been firmly ticked.

More importantly, mainstream audiences will be pleased to see that, despite a complete cast and director reshuffle, Spiderman has lost none of the heart and charm that have always made him arguably the most beloved superhero on the planet. Marc Webb was offered the gig based on the complex emotional themes on display in (500) Days of Summer and he successfully manages to transfer the rom-com’s best qualities over to his first blockbuster. The scenes in which Peter awkwardly tries to ask Gwen out or when he first meets her authoritarian father (a scenario many teenage boys will identify with) are likely to resonate more than the ones in which he gets pounded by a giant lizard. Moreover, the scenes between a bruised Peter and his protective aunt May carry an emotional heft that you’d expect from an indie domestic drama, not a superhero blockbuster.

The Amazing Spiderman is also impeccably well cast. Martin Sheen is Uncle Ben, Dennis Leary brings the laughs as the gruff Capt. Stacy, while Emma Stone is endearing as the high school sweetheart who may well be (whisper it!) a better fit for our hero than Mary Jane. Rhys Ifans as a fundamentally good man trapped in a game of Jekyll vs Hyde is an alluring proposition, even though his reptilian alter ego is occasionally marred by half-baked CGI – but at least he’ll go down in comic book folklore as the first Welsh super villain.

And what of the star of the show? Recasting a role that many feel belongs to Tobey Maguire was always going to be a tough gig but the truth is Andrew Garfield makes a brilliant Peter Parker/Spiderman. He looks like the character from the comic books (no matter how impressive Maguire’s sculpted pecs were, Spidey was always meant to be slender), nails his wisecracks (“You’ve found my weakness… it’s small knives!!” is the kind of humour that was woefully absent from previous films) and excels during the film’s more emotional scenes.

So, the inevitable question: is it better than Raimi’s trilogy? The best answer would be “it’s different”, but if you’re really after a comparison, let’s just say it betters the now outdated 2002 version, is way better than the over bloated third installment and has all the potential for delivering a sequel as triumphant as Spiderman 2. Check out that final swing through the New York skyline in glorious 3D and try not to feel your hairs stand at the prospect of seeing Spidey again in two years’ time.   

4/5