Something big is happening on Monday 6th February for Sony's big blockbuster reboot The Amazing Spider-Man. Several cities across the world including London, New York, Los Angeles and Rio are holding screenings for what we think will be our first look at some preview footage, probably the opening prologue from this July's blockbuster, similar to Warner Bros' strategy with The Dark Knight Rises in December. Tickets were released for these screenings a couple of weeks ago and they sold out extremely quickly and only the lucky few who were fast will get their eyes on the footage tomorrow. No one really knows what to expect from what is going down but we have all seen the posters go up across our cities and the viral trailer posted below; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3K8RtrP4tg&feature=player_embedded So in lieu of whatever Monday brings, here are 5 things we dearly hope for The Amazing Spider-Man;
1) Keep it real
One of the draw backs of comic book and fantasy films is that, to a certain extent, realism is not a factor. The previous Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man films became increasingly reliant upon CG, and in turn became increasingly ridiculous. Sony spokesman Steve Elzer has said of The Amazing Spider-Man; I wanted it to be more grounded and more realisticthe physical action. And this films director Marc Webb has been quoted saying; obviously theres going to be enhancements and CG, but its based in a physical reality. This is good news of course, because it means that dramatic tension will be heightened. When we see Spidey swinging between lorries and honking taxi cabs, it will be for realwell, as real as cinema gets. The other benefit of this means that Andrew Garfield will have a chance to bring some added character to the suit, something which has only ever been seen by the likes of Robert Downey Jr in Iron Man and Christian Bale in Batman.
2) Free runner
The most talked about moment in the trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man was the p.o.v free running. When I first saw this, the child inside me did a little weewhich in turn left the adult me with a real mess to clean up. The p.o.v camera angle has already made an appearance in the Spider-Man back history (Doc Oc's tentacles), but Webbs exploit to put us at the centre of the action, is a stroke of brilliance. The effect will of course go against everything discussed in the previous hope, as CGI will no doubt replace real footage. But still, it looks darn cool. So fingers crossed that we get to see much more of Spidey-cam.
3) Paint it Black
There is no secret that Webb and Sony are going for a much darker world with this installment. References to Chris Nolans re-imagining of Batman have been thrown around like sweets at Willy Wonkas gaff, so lets hope this isnt all just hype. The world of Spider-Man is not really synonymous with dark tones and themes, but that does not mean it would not provide an interest spin on an established franchise. Script reviews have already surfaced, and the word gritty seems to be appearing quite a bit. This all sounds very promising, because, lets be honest, no one.and I mean NO ONE wants to see an emo Andrew Gardfield dancing along the streets of New York.
4) Cold Blooded
By now, most of the world is aware that the villain in The Amazing Spider-man is The Lizard. Hopes are high that by some stroke of brilliance, that the character will end up being purely terrifying. Early leaks have indeed caused horror and fear, but for all the wrong reasons. There was the release of that Pez, and then the shots of that RC remote, followed by "that concept art". But lets reserve judgement for a moment. After you get passed the resemblance to a Goomba from Bob Hoskins vehicle, the new look Lizard suddenly doesnt look too bad. Rhys Ifans is a damn fine actor, and there is no doubt that he will bring real dimension to both Dr Curt Conners and The Lizard. It has been confirmed that the big green beasty wont appear until late into the film, and that it will have some dialogue scenes. Seeing what is essentially a 9-foot lizard, with jaws an all, speaking to other characters, might look a bit naff on film. So the alterations to the character might actually work in director Marc Webbs favour. I say lets hold fire until we see the finished product.
5) Word up (cameoget it?):
It would not be a Marvel character movie without the appearance of Stan Lee. So far in the Marvel universe, among other things, the man has been in Times Square when The Green Goblin attacked, been saved from being hit by a bus by a blind kid, seen giving orders to Lou Ferrigno, been driving a hick truck and been mistaken for Hugh Heffner. So what wondrous appearance will he make this time around? Will he be eaten by a lizard? Shot from a cannon? Choke on a pork scratching? No, he will be a dancing librarian. Yep, you read that correctly. I will say no more.it sounds absolutely brilliant. Aside from Stan Lee, it would be amazing to see Webb set the scene from some other famous Spider-man characters; after all, we know that a sequel is planned for 2014. Stay with me here and try to follow along. So what do we know? Well we know that Dr Conners works at Oscorp, so maybe some Green Goblin nods? Gwen Stacey was killed by The Green Goblin in that famous comic issue, so we might even have the stage set for a surprise villain!? I doubt it, but that would be cool. We also know that Flash Thompson appears in the film, and fans of the current Spider-man comics will know that Thompson is the current incarnation of Venom. Dr Conners was also, in comic lore, working on the Venom Project for Flash.so maybe a connection there? The Venom project was something that Richard Parker (Peters dad) was working on when he died. We also know that Richard Parker appears in this film version of the comics, and he was also the pioneer of Peters web formula. Once again, we know that the man-made web shooters are being employed by Garfields Peter Parker, so maybe Richard might have a larger role in this film. Finally, we also know that the Venom project was something financed by a certain organisation known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Can we expect Nick Fury to turn up in a post credit shocker? Of course not, as Sony own the film rights to depictions of Spider-Man currently.but if Sony and Marvel were to get into bed together (which they won't) but wouldn't it be mighty cool; Andrew Garfield in The Avengers 2? Lets hope that a few more secrets are revealed on Monday. So watch this space, and let WhatCulture bring you all the buzz on 6th February.
