After the huge box-office success of Marvel's The Avengers earlier this, year the bar has been set extraordinarily high for the rest of 2012's comic book adaptations. Namely Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises and Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man have a lot to live up to. In this week's installment of "hype" I'm looking at the excitement surrounding the July 3rd arrival of everyones favourite web-slinger.
NYC Spider-Man Celebration Week
One of the most spectacular aspects of the marketing campaign surrounding The Amazing Spider-Man is a series of week long events taking place in Spidey's home town NYC from the 25th June, leading up to the release of the film. How clever of Sony Pictures to take over one of the most famous cities in the world, effectively using it as a giant multi-faceted billboard for their summer blockbuster. Events include spider themed scavenger hunts at the city zoo and the New York Botanical Gardens, discounted admission to the Marvel Superhero 4D exhibit at Madame Tussauds and, amazingly, the lighting of the Empire State Building in red and blue. All of this ties in with a campaign that encourages NYC citizens to "Be Amazing, Stand Up and Volunteer", giving something back to their communities just as their favourite web-slinging hero does. On the 26th of June, members of the cast will team up with regular New-Yorkers to take part in voluntary projects across the city, everything from conservation to healthcare education will be covered and there is no doubt that the state of NYC is hoping that many of the volunteers who sign up on www.beamazing2012.com will continue to be involved with these initiatives long after the release of the film. Not a bad move from Sony Pictures- Look at us, we are multi-million dollar institution who can afford to spend over $200million on this film and will no doubt make a juicy profit from it- but hey, we are giving back to the community, we are philanthropically making a huge difference in the lives of New Yorkers. But its hard to be a cynic, some great causes will benefit from this and there can't be anything wrong with actively encouraging superhero fans to go out and be heroic. And for everyone else in New York, if they have so far managed to avoid the all pervading bus posters, billboards and one sheets that have no doubt encompassed the city, from the 25th of June it will be impossible to ignore the arrival of The Amazing Spider-Man, one of the most popular comic book characters of all time.
4 Minute Preview Analysis
Marvel fans have certainly not been short of previews, promos and featurettes to feast their eyes upon in the build up to The Amazing Spiderman. In fact they have been inundated with production shots, clips from the film and countless trailers that when watched back to back are enough to make you feel like you have in fact seen the film and needn't bother with that trip to cinema. Cynicism aside, I'd like to take a look at the 4 minute super preview that premiered during the commercial break of America's Got Talent on May 14th and try to deduce exactly what it is that its trying to sell to us.
No Identity Crisis Here
It opens with some stunning shots of NYC at night, immediately letting us in on the fact that this reboot will likely be darker and more brooding than previous incarnations. After watching the Lizard (more on him later) wreak havoc on Brooklyn bridge we're treated to some pretty explosive footage of Spidey rescuing a child from a burning car dangling precariously over the river. What's interesting here is that he rips off his mask, in order to assure him that he's 'Just a normal guy' before encouraging the boy to put it on himself 'It's gonna make you strong'. This is a superhero more comfortable with his identity, one that needn't hide behind his mask in order to protect his average-Joe alter ego. Later we see him with Gwen Stacey who seemingly already knows he's a secret web-slinger, as opposed to Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker who went to great lengths not to reveal himself. Neither is this a geeky wallflower Peter Parker, he seems more confident; a bit of a smart-ass craking one-liners and able to joke about himself. And I for one can't imagine Sam Raimi's version of Spider-Man carrying a skateboard around with him and doing kick-flips! When a car thief he is confronting brandishes a flick knife he sarcastically jokes 'You've found my weakness- small knives' before debilitating him with his wondrous web. Click "next" below to read part 2...
