The Amazing Spider-Man premiered last week with impressive opening numbers all around the world. This reboot from the notable film series by Sam Raimi saw Marc Webb – who made his debut with (500) Days of Summer – take the directorial reigns for a new generation of actors, including Andrew Garfield as the iconic superhero.
Let me start by saying I’m a huge Spider-Man fan. No I did not read every single comic out there nor did I watch every single episode of the cartoon, but I certainly tried. I don’t walk around pretending I’m an animated Spider-Man encyclopedia who can spit out random bits of information as fast as Spider-Man can catch thieves. No, I’m merely a fan.
That being said, I thought this movie was amazing – pun intended. Don’t get me wrong, Raimi’s films were equally impressive – let’s just not count Spider-Man 3 for now – but technically speaking, The Amazing Spider-Man was darker, grittier, and far more clever as well. But with every film currently in existence, there are those that would bring every ounce of bias, raging zeal, and random bits of encyclopedia information that they like to spit out to the movie theater.
Here are 5 common criticisms that have graced our internet and here is me tearing them apart. Major Spoilers ahead:
5. Too Many Cheesy Scenes
This is a common one for superhero movies and there’s a simple reason why. What’s a superhero movie without its fair share of cheese? It’s hard to avoid when you have burly men running around in spandex and underwear screaming equally embarrassing remarks. There is obviously such a thing as too much cheese – Spider-Man 3 go away – but this movie was far from that as there were only three scenes that most people were complaining about, all of which last about one minute total.
First there’s the football randomly trying to get in on the action between Peter and Gwen on the bleachers. Yes I thought it was just a tad too random for lack of a better word, but come on, who doesn’t want to get kissed by Spider-Man? That and I felt the scene had a certain spontaneous quirkiness that Spider-Man is known for having.
Second, the crane scene. Again, I admit it was a bit cheesy, but the payout was what every superhero needs: trust. Not only was the scene beautiful to watch, but for the first time, Peter Parker felt a hero’s worth. He was brought down to reality and came out the city’s savior. A superhero can only be a superhero with the skies of a city to support them.
Then we have the lizard rat. That was actually stupid. Enough said.
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10 Comments
I think my main criticism of the film has to do with the “untold story” of Peter’s parents being almost completely cut out. This mystery drives the beginning of the film but I believe the scene where we’d get the revelation about Peter’s father, similar to Ang Lee’s Hulk, was taken out for some reason. I feel this would have made it a more well-rounded film and I wonder if it’s possible that we’ll get a director’s cut or if this material be retconned for the sequel. I’m thinking it’ll be the latter.
Yeah, I know that’s probably one of the most common ones, but since I agree with it completely, I didn’t add it to this list. The teaser in the credits set up his “untold” story for the sequel so perhaps they’re just taking their time?
I liked it, I don’t care if people think it is “too soon”, it was a solidly entertaining film with two very talented leads.
I would have to disagree and say these are my main gripes.
1) Changing the origin story. I actually felt like they did a really good job with this. And I agree, to re-hash what Sam Raimi did would be utterly pointless at this time. BUT. Peter NOT wrestling, Gwen knowing who he really is (for reasons comic lovers would know), and Uncle Ben NOT saying the line for which comics Spider-Man bases his entire existence on is ridiculous.
2. Mean Spider-Man. Okay. So. I thought Andrew Garfield was a fantastic Peter Parker. Extremely nerdy and showed off the geek quite well, especially for a modern day nerd, so to speak. But it honestly felt like his Spider-Man was just too harsh. It wasn’t banter, it was him belittling the guys. It almost felt way too mean spirited to be Spider-Man.
3. Ease of Identity. Okay. So this one may be because I am, like previously stated, a giant nerd. But one of the biggest proponents to Spider-Man is the fact that he ABSOLUTELY will not show his identity to anyone. There is a select few who know, but other than that, he remains literally the man behind the mask. Raimi’s trilogy and this one go to very little extent to do this. In Raimi’s he rips off his mask and stops a train. In this one, he does it and tosses it to a little boy to wear. Some of the greatest moments in Spider-Man’s comics come from his conflict between the two lives he leads.
4. Too soon. This is pretty much on par with what you said, however, I feel like this hurt them because they were scared to go back over what had previously been told. They should have gone for broke with this film, realizing people will go see it regardless and realizing that it will do nothing but set up their larger universe in mind. The fact they chose to reboot this so soon and still omitted some obvious plot points is boggling.
Besides the “with great responsibility…” line was paraphrased anyway. It would have been cheesy as hell to include it. The very same meaning of the words was included in a speech by Uncle Ben and done in a way that, in my opinion, was much better than if he’d actually said the line verbatim. Fans should have enjoyed making the connection.
I thought The Amazing Spider-man was a great film, not as amazing as, say, The Dark Knight, but still worth the ticket. I have no doubts I’m gonna buy the DVD in – at this rate – three months time.
Everything you said was wrong. This movie was the epitome of the gritty-realistic-reeboot / moody-teen-romance that is ruining Hollywood. If I Peter Parker wearing one more muted-colored hoodie or fingerless gloves I’m going to explode
I am a big fan of spiderman. I loved raimi’s films(except spiderman 3). All would agree amazing spiderman is a good film if not great.
On other note, good article . Twilight references were bang on.
Do you work for Sony?
I have a hard time believing anyone honestly wants to defend this trainwreck.
Excellent article and I agree on all points. I felt the same way you did after walking out of the movie and I needed to see it again..two more times. I don’t understand any of the complaints except the last one about it being “too soon” but that’s nothing to hold against the movie. Many critics have said that to walk into this movie holding something against it is just unfair and means you’ll miss out on something great. After Spider-Man 3, I was ready for a palate cleanse and I got it.
This movie was indeed awesome. It was much closer to the comics. But I can agree with some of the flaws though. Regardless, it was still a great movie. And those two people above. Pfff, they’re just hating this movie because it’s a “reboot”. This movie was far better than SM1 or SM3. They just want their “Tobey” version back. Well, this movie still doesn’t beat Spider-Man 2.