Fresh spin on crime-fighting web-slinger on The Murfreesboro Post

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Fresh spin on crime-fighting web-slinger

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By: NEIL POND, Special to The Post

Posted: Thursday, July 19, 2012 10:29 am

Fresh spin on crime-fighting web-slinger | Movie, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, The Amazing Spider-Man

The superhero summer continues with the latest movie adaptation of Marvel Comics’ iconic web-slinging do-gooder.

It’s the fourth time in the past 10 years Spider-Man has crawled across the big screen, but this time with an all-new cast and a brand new director at the helm.

Gone are Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, who played Spiderman/Peter Parker and his love interest, Mary Jane, in the first three movies based on the long-running comic-book franchise.

Gone also is Sam Raimi, whose success directing the first film in 2002 ensured his position at the helm at the next two, in 2004 and 2007.

Marvel Comics and Columbia Pictures decided to wipe the slate clean (“reboot” is what they call it in Hollywood) and start fresh for “The Amazing Spider-Man.”

The only thing left standing (or dangling) is the framework story of Spider-Man itself, which the movie tells, again, from its very beginning.

But even re-building from the foundation of mild-mannered high school student Peter Parker, the laboratory incident by which he receives his spider-like super-powers, and the tragic encounter that drives him to become a crime-fighting, costumed vigilante, “The Amazing Spider-Man” delivers its own summer splash and sizzle, thanks primarily to its immensely likeable new stars.

Andrew Garfield, who showed what he could do with a solid co-starring part in last year’s “The Social Network,” brings a spectrum of emotional range to his first leading role in the summer spotlight, and he makes the movie’s full hour on Peter Parker, before he completely evolves into Spider-Man, time well spent.

As Gwen Stacy, the object of Peter’s attraction, Emma Stone continues her rising movie trajectory with yet another role in which she shines.

She and Garfield have a natural magnetism, and as Gwen learns Peter’s secret identity, the camera frames their scenes tighter and tighter, suggesting the dangerous, thrilling intimacy their characters have come to share.

Veteran actor Martin Sheen brings heart and soul (and much of the movie’s message about “responsibility”) to his role as Peter’s Uncle Ben.

Sally Fields, an equally fine actress, has a bit less to do as Aunt May.

The limited range of her role mostly confines her to fretting about her nephew, who stays out late and comes home looking like something the cat dragged in.

Like the spaces in the gigantic web on which Spider-Man waits for the arrival of this movie’s villain – a mad scientist (Rhys Ifan) who morphs into a jumbo lizard – there are some gaping plot holes.

But the new director, the oh-so-aptly named Marc Webb (whose main previous film was the well-received but decidedly non-blockbuster indie “500 Days of Summer”) does a superb job of balancing the story’s big, exciting summer-popcorn elements and its equally important smaller, quiet ones (like the warm moments between Peter and Gwen) with ease and confidence.

After five decades of comic books, animated TV half-hour adventures, a billion-dollar string of movies, a cosmos of merchandise and even a Broadway musical, the Spider-Man franchise is still swinging.

The most “amazing” thing about this 50-year-old superhero saga is that there’s still so much freshness, energy and fun to be spun, once again, from a story that Spidey fans already know so well.

Tagged under Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Movie, The Amazing Spider-Man

Member Opinions:

By: meb5d_mtsu_s12 on 7/19/12
I am generally not happy about Hollywood's need to keep re-doing movies over and over and over. I believe that the geniuses in Hollywood are ridiculously overpaid to come up with new things. In this case I'm glad they did. People always want to know if this one will be better than the last. In this case, I am thrilled to say this film is the best Spiderman movie that has ever been. By reading other reviews and talking to other people who have gone to see it, I am not alone. The world agrees, Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are absolutely magical together, on and off-screen I might add. The graphics in this movie, especially if you see it IMAX 3D, are out of this world. The story-line is basically the same, but it dives deeper into the backstory of Peter Parker. This time around, the makers of the film stick closer to the original Stan Lee comic. Emma Stone plays Peters high school girlfriend , Gwen, instead of Mary Jane. Almost everyone has seen some type of version of Spiderman in their life time, this is one remake that everyone needs to see. Whether you are a comic book fan, a teenage girl, or senior citizen, you will find something in this movie that is for you.