Dir.: Marc Webb
With: Andrew Garfield,
Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans
Despite the fact that
the decision to re-start a franchise only 5 years after its last instalment
puzzled many, ‘The Amazing
Spider-Man’ is, indeed, amazing. The main reason for that is Andrew Garfield (I've liked him since 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' he he he),
who simply happens to have a little more presence and is more likeable than
Toby Maguire. When you compare the two actors, Andrew Garfield possesses more
warmth and his puppy eyes have a glimmer of wit in them; Toby’s Peter Parker
was colder, less sensitive to the emotions of others and I for one could never
really sympathise with him much.
Likewise, the decision
to cast someone younger and focus on Peter Parker’s high school days was a good
one – on top of the standard Spidey troubles, this adolescent Peter has his
raging hormones to deal with. Andrew Garfield, albeit being almost 10 years
older than his character, portrays the lanky, moody youth brilliantly. Although
he undoubtedly had to bulk up for the role, he remained lanky and wiry, and has
the air of a 16-year-old who had an unexpected growth spurt and is still unsure
how to move about in this new body. This makes the scenes with him testing out
his new powers, often to hilarious ends, particularly enjoyable.
The film boasts an
intelligent and coherent script and is truly entertaining, especially during
its first two-thirds, before it culminates in a standard super-hero hullabaloo.
The director, Marc Webb (his previous film was ‘500 Days of Summer’), borrows
heavily from other genres: there is an interesting and convincing love story
between Peter and Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone), and here the girl is not just a
damsel in distress, but a sharp and active participant, then there is an
element of horror – in particular in Peter’s transformation scene that reminded
me of Cronenberg’s ‘The Fly’, comedy, drama (mostly delivered by Martin Sheen
who makes a great Uncle Ben) and, of course, good, old 3-D action and the streets of New York from birdview.
The Spider-Man epos
has not lost its attraction. I think the reason for that is the character’s
humanity and humility; he is a normal, brainy kid with enormous powers and
responsibilities thrust upon him. In contrast to Batman, Superman and the rest,
Peter Parker is simply a nice boy, imperfect and sometimes too emotional, yet
he is the most understandable and sympathetic of all the super-heroes.
Also, let me tell you
a secret how to enjoy a film like this to the max – take a child with you to
the cinema (borrow one if you have to). They’ll be eternally grateful and
you’ll be able to see the story through their eyes. My brother, who went with
me, watched the film so hungrily and in such a state of awe, it was absolutely
infectious. In the end he clapped with so much enthusiasm, and when I teased
him about it, he said ‘you’re supposed to do that when you’ve really liked
something, don’t you know?!’
My pleasure :)
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