Hollywood never tires of superhero movie scripts. And
neither do the audience. A superhero movie is somewhat of an escape from the
standard movies, wouldn't you agree? You witness a normal person being infused with super human strength; you experience his outrage or confusion at
his new found powers, the pain on being an outcast and his journey towards
being a hero among other things.
The Amazing Spider is a combination of that and more. It’s a
well scripted reboot of Sam Raimi’s previous installments of the webbed super
hero. And what a refreshing reboot it is. The movie takes you through an
introspective journey of the origins of Spiderman.
Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield, The Social Network) is an
introvert high school kid that gets bullied, is excellent at academics and has
developed a liking for fellow student Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone, Friends with
Benefits). He lives with his aunt May (Sally Field, Legally Blonde 2) and uncle
Ben (Martin Sheen, The Departed) after his parents ‘abandoned’ him. Parker soon discovers his father worked with a
scientist Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans, The Five Year Engagement) on
cell and tissue regeneration with the help of a cross-species based serum that regenerates missing limbs without the aid of surgery or prosthetics. Soon enough, Parker gets bitten by an altered
spider and hence begins his adventures as Spiderman including battling the now mentally
unstable Dr. Connors aka The Lizard.
The movie takes you through an exciting and organized excursion
into the life of Parker- from his relationship with his uncle and aunt, his aloof
behavior when he’s talking to Gwen (because he’s shy and nervous around her
initially), his interest in helping Dr. Connors which he later regrets, to his
journey of donning that well known red suit. The director Marc Webb (500 Days of
Summer) and scriptwriters James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves have
ensured there’s a smooth flow when it comes to the process of story-telling. Each scene seamlessly ties in with the subsequent
scene not to mention the lightning bolts of comedy the characters especially
that of Parker’s deliver. The movie is a
more of an intimate perspective as opposed to several action scenes that would
appear at short intervals in any superhero movie. After all, Webb and his team have carefully crafted a movie
that delves deep into the roots of why Parker is what he is and where he plans
to go from that pedestal of crime-fighting. Some parts of the movie however, were a bit too slow- it felt like the movie kept telling the story in slow-mo.
Andrew Garfield as the protagonist is loveable and a lot of
people can relate to Parker’s demeanor. Even with his superpowers, his self-esteem
doesn’t change completely. The mask of Spiderman (and costume) is what gives Parker
that psychological boost in terms of confidence as depicted in one of the
scenes where he saves a kid from falling to his death. Emma Stone captured Gwen Stacy well enough and
so did Sally Field as the concerned aunt May. Martin Sheen’s uncle Ben was a
delight to watch albeit short lived.
As it is with every Marvel Comics’s superhero movie
adaptation, the evergreen Stan Lee makes a special appearance at an unexpected
moment. It immediately caught my attention and made me feel like a 7 year old
because I pointed at the screen and went, “Isn’t that Stan Lee? That’s STAN LEE!
Oh my God, Stan Lee!” . Of course, the people around me didn’t share my
excitement (that’s because I’m a comic geek and always wait for Stan Lee's crazy appearance in such movies). The other bonus is the scene in between of the
credits that screams for a sequel so don’t’ forget to watch that!
All in all, The Amazing Spiderman is quite amazing and entertaining.
I liked this version better than the previous installments.
The movie releases July 5th across Dubai/ UAE.
Rating: 3.5/5
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